Mechanics of the electroplating system

There must be some means of placing the object into the chemical bath and removing it after the process is complete. Furthermore, there should be some means of keeping the amount of chemicals in the bath fairly steady. There are mechanical means of addressing both of these problems.

It would be useful, from an educational point of view, if the system was fully automated and capable of fairly continuous production. This would show the student a scaled-down version of a real industrial process. Also, the student would have to begin to think in terms of automation in order to solve the project.

There are several ways of solving this problem. One possibility is that the objects could be hooked through the top onto some kind of conveyor. The conveyor could lower above the chemical bath. The conveyor could stop for the amount of time necessary to complete the electroplating. One advantage of this approach in that only one motor is necessary, allowing the other two motors to be used for other tasks.

The other task for the mechanical lego parts will be the opening and closing of various valves in order to keep a constant supply of the proper chemicals in the bath. This is necessary because the chemicals will be leaving the system either on the surface of object or by breaking down and becoming useless. Some sort of sensor (the specific kind will be determined when the best reaction is chosen) will simply activate a motor. This motor will open a valve or series of valves, in order to let new chemicals into the area in which the electroplating takes place.

This is a very CHEG-orientated project, with very little theory from a mechanical point of view. But, the students will gain a better understanding of industrial processes and have considered the role of automation.