Mechanics and Construction > Mechanics and Construction

In need of a conveyor belt built for me. NYC

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grins:
Hey Militoy, Thanks for getting back to me. While your idea would probably work if I had only 1 scanner, that is if I understand your idea correctly, I'm trying to use up to 15 scanners simultaneously. This is why I figured it would be easiest to have the cards constantly in a scan-able position. Would your idea work for this many scanners standing side by side and scanning cards simultaneously?

As much as I want to get into connecting logical systems to motors, and I ultimately will later in life, I cant spend the time learning these procedures for this project. This is why I would like somebody with a bit more experience building it for me.

Taking into consideration that I am not even a beginner as I haven't ever begun anything involving motors, if somebody here can explain how I can complete the motor setup (based on the specifications in my previous posts) in a manner simple enough for a smart six year old to understand, I am willing to give it a shot. But I would prefer to pay somebody to do it.

Militoy:
A version of the idea would work for multiple scanners - but only if the scanners aren't synced to each other as far as time is concerned - in other words, if a card can be read by each scanner in turn, then the next card, etc. (card 1 scanners 1->15; card 2 scanners 1->15...). A belt can be made to move rather quickly, so the dwell time in between cards can be as short or as long as you want. It sounds to me like the size of your setup will be determined mainly by the size of your scanners, and how they are placed. As I noted - there are lots of ways to solve the problem - my idea was just one example. Out of curiosity - are you able to share with us what this thing willl actually be used for?

(Edit) BTW - a Google search for Machine Design companies in the NYC area turned up >22,000 hits.

grins:
In their stands, the scanners are 5"W x 11.5"H x 6"D. The scanners are not syncing with each other. They are syncing with a computer via a wireless connection. I'm doing some QA work for a company that is writing software for card scanners and I want to automate the scanning process.

Trying out a Google result, emachineshop, I downloaded their very cool CAD/pricing software and, just to get an understanding of pricing before I dive in and design my model, I got a price check on a thin-walled, cheap metal, 12"x4"x5" box. It came out to over $600! The thing is, I believe my required machine is not an expensive item when it comes to parts. A reasonable labor charge is understandable. But $600 for a small box? I'm not looking for something to display at CES. Functionality is key here.

I have to say that I can't visualize your idea. This is probably due to my lack of experience. Would you mind elaborating or showing me pictures of examples? Remember, the cards must be vertical and facing the scanner when being scanned. And the part of the scanner that actually does the scanning is 8"-11" off the surface.

Admin:
another clarification . . .

The cards are added to the 'belt' manually, correct? If its just 50-100 cards, the cheapest way is to hire some guy to manually attach them. Robotics should only be used when units go into the range of a few thousand.

Can you tell us why there are 15 scanners, and why the cards must be re-read?

The attached image is a quick 15 min sketch in 3D of what I think you want. So there are 100 cards manually attached around the belt, and one at a time it drives the cards through the 15 scanners. The machine can be rotated in whatever direction the cards need to be read in.

Thinking about materials . . . the belt is like $50+, the stepper motor probably $100-$200, control electronics about $200, total structural materials $300-$500, clips probably $300 (if its just $3/each). Labor for a single cheap mechanical engineer at $30/hr rate, for about 60 estimated hours . . .  FYI, for it to be worth the time and effort, a typical company would triple the price of the device for a good profit margin above the cost (breaking even means a wasted effort) . . . well you do the math, thats the cost for the thing.  :P ($9k)

I do not know of any companies personally that would do this. But Im confident there are a lot. Try googling custom manufacturing machine design.

I would/could do it except Im in DC, and I wont build anything past the design on my CAD without being prepaid :P

grins:
This company is not willing to pay that much for this machine and the sketch you provided wont work since it doesn't take into account the specifications I posted. I appreciate both of you trying to help me out with this. It looks like I have to approach this from another angle. Thanks again.

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