J UNIOR D ESIGN C OMPETITION S PRING 2014 Pick and place robots  enable parts of various sizes and weights to be picked up and placed in new locations at high speeds.  are accurate and do not fatigue while performing repetitive movements that may be difficult for humans.  are versatile and can be reprogrammed and retooled to perform various tasks.

The Spring 2014 Junior Design project requirements were to design, build, program, and demonstrate a computer-controlled pick and place robot that:  picks up, repositions, and releases 12.7 mm (0.5”) diameter steel spheres  sorts the spheres from one of nine base plate locations into one of two 14.3 mm (0.56”) diameter holes  provides motion in two rotary axes using two stepper motors controlled by an Arduino Uno R3 input/output board  uses a serially stacked axis configuration that is supported from one end only (rotary + linear)  lifts and lowers the steel spheres using a servo motor and a gripping mechanism  uses normally open micro switches on both positioning axes to identify the home position  automatically sorts spheres using code downloaded to the Arduino Uno R3 board.

 Single elimination tournament, fastest team advances for each head-to-head competition  Each sphere must pass through the specified hole  Sorting sequence is {1B, 9A, 3B, 7A, 4A, 6B, 2A, 8B, 5A}

Team 9 Team 2 Team 8 Team 9 Team 6 Team 10 Team 3 Team 6 Team 9 Team 3 Champion: Team 1 Runner-up: Team 7 Second runner-up: Team 9 MEGR Design Projects Lab II: Junior Design Pick and Place Robot Competition, Spring 2014 Team 5Team 4 Team 1Team 7

C OMPETITION N IGHT P HOTOGRAPHS The crowd looks on as the teams prepare for the tournament. Two teams square off for the head-to-head competition.