2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

PLC Multi-Robot Integration via Ethernet for Human Operated Quality Sampling

Presented at Experiential Learning in ET Programs I

In automation, quality control inspection is a critical requirement to ensure product standards. The goal of this work is to insure product quality without interrupting the production line flow. The multi-robot system presented, connects a programmable logic controller (PLC), as the main controller, to a conveyor belt and two FANUC industrial robotic arms via EtherNet/IP. Human interaction is implemented to pick a work piece from the moving conveyor and return it with a quality label. This label is used by the PLC to execute the correct robot action; either to return the inspected part to the conveyor or discard it into the rejection bin. The operator uses a custom control panel connected to the PLC, which controls the conveyor and robot actions. The results show the feasibility of the presented multi robot automation line controlled by a PLC that allows human machine interaction to enable manual quality inspection during production. This paper details a student project developed in the advanced programmable logic controllers class. It is part of the master program in mechatronics. Students work in groups in a creative setting, where they learn to integrate various automation technologies and learn to write scientific publications.

Authors

Jeevan Shridhar Devagiri Michigan Technological University [biography]

Masters in mechatronics and Robotics from Michigan technological university, interest in Automation and Controls.
Dr. Paniz Khanmohammadi Hazaveh Michigan Technological University [biography]

Dr. Hazaveh received her PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Michigan Technological University in 2018 with a focus on Single Electron Transistors. She is the program director for BS in Mechatronics/EET and an associate teaching professor in the department of Applied Computing.
Dr. Nathir Rawashdeh Michigan Technological University [biography]

Nathir Rawashdeh has been a faculty member in the Department of Applied Computing at Michigan Tech, since 2019. Prior, he was an Associate Professor in the Mechatronics Engineering Department at the German Jordanian University, where he spent 10 years. His industrial experience includes 5 years in software development. He was a senior software engineer in the Laser Color Science and Imaging Department, at Lexmark International, Inc. in Lexington, Kentucky, and with MathWorks, Inc. in Natick-Massachusetts working on software quality engineering for embedded DSP programming using MATLAB and Simulink. His research focus is on unmanned vehicle perception, image analysis, control systems, and mechatronics. Dr. Rawashdeh is a Senior Member of the IEEE. He has worked on projects funded by the NSF, Ford, and the European Commission.
Sai Revanth Reddy Dudipala Michigan Technological University
Pratik Mohan Deshmukh Michigan Technological University
Aditya Prasad Karmarkar Michigan Technological University

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