Shi Feng

A local packaging company seeks to automate their box manufacturing process. After contacting with RMIT, a government-funded project which helps local companies automate their manufacturing process was initiated.

In the project, working as a research assistant responsible for developing an industrial-level tube wrapping machine that attached paper tubes to honeycomb boards.

In the preliminary stage, communicating with factory representatives, generating 2D and 3D graphs and giving presentations to demonstrate design ideas to the factory owner. After RMIT and the factory both agree with the design concepts, generating BoM and assisting the factory with the components purchasing. During the machine construction, assembling components and completing all the low-voltage electric work for the machine. Providing all the pneumatic and stepper motor control solutions for the machine and testing the machine with a designed control system. Meanwhile, serving as an onsite engineer to solve the product-related problems by using RMIT research resources.

An automated tube wrapping machine has been built in the factory, the machine is in its testing stage. Based on the designed machine, a production line has been developed to automate the box manufacturing process. Also, the designed procedure to test products’ maximum compression force has been accepted as a standard product quality testing procedure.

A prototype was created to demonstrate the idea of automating the semi-manual trampoline weaving machine of a local company during the master’s degree. The design idea was accepted, and an industrial-level trampoline weaving machine was planed to be built in the factory.

In this project, leading an engineer team to build the trampoline weaving machine. During the construction, communicating with factory representatives, transferring their ideas to practical design, generating 2D and 3D graphs, providing design solutions, pneumatic control theories as well as building a control system for the machine.

An automatic trampoline weaving machine has been made in the factory. The machine has been used in daily production, and the production amount of the trampoline mats has been doubled.

Meanwhile, as RMIT endeavours to build a connection with industry, the machine design part of the project is chosen as a learning course for the students. During the course, acting as a tutor, explaining fundamental design theories to students, assigning reasonable tasks to students so that they can gain their knowledge to the industrial design, helping supervisor to evaluate students’ performance during the course.