Universal Cradle

Abstract

This report outlines the work completed on the Universal Cradle undergraduate research project conducted at the University of Minnesota – Duluth under the guidance of Dr. Tarek AlGeddawy. In summary, a carrying cradle was designed for integration with Dr. AlGeddawy’s Changeable Learning Factory (CLF) project. This cradle was designed to fit on pallets in a conveyor-loop assembly (Figure 1), and built to hold a variety of geometrically-variable parts as they make their way through the assembly system. The design process involved research, experimental testing, and physical prototyping. This report outlines the purpose of the project, the design constraints involved, the research concerning existing literature, the initial design concept, the experiments conducted and the physical model built to create a universal pallet tailored for integration with Dr. AlGeddawy’s work.