Summary

For effective recycling of materials, recyclables must be properly sorted and cleaned. Over 30% of items placed in recycling bins are not recyclable or cleaned properly. As a result, a vast amount of recyclable materials are lost to landfills or incinerators each year. Implementing systems that effectively sort these mixed materials is crucial in order to retrieve the recyclable materials, and improve the overall sustainability of our waste management systems.

Our team was tasked to develop a sorting and recycling system to effectively sort out the mix of materials thrown into recycling bins. As a member responsible for working on the recycling system, a custom-designed lifting mechanism was developed for the hopper depositing mechanism. This design underwent numerous revisions during the development process in order to make the system stronger and more reliable. After both the sorting and recycling systems had working prototypes, they were combined together in order to create a fully functional automated sorting and recycling system. Furthermore, as the project manager, I was responsible for leading team meetings, ensuring the project stays on track, and keeping up to date on the progress of each sub-team.

Physical Hopper Lifting Mechanism - Taken By: Brant Shi

Soft Skills

<aside> ☑️ Teamwork and Collaboration

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<aside> ☑️ Time Management

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<aside> ☑️ Communication

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<aside> ☑️ Public Speaking

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Technical Skills

<aside> ☑️ Autodesk Inventor 2023

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<aside> ☑️ Laser-Cutting Preparation

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<aside> ☑️ 3D-Printing and Slicing in PrusaSlicer 2.5.0

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Autodesk Inventor:

Each component and the model assembly were done in the CAD software Autodesk Inventor 2023. I was responsible for designing the gear axles, baseplate mounts, and hopper mounts, as well as creating the CAD assembly of the design.

Lifting Mechanism in Autodesk Inventor

Laser-Cutting Preparation:

Since most of the components were designed to utilize laser-cut acrylic, I was responsible for preparing the file for these parts. The file was created using the drawing function in Autodesk Inventor.

Laser-Cut Parts File in Autodesk Inventor

3D Printed Components Sliced (excluding supports) in PrusaSlicer

3D-Printing and Slicing:

There were a few minor components that were required to be 3D printed as their geometry is not flat, and therefore not compatible with laser cutting. These components were designed to be 3D printed in a specific orientation which allowed a minimal chance of printing failure, as the next layer during printing will have a large enough surface to stick to.

Hopper Mount and Gear Axles Being Printed - Taken By: Brant Shi

Gained experience in:

• Autodesk Inventor
  • Though I am experienced in using CAD software from the past, I learned how to design parts to be 3D printed in a desired orientation successfully by ensuring there is enough of a ledge for the next layer to build upon, as well as how to prepare files in Inventor to be laser cut.
• 3D-Printing
  • Prior to this project, I had never utilized 3D printers. I now have a good understanding of how they function, and how to prepare and slice CAD files to be 3D printed.
• Engineering Interviews
  • The team interview at the end of the project was similar to an engineering design interview, where we were asked questions about design choices and general questions regarding CAD software.

Reflection

When I went into this project, I thought it would be much easier as I knew I had a decent amount of CAD knowledge going in. However, to my surprise, I was able to learn quite a bit as I never actually fabricated a physical model of the things I have created using CAD. Learning about the process of 3D printing and laser cutting was insightful because I was able to learn a whole new aspect of CAD design. I now know how to design components so that they have a lower chance of printing failures, and how annoying changing colours of lines can be. Furthermore, this project has helped me realize the importance of planning ahead in projects. We didn’t look into the specifications of the rotary motor used in the lifting mechanism, and as a result, the motor was under a great amount of stress during operation. We should have done some research and looked into the specifications of the motor beforehand to ensure they are powerful enough to be used. Using this knowledge, I will be sure to look ahead and do a bit of research on the components that I plan on using in projects such as Project 4, as well as any personal projects I wish to undertake.