Adapted from Source: http://web.mit.edu/2.009/www/teammanual/definingTaskForces.html

General Guidelines

Following the steps below should help your task forces (and team) work more effectively.

Preliminary steps (lead by the systems integrators)

• ensure that the room and team meeting environment is comfortable
• ensure that enough team members are present to represent the team
• make sure that the team members know each other and their capabilities
• define the purpose and agenda for the meeting

Identify the task forces that are needed

• determine what issues must be addressed and how many task forces are needed
• define the goals, responsibilities, and reporting requirements for each task force
• three machines are to be designed which will be described below

Assign membership to the task forces

• is the task force large enough to fulfill their goals yet small enough to work effectively?
• are the necessary skills present within the task force?
• is the task force satisfied with their membership?

Choose a task force leader and assign member responsibilities

• be sure that responsibilities and reporting requirements are understood
• document all decisions in the meeting minutes

Three Machines to Design

Towards a “wasteless” future, we are to design machines for a mini waste sorting production line. Each task force will be in charge of the design of one of the three machines below.

• Splitting Machine:
  • The splitting machine functions by spreading the waste evenly on the conveyor belt to avoid stacking, making them easier to be picked up;
  • The splitting machine is provided with an aluminum frame in a fixed size, matching the width of the production line;
  • Your goal is to design the mechanisms that can be fit inside the frame to split the waste evenly on the conveyor belt for picking.
• Speedy Picker:
  • The speedy picker functions by providing rapid picking capability using linear actuators with a suction cup, performing simple picks at a high speed;
  • The speedy picker is provided with a suction cup as the gripper and a standardized linear actuator system for redesign;
  • Your goal is to design a linear cartesian robot system with the provided suction cup to perform simple picks at a high speed.
• Dex Picker:
  • The dex picker functions by providing dexterous picking for wastes that are challenging to be picked using a custom gripper on a robotic arm.
  • The dex picker is provided with a robot station, deepclaw, with a collaborative serial robot manipulator with 6/7 degree-of-freedoms;
  • Your goal is to design a dexterous gripper that can be installed on the deepclaw to perform challenging picking tasks.

Within each task force, there are five student designers working together, with each student taking two roles during the project.

• One role is as a designer taking part in the design responsibility of the machine, as agreed by the whole task force
• Another role as a task manager with a specialized focus on the different report/review milestones
  • Design Engineer is in charge of the Design Need Report
  • Feasibility Engineer is in charge of the Engineering Feasibility Report
  • Fabrication Engineer and Assembly Engineer are in charge of the Fabrication & Cost Report
  • Test Engineer is in charge of the Testing & Optimization Report
  • All Engineers work together to complete the Final Presentation

Across the team, some students may take a third role to coordinate with the other two task forces towards a full production line. It is of critically importance for all team members to follow the ethics codes and work collaboratively towards a “wasteless” production line.

By the end of the semester, your team is expected to complete the wasteless production line design with the three machines meeting the engineering specs, and present your production system and design details in the final presentation.