Category: Poster Projects

9-D: Design and Manufacture of 3D Robot Gripper Arm

Dhaval Patel on

*Second Place Winner in the Design category*

Students: Alexis Colasurdo, Lewis Grant, Dylan Gaska, Stanley Ciborosky

Advisor: Dr. Mizanoor Rahman

Our project is a highly scalable and adaptable hydraulic gripper system designed to be integrated into many systems. The goal of this gripper is to create a very strong and versatile gripper that can be adapted to many uses. These uses could be as small as a simple robot, to as large as a crane picking up a car, all with the help of hydraulics. While it may not be the most affordable option, this design is much stronger than the far majority of grippers, making its lifespan very long. Overall, this strong and durable gripper is a unique and unconventional approach to a simple gripper arm, that may revolutionize the standard gripper. We developed a SolidWorks model of this gripper design, conducted simulations to analyze its static characteristics, and developed a 3D-printed prototype to evaluate its performance.

8-D: Research and Design of Robot Gripper: Grippy

Dhaval Patel on

Students: Jonathan Lobos, Maroon Chahloub, Ayman Mansur, Kevin Yang

Advisor: Dr. Mizanoor Rahman

The objective is to design and develop a robotic gripper system that is fully functional, easily assembled, and efficient. The gripper design consists of a novel push-pull mechanism on a slider system which uses spring force to allow for more compression for a pinching function to occur. The rear grip can be pulled backwards while holding the front grip for support. While pulling the shaft backwards, there is a washer that is fixed on the shaft and enters the cylinder. As it enters the cylinder there is a spring which is at its free length, this spring contracts as the shaft is pulled backwards. This action can in turn open the jaws to line it up with the object that is being picked. The object can be released by contracting the jaws. We develop a SolidWorks model of the gripper design and evaluate the gripper design against a comprehensive set of desired features of the gripper. The evaluation show that the design can meet the desired criteria successfully. We conduct simulations to analyze the stress and strain characteristics of the gripper design. The simulation results show satisfactory static characteristics of the design. The model is 3D-printed, and the performance of the physical prototype is evaluated. The proposed novel gripper design can advance the design, development and application of robotic manipulators for various purposes such as object manipulation in manufacturing, construction, logistics and transport, timber, rescue operations, etc.

7-D: Design, simulation, and testing of a novel rack and pinion robotic gripper

Dhaval Patel on

Students: Hannah Williams, Iam Kramer, Josh Wiesel, Mason Roccograndi

Advisor: Dr. Mizanoor Raham

This research focuses on the design, simulation, and testing of a novel robotic gripper, developed to maximize efficiency, adaptability, and manufacturability. Using SolidWorks, we designed the gripper using a rack and pinion mechanism to move the jaws of the gripper. The racks and gripper jaws are held together with bolts or pins. As the racks move apart the jaws open and as the racks move together the jaws close. We conducted simulations to analyze stress distribution, displacement, and safety factors. The design aimed to achieve key criteria such as lightweight construction, high mechanical advantage, modularity, and ease of integration. After refining the design through simulations, we 3D-printed and assembled each component, allowing for real-world testing. The physical evaluations showed satisfactory manufacturability, stiffness, smoothness, input force, and overall efficiency. A product design cycle was created to show the complete process of manufacturing the robot gripper. The results demonstrate the feasibility of a scalable and adaptable gripper design suitable for various robotic applications.

6-D: An Innovative Rack and Pinion Mechanism for Robotic Gripper Design

Dhaval Patel on

Students: Megan Gatto, Emily Toro, Richard Cronin, Mason Bagheri

Advisor: Dr. Mizanoor Rahman

The objective was to design a robotic gripper (an end effector) using an innovative rack and pinion mechanism that works with a robotic arm to grab and manipulate different objects weighing 7lbs or less. The proposed novel rack and pinion mechanism works in such a way that one gear rotates with the aid of a motor that is attached to its axil. As the motor turns on the gear rotates and moves the rack, which has robotic fingers attached to it to grab objects. The fingers meet and close, and the motor pauses once the fingers close. The operation of the motor is controlled by detecting an object between the fingers using an ultrasonic proximity sensor. When the sensor detects an object, the motor turns on and the mechanism starts working. We proposed the 6062-aluminum alloy and rubber silicon materials for the gripper design for their satisfactory mechanical properties. We developed a SolidWorks model of the gripper design and conducted simulations for its static and dynamic characteristics. We 3D-printed the proof-of-concept prototype using plastics material and evaluated the performance of the prototype that showed the effectiveness of the proposed design.

5-D: Project Surge: A Burst Of Energy to a Local Business

Dhaval Patel on

Students: Cameron Cleary, Om Patel

Advisor: Alan Peslak

Project Surge is the title given to the project undertaken by students Om and Cameron. This project entails redoing the website for McKenna Zarnoff Electrical Construction (mz-ec.com); this will be realized by giving the website an aesthetic overhaul and adding additional functionality for both the site administrators and visitors/potential customers. The scope of the project begins at gathering requirements from the business owners, all the way to publishing and maintaining the new website. Overall, Project Surge’s aim is to drive new business to, establish credibility for, and showcase the fine work by McKenna Zarnoff Electric. Co.

4-D: A Dive Into Social Media Marketing and Navigating Wix through ACT

Dhaval Patel on

Students: Noah Lis, Dev Patel, Devkumar Patel, Tirth Patel

Advisor: Alan Peslak

Upon beginning work with the Athletics Consulting Team, we dove into researching how media marketing works, how the algorithms flow and push trending ideas, as well as overall media literacy. We also further developed both our skills as well as our client’s website through a website building platform named Wix.

3-D: David Elliot Poultry Database Optimization

Dhaval Patel on

Students: Blaine Lopez, Thomas Bulford, Toby Berg

Advisor: Alan Peslak

The project’s goal is to optimize the data flow of the David Elliot Poultry plant’s database, which stores massive amounts of information relating to the plant’s activities, in order to increase the efficiency and reduce possible errors in the plant’s operation. Data being stored includes information such as the number of chickens being processed, deliveries of live birds coming in, and shipments of processed product being distributed to retailers for sale.

2-D: Century Dental

Dhaval Patel on

Students: Ashley Reyes, Adam Horan, Gregory Harrington, Samuel Yudhistira

Advisor: Alan Peslak

For this research poster, we will be showcasing our collaborative project with Century Dental, an external client seeking to enhance access to their training materials. Our goal is to develop an app that streamlines how their team can access and interact with essential training resources. To achieve this, we are designing and building a cross-platform mobile application using React Native, JavaScript, and HTML. Our approach emphasizes understanding the client’s needs, gathering user feedback, and iteratively improving the application’s functionality.

This project not only applies the technical skills we’ve acquired throughout our coursework but also demonstrates our ability to work with real-world clients, gather requirements, and deliver a practical solution tailored to a professional environment.

1-D: Personal Aid Elevator for Residential Applications

Dhaval Patel on

*First Place Winner in the Design category*

Students: Grant Lewis, Alexis Colasurdo, Hannah Williams

Advisor: Farhang Daneshmand

The poster will include details of a design we created for an elevator that can be integrated into the household of any person in need who is unable to climb stairs on their own. Details included: The Solidworks model, assembly analysis, how we chose the design we did, relevant calculations, estimated costs, etc.

10-LR: Effects of Grief on Family Relationships

Dhaval Patel on

Student: Kierstin Kennedy

Advisor: Dr. Ray Petren

Everyone reacts differently when they lose a loved one. I researched the different effects that grief has on family relationships. My research was based off of questionnaires, self-reported data, and observations. The findings included how the death of a loved one affects people of all ages differently and having a good support system has less intense grief.