Design and Implementation of Automation Systems as Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology Senior Design Projects

The senior design project is the capstone design course in Penn State - Fayette's electromechanical engineering technology (EMET) curriculum. It is a two-semester project work composed of EMET403, design project preparation, and EMET440, project design implementation, courses. Students worked in teams to complete the projects with faculty guidance. Six senior design projects with seventeen EMET students were completed successfully in the 2021-2022 academic year. Three projects, with an emphasis on control and automation, were selected to be presented in this paper. The projects include an automatic bicycle derailleur system, an autonomous lawn mower, and an automatic medicine dispenser. The objective of all the projects was to involve students in project management, design, computer simulation, and finally real-time implementation as well as project documentation and group presentations. To ensure simple programming and lower system costs, many projects were based on Arduino Uno or Mega. Multiple sensors are used to detect the environment and system conditions. Moreover, servos and motors were used as actuators to perform the required tasks. The physical design of the projects was designed using SolidWorks and made using 3D printers. MATLAB, Multisim, and other software simulators were used to simulate circuit designs. Projects were successfully implemented and met design specifications and performance requirements. Furthermore, the projects' authors participated in the campus Learning Fair in the Spring of 2022.