Engineering >> Electrical Engineering

Accurate Counting System

by Zachary Stewart

 

Submitted : Fall 2016


Ball Corporation produces roughly eight millions cans per day. This is where I have interned with the engineering team for six months. When introduced to the Applied Calculus Project, I went straight to the Electrical Supervisor. He simply told me to find a more precise way of counting each can. I first had to examine one can and find the exact dimensions of it. After calculating the curvature of the lip on the can, I then calculated how fast the belt moved. The only problem was the cans move too fast for just one PLC to count and record. Utilizing the volumes will certainly help in determining the count.

The conclusion I came to was to mathematically find a counter that would have an operating speed capable of recording .2 microseconds. Along with this, I needed a sensor capable of counting to two hundred microseconds. The counter would then process fifty cans and then send the information in a slow enough increment for the PLC to receive and record the data. This is a much more reliable and consistent way to record the cans produced. 


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Advisors :
Arcadii Grinshpan, Mathematics and Statistics
Paul Stewart, Ball Corporation (Electrical Supervisor)
Suggested By :
Paul Stewart