STONY POINT HS -- ROUND ROCK ISD

Design Problem Marble Sorter

Project 3.3.1 VEX and RobotC

Jacob Rodriguez
4/25/2014





TABLE OF CONTENTS
Design Brief ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Brainstorming Ideas ............................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Decision Matrix ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Pictures ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
RobotC Code .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Discussion Questions ............................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Reflections .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Recommendation Page .......................................................................................................................................................................... 9


DESIGN BRIEF
Client Company:
Marble Company
Target Consumer:
Younger kids
Problem Statement:
There are a lot of marbles in this factory that need to be
sorted but we dont have the right tools to get this done. We
need a machine that will be able to sort for us so that we
dont have to waste time doing it ourselves.
Design Statement:
We have a machine that will be able to sort marbles the way
you need them to be sorted. Depending on how many
different types of marbles there are the amount of parts
needed will vary.
Constraints:
- Time
- Actual working ability
- Too many marbles released at once


BRAINSTORMING IDEAS

DECISION MATRIX
[Evaluate the four solution ideas using a decision matrix. Determine the best solution to the problem.]

PICTURES
[Final Design Solution: Create a detailed pictorial sketch or use 3D modeling software to
document the best solution, based upon your teams decision matrix. Your sketch or 3D model
should include a rationale for the design selected as the final design solution. Each sketch
should be signed, dated, and should include labels and descriptions for communication.
Design Modifications: If you change your final design solution, document the modifications.
Explain the reason for the modifications and describe how the new design solution will solve
the problem (refer to Design Modifications Chart).
Final Design: This section will include information pertinent to the design solution in the form of images
(e.g., photographs of final solution, photographs of testing solution, orthographic and isometric drawings,
assembly, schematics, exploded views, written programs, flow charts, calculations, and data tables). ]

A couple of parts that we had to change was the way that the second and third marble were sorted because
the original idea wasnt going to actually work. Other than that, the rest of the sorter stayed about the same
and went as planned.

ROBOTC CODE
[Cut and paste copy of code. Be sure that you have properly DOCUMENTED ALL YOUR CODE FOR FULL
CREDIT]

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What was the most challenging aspect of this design problem?
- I think the most challenging part of this entire project was my group getting the gear at the
beginning of the whole sorter to only let out one marble at a time. Another part that was
pretty difficult was getting the marbles sorted into the correct cup.


2. What are some creative changes that you would make to the design solution if you
could start over?
- I think some creative changes that we could make if we started over would be
changing the way that we sorted the second and third marbles. Instead of using the
string as a teeter-totter, we could actually put a motor there and add a light sensor in
just the right place to sort the marbles efficiently.

REFLECTIONS
- I think we can say that we kind of accomplished our design when it came to building it, but
not so much when it came to getting the design to actually work. A big thing that we
shouldve done differently is that we shouldve gone off of a couple ideas to add to parts of
ours. One of our mistakes when we began building was trying to do our own thing and did
what we thought would work. A big thing that I would do differently for this project would be
go off of another idea instead of trying to completely build our own design. Our results did
not fulfill the problem statement because that statement was to organize marbles into
different cups, and the problem with ours was that we couldnt get the device to put the
marbles in their correct places. Our marbles, time after time, put marbles into the wrong
cups. Our device was supposed to release marbles one by one onto a ramp, drop them on a
small teeter totter, either go straight down or keep going, and fall into their designated spot
(according to weight). For future students I would not suggest doing a sorter based on
gravity unless you can get the positioning just right.


RECOMMENDATION PAGE
- I think that a big thing that could be changed next year is giving the students more time to
work on and test their products. Especially with the A and B schedule, we dont get everyday
to work on them so we need all the time we could get.


- Some recommendations that I have for next years students is to research all kinds of
different models and dont try to go your own way unless you absolutely know what youre
doing.