Detailed Design Review
P09711- Automation/Improvement of
Wegmans Cookie Line Packaging
Project Team:
Stephanie Rager (IE), Bruno Coelho (ME), Mark Voss (ME), Chukwuma Morah (IE),
Brian Duffy (EE), Benjamin Powell (EE)
EDGE™
Project Overview
Objective:
• Present our final detailed design and bill of materials
• Receive feedback about our final design and BOM
Project Description:
Wegmans bakes and packages all of their mini cookies at their bakeshop located here in
Rochester on Brookes Avenue. Currently the packaging is done by six or seven people who
stand around a conveyor and pull the cookies into the clam-shell packages. This leads to the
problem of packing more cookies than needed into a package. The mini-cookie package calls
for 397 grams worth of cookies but employees sometimes package up to 450 grams. This is
a loss for Wegmans because customers are receiving more cookies than they are paying for.
This project will look into building an automated prototype that will separate the cookies
into the correct amount by weight, which the employees can then package.
EDGE™
Customer Needs Hierarchy
Need 1: Separates Products by Weight
Need 1.1 Must separate Mini-Chocolate Chip Cookies by weight (9)
Need 1.2 Should separate other Mini-Cookies by weight (5)
Need 1.3 Should separate Mini-Muffins by weight (3)
Need 1.4 Should separate Brownie Bites by weight (3)
Need 2: Waste Reduction
Need 2.1 Must reduce the amount of excess Mini-Cookies in package (9)
Need 3: Separates Products by Count
Need 3.1 Want to be able to separate Cookie Chunks by count (3)
Need 3.2 Want to be able to separate other products by count that are packaged in that way on this line (3)
Need 4: Long Term Solution
Need 4.1 Should be adjustable for other products (5)
Need 4.2 Must not substantially slow down the process (9)
Need 5: Labor/Employee Use
Need 5.1 Must be simplistic for employees to use (9)
Need 5.2 Must not create a substantial amount of extra labor for employees (9)
Need 5.3 Should be repeatable for employees (5)
Need 6: Food Environment Restrictions
Need 6.1 Production floor ready product must be stainless steel (3)
Need 6.2 Production floor ready product must not be painted (3)
Need 6.3 Production floor ready product must be water tight (3)
Need 6.4 Production floor ready product must meet the NEMA4 level (will take a light water hose spray) (3)
Need 7: Budget/Cost
Need 7.1 Must not be considered a capital investment (> $10,000) (9)
EDGE™
Target Specifications
Metric No.
Need Nos.
Metric
Importance
Units
Marginal value
Ideal Value
1
Need 1.1, 1.2, 1.3,
1.4, 2.1
Percentage of
packages with excess
(2 or more) cookies
(currently at 95%)
9
%
2
Need 1.1, 2.1
9
grams
3
Need 6.1, 6.2, 6.3,
6.4
Need 4.1, 5.1, 5.2,
5.3
Need 4.1, 4.2, 5.2
Weight of cookie
package
Follows Wegmans'
sanitation standard
Requires training that
takes X minutes
Changeover time
3
Y/N
N
Y
5
minutes
60
15
5
minutes
20
5
9
Y/N
Y
Y
5
1500
1700
9
average
packages
per hour
$
< $10,000
< $5,000
4
5
6
Need 1.1, 1.2, 1.3,
1.4, 3.1, 3.2
7
Need 4.2
Creates clear
separation of product
for packaging
Throughput
8
Need 7.1
Cost
60%
0%
(elimination of (elimination
packages with 6 of packages
or more extra
with 2 or
cookies)
more extra
cookies)
420
397
EDGE™
System Related to Needs and Metrics
Incline Gate:
(not shown)
• Need 3, 4.1 & 5
• Metric 4 & 5
Sifting Bar:
• Need 4.2
• Metric 7
Push-Rod:
• Metric 6
Weigh Station:
• Need 1.1 & 2
• Metric 1 & 2
EDGE™
Economic Potential
EDGE™
Related Engineering Specifications
Metric 1: Percentage of cookies with excess packages (currently 95%)
• Scale must be capable of measuring 397 +25 grams accurately
• Scale resolution must be <= 1 gram
• Scale response time (settling time) must be <=0.5 seconds
• Drop-chute must switch between weigh stations in < 0.5 seconds
• Angle of drop-chute must be at a great enough incline in order to prevent backlog of cookies on chute
1. Tested at 15, 25, 30, 35 degrees
• Scale must be able to send signal to board when correct weight is achieved
1. Scale has a RS232 output signal
Metric 6: Accurately separates product for packaging
• Chute must have an angle of rotation of >=20 degrees
• Push-rod must be able to clear the scale in ~ 7.5 seconds
• Drop-off ramp must have an angle >= 30 degrees
Metric 7: Throughput
• Sifter bar must move at 60 cycles per second
• Sifter bar must have teeth with width of at least 0.25 inches
• Sifter bar must have spacing areas of 2.5 inches
• The funnel must have an angle of 30 degrees or less
• The chute must have an angle of 30 degrees
EDGE™
Overall System
EDGE™
Sifting Bar System
EDGE™
Tunnel System
EDGE™
Drop Chute System
EDGE™
Weigh Station System
EDGE™
Material Comparison and Selection
PUSH-ROD WALL
DIMENSIONS* 10" x 1.25" x .25 "
VOLUME
US (in^3)
3.1
Metric (cm^3)
51.2
MATERIAL
MASS (g)
Polycarbonate
61.5
Stainless Steel
402.0
HDPE
48.6
Polypropylene
46.6
SIFTER BAR
DIMENSIONS* 13" x 3" x .25"
VOLUME
US (in^3)
9.8
Metric (cm^3)
159.8
MATERIAL
MASS (g)
Polycarbonate
191.7
Stainless Steel
1254.2
HDPE
151.8
Polypropylene
145.4
DROP CHUTE
VOLUME
US (in^3)
Metric (cm^3)
MATERIAL
Polycarbonate
Stainless Steel
HDPE
Polypropylene
21.1
344.9
MASS (g)
413.9
2707.8
327.7
313.9
V1
V2
V3
V4
V5
in^3
4.0
3.0
5.3
0.8
8.0
cm^3
65.5
49.2
86.9
12.3
131.1
EDGE™
Electronic System Overview
Scales
• This is a top level view of each component
that the FPGA will be controlling
• In the following slides each component will
be covered in depth
Rotate Chute
Clear Scale 1
Clear Scale 2
Move Sifter
Altera DE2-70 FPGA
Stepper Motor Drivers
Bipolar Stepper Motors
EDGE™
Board Selection
 DE2-70 is a flexible adaptable
control device.
 User friendly with great support
from Altera.
 Interfaces with each device and
has expandability.
 Able to incorporate an interactive
interface.
 Low cost for the amount, and
quality of components.
Comes with; Power supply, Programming software, programming
cables, extra cables.
EDGE™
Board Selection (Cont…)
Over view of board specifications and what is
included for our primary purposes.
 Cyclone II FPGA
 Two 32 Mbyte SDRAM
 8 Mbyte Flash Memory
 50 Mhz oscillator
 USB host/slave configurations
 RS232
Motor control and weight interface
 Interfaces with RS232 or USB for
weight stations. Also can interface
with Ethernet which is an option on
weight stations.
 40 pin expansion headers have an
output voltage of 3.3V TTL logic and a
current max of 4mA load off the
FPGA. Which interfaces with the
motor drivers input requirements.
 Ethernet
 Two 40 pin expansion headers
Other Reasons for choosing board.
 Miscellaneous other de-bug help devices on
the board and in the software.
 EE’s have familiarity with Altera
components and their support; which
allows for faster use of board and more
functionality to be implemented.
EDGE™
Power Supply Selection
• Lambda HWS50-12/A
• 12 Volt, 4.2A, AC to DC supply
• Protects against over current
by 104% or greater of designed
current value.
• Immunity to stepper voltage
and current fluctuation
• Referred to this product by a
sales rep at Arrow Gary
Fredricks.
EDGE™
Weighing Station Scale
Doran 7000XL series
•
•
•
•
Communication Interface Options.
• RS232, USB, and washdown Ethernet.
• Speeds correlating to each connection are
RS232 115.2kbps, USB 2.0 480Mbps, and Cat
5e Ethernet 1Gbps.
• Options available for this series are chosen
as such either USB, RS232, or Ethernet.
There can only be one connection per weight
station with this series.
•
•
•
•
10” x 10” x 2” high.
Max load of either 4.5kg or 2.3kg
depending on model.
Resolution of 0.5g with the 2.3kg
max and 1g with the 4.5kg max.
1000% overload protection with
NEMA4X and IP69K washdown
protection.
6 Digit red LED display
304 Stainless Steel
115VAC 50/60Hz power required
Cost for scale is attached in quote
package
EDGE™
Stepper Motor Driver (EasyDriver V3)
Inputs:
Step Input – digital logic pulses 0V to 5V supplied by
board
Direction – digital logic 0V to 5V supplied by board
Power – 6V to 30V DC supplied by AC to DC adapter
Output:
Excitation of motor coils to correctly turn rotor the
desired number of steps
• Chopper microstepping driver based on the Allegro A3967 driver chip
• Very flexible board, can control a broad range of stepper motors
• Allegro A3967 data sheet: http://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Robotics/A3967.pdf
• EasyDriver V3 schematic: http://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Robotics/EasyDriver-v3-Schematic.pdf
• Designed to operate bipolar stepper motors in full-, half-, quarter-, and eighth-step modes, with output drive capability of
30 V and ±750 mA
• By simply inputting one pulse on the STEP input the motor will take one step (1.8 degrees), to increase the speed of the
motor, the frequency of the step inputs in increased
• By inputting a low or high on the DIRECTION pin will determine the direction of rotation of the motor
EDGE™
Stepper Motor
(Jameco Valuepro 39BYG401A-R)
Inputs:
Motor Coil A – Signal supplied by stepper driver
Motor Coil B – Signal supplied by stepper driver
Power – 12VDC supplied by AC to DC adapter
Output:
Precise rotation of the rotor corresponding to inputs
• 12VDC, 400mA, Step Angle 1.8 degrees, 2100 g-cm torque
• Jamco Valupro Stepper Motor datasheet: http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/catalogs/c291/P74.pdf
• The current needed by the stepper is within the 150-750mA current range of the stepper driver
• The rotor speed and position can be programmed and is adjustable
• Can easily be controlled by the driver board, it will provide enough torque to meet the chute and scale clearing specs (on
next slide)
EDGE™
Motor Torque Calculations
Torque required to push cookies off scale
Torque required to rotate chute (insignificant)
Force due to friction:
Moment of Inertia:
F f  FN 
I
Normal Force:
FN  ma  (0.5kg)(9.8 m
s2
)  4.9 N
(Assuming max weight on scale is 500g)
Ff  (4.9 N )(0.35)  1.715 N

1
m L2  W 2
12

(Using rectangular plate formula for easier calculation)
Torque  I ( AngularAcceleration )
AngularAcceleration  
t
(Coefficient of friction for stainless steel is 0.35)
Torque:
F  d  (1.715 N )(0.0508m)  0.08712 N  m
(Assume max gear radius of 2in (0.508m))
Newton meters to gram centimeters:
1N  m  1.0197 E 4 g  cm
Torque  (0.08712 N  m)(1.0197 E 4)  888 gm  cm
To rotate chute in less than 0.5s (max rotation 30 deg)
need angular acceleration:
30  1 / 12rev  0.1666 rev  1.0 rad
s
s
1rad  0
s

 2 rad 2
s
0.5s
I  1 / 12(0.5kg)(0.232m 2 )  0.0193kg  m 2
T  (0.0193kg  m 2 )( 2 rad
s2
)  0.0387 N  m  394 gm  cm
EDGE™
Bill of Materials
Product
Number
Vendor
Product Desc.
3005XL
Doran
Doran 10"x10"x2" weigh scale
2342K81
McMaster- Perma-Lube Steel Ball Bearing - ABEC-1 Double Sealed, No.
Carr
R2 for 1/8" Shaft Dia, 3/8" OD
Quantity
2
Total Part
Price
Lead Time
$1,000.00 $2,000.00
<2 weeks
List Price
6
$12.45
$74.70
<1 week
3
$2.82
$8.46
<1 week
1
$40.50
$40.50
<1 week
6007K36
McMaster- Type 316 Stainless Steel Dowel Pin 3/8" Diameter, 1-1/4"
Carr
Length
McMasterCarr
Hardened Precision Tubular Shaft 1" OD, .6" ID, 12" Length
90631A411
McMaster- Znc-Pltd Grade 2 Stl Nylon-Insert Hex Locknut 10-32 Thread
Carr
Size, 3/8" Width, 15/64" Height
1
$2.60
$2.60
<1 week
99154A390
McMaster- 18-8 SS Low Profile Precision Shoulder Screw Slotted Head,
Carr
1/4" Shldr Dia, 1/2" L Shldr, 10-32 Thrd
1
$5.77
$5.77
<1 week
N/A
Wegmans
10
$1.30
$13.00
<1 week
57655K34
McMaster- Molded Nylon 14-1/2 Deg Angle Spur Gear 32 Pitch, 16
Carr
Teeth, 0.5" Pitch Dia, 3/16" Bore
2
$3.00
$6.00
<1 week
57655K62
McMaster- Molded Nylon 14-1/2 Deg Angle Spur Gear Rack, 32 Pitch,
Carr
3/16" Face Width, 3/16" H O'all, 1'L
2
$4.63
$9.26
<1 week
1
$8.56
$8.56
<1 week
2
$12.77
$25.54
<1 week
97395A525
97633A200
7528A13
Wegmans Mini-Chocolate Chip Cookies 397g
McMaster- Black-Phosphate Steel External Retaining Ring for 1/2" Shaft
Carr
Diameter
McMasterCarr
Weld-on #3 Cement for Acrylics 1 Pint Can
EDGE™
Bill of Materials (Cont…)
Product
Number
Vendor
Product Desc.
Quantity
List Price
Total Part
Price
Lead Time
P0304
Terasic
Technologi
es
Altera DE2-70 Development and Education Board
1
$599.00
$599.00
<1 week
M-200ROB-08368
Trossen
Robotics
EasyDriver V3 Stepper Motor Driver
4
$14.95
$ 59.80
<1 week
4
$21.49
$85.96
<1 week
1
$15.29
$15.29
<1 week
1
$7.66
$7.66
<1 week
6
$33.89
$203.34
<1 week
1
$130.58
$130.58
<1 week
1
$100.00
$100.00
N/A
Total
$3,396.02
8585K33
Jameco
Valuepro
MOTOR,STEP,12VDC/.4A, 2100 GM-CM
McMasterCarr
Polycarbonate Round Tube 3-1/2" OD, 3-1/4" ID, Clear
8585K17
McMasterCarr
Polycarbonate Round Tube 1-3/4" OD, 1-1/2" ID, Clear
8574K55
HWS5012/A
McMasterCarr
Polycarbonate Sheet 1/4" Thick, 24" X 24", Clear
Arrow
Electronics AC/DC Power Supply Single-OUT 12V 4.3A
N/A
N/A
237472
Miscellaneous Components (Resistors, Capacitors, etc.)
EDGE™
Risk Assessment
Risk
Team won't have enough time to
create to entire prototype
Severity
Probability
Overall
5
4
20
Long lead times on ordered parts may
push prototype production back
4
3
12
Weighing technology does not meet
expectations
4
2
8
Insufficient funds to produce full
design
5
1
5
Mechanical and Electrical systems
don’t interface well with each other
5
3
15
Cookies don’t get pulled by incline
gate
3
3
9
Replace incline gate with conveyor
Incline gate does not switch up
1
3
3
Replace incline gate with conveyor
25
Use sifting bar to put cookies into lines
which can be more easily handled by the
tunnels
Cookies get stuck in tunnel section
5
5
Contingency Plan
Create only a fourth of the working
prototype
Order parts by week 11, Set up meeting
with Wegmans after detailed design review
to arrange the ordering of all long lead time
materials
Extensively research alternative weighing
devices, spend more money on improved
weighing device
Create only a fourth of the working
prototype, perform economic analysis to
demonstrate the savings that could be
realized from investing in this project
Be aware of the interface between the two,
constant communication between electrical
and mechanical engineers
EDGE™
Risk Assessment (Cont…)
Risk
Severity
Probability
Overall
Contingency Plan
Use alternative pushing method
instead of push rods, use air at a
high pressure
Use one weigh station and close
chute while cookies back up
Weigh station doesn’t push out
cookies quickly enough
3
3
9
Chutes don’t switch quickly enough
5
3
15
Settling time is too long
5
3
15
Purchase scales with a short
settling time
Chute doors don’t open/close at right
time
3
3
9
Prioritize electrical-mechanical
interfacing issues
Conveyor failure
5
3
15
Create emergency stop switch
Difficulty controlling push rod using
motors
4
2
8
Force of cookies falling on scale from
chute gives a false reading on scale
3
5
15
Use air compression to control
push rod
Take an average of the weight
samples when deciding when to
push cookies out of weigh station
Importance Scale:
1 through 5
1 = Consequences from risk have little effect on the cookie line’s flow
5 = Consequences from risk halt the entire cookie line or project
EDGE™