As the final project for my engineering graphics class, my team and I were tasked with designing and documenting any multi-part machine we could think of. Being a proud chicken owner, I was quick to adapt my idea for an autonomous mobile chicken enclosure to fit this challenge. This project was an opportunity for me to refine my hand sketching abilities and develop my Solidworks 3D CAD skills. I also had the opportunity to improve my team leadership skills as we assembled our individual parts into the assembly model.
Poultry in Motion is a concept for an autonomous chicken coop that bridges the divide between free ranging chickens and keeping them locked in cages all of their life. The open bottom of the coop allows the birds to hunt for bugs while enriching the soil of the pasture as the coop travels around the land. The lawnmower assembly in the front enables the coop to cut the grass using a low noise electric powered blade.
Design Process
Like most 3D models, ours started with a series of hand drawings to outline the general design of the assembly and detail specific features. Below is my original proposal for Poultry in Motion with the intermediate sketches I used to get to my final proposed product.
After meeting as a team we decided to combine my idea with another team members proposal for an autonomous lawnmower. Our next steps were to design the individual parts and make our sub-assemblies for the main assembly. I was responsible for the frame, door, and end pieces of the main body. These parts were modeled in Solidworks using the techniques I developed in this course. Below are some of my part models and the engineering drawing for my door sub-assembly.
After we all had our parts modeled, the next step was to put them all into one assembly. This required careful coordination so that no one overwrote someones changes and effective communication to efficiently distribute this task to team members. The last step was to create accurate assembly drawings and appropriately dimensioned part drawings. In addition to creating my part drawings, I was responsible for making the exploded full assembly diagram, as seen below.
Takeaway
This project helped refine my Solidworks skills and was an exciting way to integrate my interests in the food and agriculture industries into my engineering education. Designing this product with a team was a useful experience since it required taking into account everyone's ideas and allowed me the opportunity to exercise my leadership abilities as I helped divide the creation of this complex assembly among my fellow team members.
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