ONC BOCES students earn third place in state competition
Apr. 18—Students in the mechatronics program at Otsego-Northern Catskills BOCES competed in the New York State Industries for the Disabled competition April 8 and earned third place for their automated crimping machine.
The 2024 Cultivating Resources for Employment with Assistive TEchnology Symposium was held April 8, at the North Concourse/Empire State Plaza in Albany, a media release said. The ONC BOCES team of Trevor Campagna a student at Cherry Valley-Springfield, Nicolas Troiano of Edmeston, Owen Gustafson and Tyler Sorenson of Oneonta and Michael Sprague of Schenevus joined 11 other teams from seven colleges to present their projects in front of a panel of judges. The goal of the project was to help those with disabilities succeed in their jobs. The team tied with Cooper Union for third place and received $5,000.
It was the first year a high school team competed in the state competition, the release said. "Going in knowing we were the first high school to go and compete was definitely interesting," Troiano, who plans to attend Jacksonville University and major in electrical engineering next year, said.
"Keeping in the back of our minds we had nothing to lose," Campagna, who plans to major in mechatronics at SUNY Delhi next year, said. "I mean, we started so late and we were really just trying to build a relationship with Creekside and get our name out there."
Troiano said everyone was fascinated with what the team built. They were also able to see what the college teams built for the competition.
"It's also good to hear other people's ideas and see how they balanced their own problems and responsibilities," Gustafson, who plans to major in HVAC at SUNY Delhi, said.
Teacher Nils Anderson said he heard about the competition in December and met with David DiNicola from Creekside Industries and Autumn Shumbris from Arc Otsego to find out what they could do to help the employees at the company. Creekside Industries employees several clients from Arc and one of the jobs is to place tampons in cardboard tubes and crimp them so they fit in vending machines.
Anderson then told his students about the project and gave them the assignment of coming up with a way to automate the crimping system so it is easier for clients at Creekside to complete their tasks. The project is the students' senior capstone project.
Campagna said some of the employees at Creekside Industries have mobility issues so it's hard for them to crimp the ends of the tubes so the tampons don't slip out of them.
Sprague, who plans to major in mechatronics at SUNY Delhi next year, said the company is the only one in the state that packages tampons for vending machines. With the new state law requiring feminine hygiene products be available in all school restrooms, Creekside asked for a way to streamline the process to meet the demand.
Students used a collaborative robot in their prototype design, Anderson said.
The robot uses air from a small air compressor and uses suction to pick up four wrapped tampons from a feeder bin and drops them in a machine that then crimps the ends of the packaging. The robot then picks up the crimped packages and places them in a collection container. Sorenson, who plans to major in mechatronics at SUNY Delhi next year, said during the design phase they ran into some issues, including needing to change the suction tubes so the tampons could be picked up.
"That's what the main point was, was to be able to prove that we could do it," Anderson said of the competition. "And like Michael said, we had to have the safety involved, because you're dealing with people who would be next to the machine. Using the collaborative robot makes it safe for those people. It's simple and easy, so really all they have to do is press the start button. If there is a problem, they can always hit the e-stop."
The robot is designed that if it is touched by someone it stops and there are two other emergency stop buttons attached to the machine for safety. Troiano said the robot is capable of working with other robots to form a type of assembly line if wanted or needed.
"Being the machine tender, you have control of the whole process," Sorenson said.
The machine is mounted on a table that was donated to the team by the Oneonta Home Depot, Anderson said.
Troiano, Campagna and another student at ONC BOCES will take the robot to the Skills USA competition next week in Syracuse. The team also plans to enter the prototype into a nationwide competition to try to receive a $100,000 grant to take it to the next level and build one for use.
To watch a video of the machine in action, visit https://tinyurl.com/4mdyy6b2.
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.
