INITIAL TESTING
A lot of initial testing has been completed in the early stage of the project in order to pinpoint the problem to create a better solution. The testing was completed and recorded using a video camera and an accelerometer. Different size boxes were launched with different weights at different distances on the launcher. The change in weight and launching distance of the launcher changes the velocity the box is being “diverted” onto the 9570 unit. By utilizing the video camera and accelerometer you can compare how the different velocity experienced by the boxing affects the box’s behavior (spinning, tumbling, etc). This testing was done in hopes to understand what parameters are affecting the boxes orientation. Narrowing down these parameters will provide the testing parameters for the solution.
Testing of the design will consist of replicating these parameters to determine the designs success. The boxes will be tested at the same “diverting” velocity as the boxes that experienced the tumbling. This will be done by using the assigned weight(s) that experienced the problem and launching the boxes from the same distance of the launcher that experienced the problem. The design will be successful if the boxes now maintain orientation while being diverted onto the 9570 unit. Other size/weight of boxes will then be launched onto the conveyor to ensure that this solution still works for all different size of packages.
TESTING PHASE TWO
SECOND ROUND OF TESTING
Second round of testing consisted of testing the requirements that the boxes must maintain a minimum speed of 3 m/s while keeping orientation on the 9570 unit. Starting from the launcher end, marks will be made on the edge of the conveyor every 0.5 m. Once the testing has begun, the box will be pulled back onto the launcher at different distances to launch the box at different velocities. At each 0.5 m increment the velocity of the box will be calculated from watching the recording and seeing the time it took the box to travel that distance. The videos will also be used to describe the behavior of the box between each 0.5 m increment.
TESTING ISSUES
The issue continuously faced during testing was not being able to replicate the same behavior the small boxes experienced in the video from the tech center. The boxes were not experiencing consistent turbulence. This was a problem because in order to accurately fix a problem, the problem needed to be created to manipulate in person. The first change done to continue testing was changing the angle of the launcher. It was realized that the crossbelt at Dematic tech center has traveling speed in one plane and diverting or kick off speed in another plain which means instead of the box coming onto the conveyor at 90 degrees like it originally was, the boxes should be coming in at angle. The two speeds of the crossbelt were 2.6 m/s and 2.2 m/s which created a corresponding vector. The vector had a speed of 3.41 m/s and came into contact with the conveyor at 40 degrees. The design of the launcher was changed to represent that 40 degree angle and the testing began to focus on replicating the 3.41 m/s speed of the launcher. Despite the change in the angle of the launcher to better represent the tech center, there was still not consistent turbulence. This led to the conclusion that the launching speed and behavior of the boxes are not directly correlated, so a new variable needed to be manipulated and tested. The next variable being analyzed is how changing the crossbelt speed might affect the boxes behaviors.