Hari Krishnan|PORTFOLIO

Location - Tampere University of Technology Finland

 

Mentor - Mr.Riku Heikkila (Project Head - Department of Mechanical and Industrial Systems)

 

 

Project Abstract - 

 

Micro and desktop factories are small-size production systems suitable for the manufacture of small products with micro and/or macro size features. The development originates in Japan, where small machines were developed in order to save resources when producing small products. However, the level of commercialization and industrial adoption is still relatively low and the breakthrough remains unseen. This project is aimed at developing an environmental control mechanism within the Micro factory workspace, thus enabling it to be used in medical industries and other places where cleanroom and temperature control is of importance.

 

The environmental control for the micro factory aims to maintain a set airflow and temperature within the micro factory workspace. The air circulation within the workspace is achieved with the help of fans installed at the base of the micro factory base module. Heating and cooling elements are used to maintain the temperature within the workspace. Temperature sensors are used within the workspace as well as with the heating and cooling elements to monitor temperature changes.

 

Airflow and temperature control within the workspace was achieved with a resolution of up to 0.25°C.A PID control logic was developed which was used to maintain the required conditions within the workspace. Control of the Micro factory system is using a predefined syntax for the commands through the Arduino which enables a uniformity and can be further developed and modified in the future.

 

The environmental control of workspace being successful proves the possibility of use of such Micro factory concepts for medical uses and other desktop manufacturing purposes. The overall cost of the system is also reduced by using open source Arduino as the control unit. Several hardware components were fabricated and electronic components were purchased and integrated for development of this micro factory concept. Software’s such as CATIA and Solid works were used to design and fabricate several components of the micro factory body. CUDA was used as the primary software for the 3D printing of several parts. Arduino IDE was used for developing and implementing the control logic in the Arduino microcontroller.