Wayne State University’s Enabling Technologies Laboratory uses Altium Designer to develop electronics that make a difference to the disabled-Ribbon Cutter.
“Altium’s solutions enable the students at the ETL to create novel technologies that enrich the lives of people with disabilities. Across schematic, board and now mechanical designs, Altium’s unified design environment allows projects to be developed in a single digital space.”
Robert Erlandson,
Director of Enabling Technologies Laboratory, Wayne State University
The need
While most organizations develop electronics to be different, the Enabling Technologies Lab (ETL) at Wayne State University develops electronics to make a difference. The ETL teaches university students the fundamentals of electronics design by developing technologies that aid and enhance the abilities of individuals with cognitive and physical disabilities.
The ETL under a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities Student Design Program provides devices to help people with disabilities. One ETL client is Art for A Cause (AFAC), a company based in Birmingham, Michigan that employs people with disabilities to produce a collection of decorated tools called Cute Tools!® . Workers at AFAC were faced with a common workplace issue, the task of cutting ribbon. Ribbon cutting is too difficult for many employees with disabilities, and while able bodied employees can easily complete the task, its repetitive nature also meant that ribbon cutting posed health risks.
The challenge
The Enabling Technologies Lab was commissioned to create an easy-to-use, safe device for AFAC that could complete the task of ribbon cutting. The design would need to do more than simply cut ribbon, it needed to follow the disciplines of universal design. In other words, the design should lessen the cognitive load and be easy to use for everyone, improve productivity and quality, and be completely safe.
The ETL had another challenge: a strict budget and schedule. It could not afford costly manufacturing errors and needed to complete the entire ribbon cutter project in a digital design environment and without mistakes.
The solution
In late 2006 Altium provided the Enabling Technologies Lab with licenses and support for Altium Designer worth over US$500,000. The licenses were to equip the ETL with a world-class electronic product development solution for use by the students.
Altium’s unified licenses provide for all of ETL’s design needs. This is because Altium Designer combines schematic, board and FPGA development, meaning students can complete entire electronic designs from concept to manufacture in a single application. Altium’s unified environment also removes the need for time-consuming documentation and eliminates revision mistakes common in loosely connected point tools. Students know that any changes made in one domain are automatically reflected throughout the entire design.
Altium Designer has also recently expanded its concept of unified design to include other processes in product design. Altium Designer now allows 3D STEP files to be imported and exported from its 3D design environment, allowing the MCAD and ECAD worlds to collaborate in real-time. Designers can fit boards properly into their cases and perform vital clearance checks that ensure all manufacturing requirements are met. The ability to export STEP files is particularly important for ETL, as the ribbon cutter had to meet certain workplace safety requirements and include mechanisms that ensured safe use for people with physical and cognitive disabilities.
The results
The ETL was able to complete the ribbon cutter project in three university semesters. The first semester conducted a market analysis to find out what was available, tested various cutting strategies, and finalized the device’s design requirements based on discussions with the workers at AFAC. The second semester involved the mechanical design and specific requirements for the electronic controller. The third semester involved design of the electronic controller and final system assembly and testing. The ribbon cutter has proved to be a cost effective solution for the AFAC; the ETL team’s mobile cutting device has a much lower total cost of ownership than all other existing commercial machines which cost in excess of US$4,000.
The Enabling Technologies Lab‘s ribbon cutter has been in operation for over nine months, with disabled and non-disabled workers able to use the machine with ease. It has presented wonderful job opportunities for disabled individuals who could not previously perform the task, while also removing the health risks for able-bodied workers. It is completely safe to use and meets the quality and production standards required by AFAC.
About the project
The ribbon cutter works by feeding ribbon in a dual roller system equipped with a series of sensors, encoders and a rotary blade driven by a linear actuator. The system has been developed to make ribbon cutting much easier and safer for users. The sensors detect when the spool of ribbon has been emptied, mis-fed or jammed, and stop the device.
About the university
Founded in 1868 and located in Detroit, Michigan, Wayne State University has grown into well renowned university that is recognized for its comprehensive educational programs. It has over 33,000 enrolled stretched over 12 colleges and 350 subject categories.
For more information on the Enabling Technologies Laboratory and Wayne State University, visit http://www.eng.wayne.edu
