78874 - Principles and Methods of Automatic Machines Design

Learning outcomes

The student acquires a thorough knowledge of automatic machines and robotic systems with regard to the functional architecture, the internal subsystems and components, with the general design criteria and their use.

Course contents

The course enables students to deepen the machine design knowledge acquired in previous examinations and contextualize it of Automatic Machines and Robots. In addition, the synthesis and application of machine design and construction principles and methods to concrete case studies arising from industrial problems are stimulated.

The knowledge and methodologies that are provided cover the following topics:

1. methodologies for Systematic Design (functional analysis, goal tree, morphological matrix, design variants and criteria for choosing design variants);
2. methods and techniques for scientific and technical literature analysis and an introduction to patent law;
3. in-depth analysis of Automatic Machine Architectures (the main architectures of automatic machines are analyzed in detail, and interface and coordination problems of automatic machine lines are addressed; an in-depth analysis of buffers is provided, and in particular dynamic buffers for line balancing and, for product unit pitching are analyzed);
4. probabilistic analysis of productivity and OEE of automatic machines and automatic machine lines;
5. overview of ancillary systems of automatic machines (magazines, feeding systems, rigid and virtual interconnection systems between automatic machines);
6. Kinetic-Elasto-Dynamic analysis methodologies for complex mechanisms and systems;
7. tools for digital twin and virtual commissioning of mechanical, mechatronic and automatic machine devices;
8. hints at the sustainability of automated machines (energy sustainability, environmental sustainability, second-life, footprint).

The teacher chooses industrial-derived design topics from year to year in consultation with technical managers of companies in the area. The topics are chosen in such a way as to fulfil the following cultural needs:

1. study in detail functional problems related to automatic machine assemblies (e.g., product assembly, handling and transport, product processing) or concerning robots (e.g., handling, transport and assembly)
2. study the problems of transportation and installation of automatic machines and robots
3. analyze issues related to cost and ergonomics of automatic machines and robots
4. design for maintenance

apply machine construction concepts in a realistic and complex context (e.g., sizing of machine organs, assembly and assembly of mechanical components, choice of motors and sizing of connecting parts)

Readings/Bibliography

1. Lectures notes

2. Luigi Biagiotti · Claudio Melchiorri, Trajectory Planning for Automatic Machines and Robots, Springer-Verlag, 2008

3. Geoffrey Boothroyd, Peter Dewhurst, Winston A. Knight, Product Design for Manufacture and Assembly, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2011

4. Geoffrey Boothroyd, Assembly Automation and Product Design, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005

5. Robert C. Juvinall, Kurt M. Marshek, Fundamentals of Machine Component Design, John Wiley & Sons, 2012

6. Richard G. Budynas, J. Keith Nisbett, Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, McGraw-Hill, 2011

Teaching methods

Teaching is organised into two macro activities:

1. The first activity concerns the completion of methodological knowledge related to the Design and Construction of Automatic Machines;
2. The second activity concerns the development of concrete projects related to automatic machines or robotic systems.

The first activity is developed with classroom lectures. The second activity involves organising the class into groups whose numbers vary from 4 to 6 students per group. Due to its interactive nature, a part of the second activity will be developed through experimental distance learning.

The second activity is itself scheduled in two phases:

1. in the first phase, the duration of which is about 1 month, groups of students are to study a line of automatic machines assigned by the lecturer (the purpose of the first phase is to put into practice the methodologies that are introduced in the course, to introduce the first problems inherent in the interfaces between automatic machines and power systems, and to develop the first soft-skills tools with particular regard to team-working)
2. in the second phase, the duration of which is about 2 months, each group tackles a different project of industrial origin; the projects are assigned by the lecturer in the classroom, they are discussed in the classroom; each week each group prepares a power point presentation with which they expose, in the classroom, the state of progress and the technical problems to be tackled (each week one student from each group exposes, in 15-20 minutes, the presentation to the other students in the course and to the lecturer; during the weekly exposition, the lecturer intervenes punctually on the technical and organisational aspects of the project, also providing theoretical insights, when necessary, and giving indications on how to continue the project); every week the lecturer is available, outside of class time and together with his collaborators or together with other lecturers from the Mechanical or Automation Engineering degree courses, to meet with the student groups for punctual insights and to guide their work; every 7-15 days or so each group meets with the company contact person to discuss the progress of the project they have been assigned. This second part of the group's activity will be approached with experimental distance education. This approach will allow more effective student interaction with the lecturer and the company tutors.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of a presentation and discussion of the industrial project and the delivery of a report about the project. The report is done following a guideline provided by the teacher.

In particular, each group presents the company project within a Workshop that the teacher organizes each year at about one month after the end of the lessons. The Workshop is attended by Professors of the degree programs in Mechanical Engineering and Automation Engineering, the technical referees of the companies and technicians from other companies are invited to participate to the event (the invitation channel is based on the distribution lists of ASTER and two associations of companies and industries, CNA and UNINDUSTRIA, which are both supporter of the initiative). The individual student performance is verified as each student has to expose a part of the project and must be available for questions and clarifications from the Examination Committee at the Workshop.

Each group must prepare a global presentation of the project, based on a schema provided by the teacher, and each group has to prepare a structured technical report according to a schema provided by the teacher.

Teaching tools

• PowerPoint presentations
• Audiovisual
• Commercial software, such as ANSYS and Matlab, are used to analyze complex systems

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Zucchelli