This page describes my Senior Design (Capstone) Project, the development of Electrically Actuated Grippers for our client, Mikron. I am unable to share images from the design process, so this will be a strictly text-based description.

One facet of the Mikron Corporation is the design of custom assembly solutions for their clients. On previous projects they had implemented pneumatically actuated grippers in their designs, but some requirements from their clients would require the use of electrically actuated grippers provided the grippers would not present a risk of magnetization to the assembled components. The end result of this capstone project was to present Mikron with a design and prototype of an electrically actuated gripper that meets their specifications of size, speed, longevity, force, and precision.

My role on the team was Project Manager but, as I’m sure you know, roles on Capstone teams tend to be more fluid than roles on industry teams. While I was responsible for proper communication, scheduling, and documentation within the team and with our stakeholders, I also helped in the design and manufacture of the device. I would have also helped with the testing of the device has the COVID-19 pandemic not forced us to remote roles where only one team member could perform the testing. I was also responsible for sourcing of external manufacturing processes that neither our campus shop nor our client shop were capable.

At the end of the project, my team was successful in designing and manufacturing a prototype of an electrically actuated gripper that fully met all required specifications of our client. Mikron has further iterated upon our initial design and now have an electrically actuated gripper in production for their clients.