Posted on April 29, 2024 by Storm Goodman
Engineering Design II Team: The Acoustic Material Manipulator
A pick-and-place machine is an automated device that uses a gripper to handle small objects like capacitors, resistors, integrated circuits, and more, placing them onto printed circuit boards (PCBs). Due to the minuscule size of the components, and the precise nature of how the pieces are to be placed, the pick–and–place machine has been the industry standard, but the Levitators believe there is a way to expedite and improve this process.
The Levitators, a team composed of Darren Buck, Xavier Sneed, Felipe Martinez, J.P. Schultz, and Devon Williams, have designed and are prototyping their Acoustic Material Manipulator which utilizes vibrational frequencies to levitate and manipulate objects. By utilizing specific frequencies, a resonance field is created that allows the user of the machine to freely move an object of their choice. The Levitators aim to engineer their machine to handle small components and place them on PCBs, effectively replacing traditional pick-and-place machines.
Because there is no gripper or any sort of physical component making contact with the circuit boards or the components, the Acoustic Material Manipulator experiences zero wear and requires much less maintenance over time compared to the average pick-and-place machine.
Since the material manipulator does not require physically moving one piece at a time, it is the Levitator’s vision to develop an array of their machines capable of moving a myriad of pieces at a time. This would greatly speed up the process of assembling printed circuit boards, and would further showcase the benefits of using their Acoustic Material Manipulator over the pick-and-place machine.
The Levitators spent many hours in the UTSA Makerspace working on their Acoustic Material Manipulator. From scribbling on whiteboards, to wiring devices and testing them, and even utilizing the lockers to store their equipment, this space has been the homebase for them to collaborate, communicate and develop their visions for their object.
— Storm Goodman
This story is a part of the Makerspace Mondays series.
