Copley High School's Automation Success
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Copley High School's Automation Success

The Innovator team at Copley High School in Akron, Ohio needed to design a piece of equipment to snap caps together for Weaver Industries ProPak, a company that has been employing people with disabilities for about 40 years. With the existing assembly method, Weaver was struggling to meet production and contract requirements for component assembly.
Halloween DIY How To Prop - Automated Door
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Halloween DIY How To Prop - Automated Door

Things that go bump in the night takes on a whole new meaning with AutomationDirect’s latest Halloween project. The recent installment in their long-running Halloween DIY How To Prop series shows how quick and simple it is to create a Haunted Automated Door with AutomationDirect parts and service. You and your spooky decorations are guaranteed to…
The Halloween Box
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The Halloween Box

In every haunted house, you’ll find automated props: chairs that rock on their own, slamming doors, rattling chains, drawers opening and closing as if by some supernatural force. These “tricks” enhance the “treat” of getting the life scared out of you. The process behind making a Halloween prop can be quite simple. Here is just…
Lock-Jaw2 Robot Competes in BattleBots TV Show Using AutomationDirect Parts
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Lock-Jaw2 Robot Competes in BattleBots TV Show Using AutomationDirect Parts

Robots Activate! Is a familiar phrase to those fans who follow the BattleBots competition which just completed its 2016 season broadcast on ABC Television in the United States. One of the BattleBots competition veterans, Donald Hutson, has been involved since the show began and has been on the robot combat circuit since 1986.
Machine Produces Nanofibers for Biomedical Research
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightDrivesEducation/DIYIndustryIssue 36 - 2016Learning ResourcesMachine ControlMechanical Power TransmissionMotion ControlNotebook IssueOperator InterfaceProductProgrammable ControlStudent SpotlightStudent Spotlight

Machine Produces Nanofibers for Biomedical Research

If you can’t buy it, you have to build it. This was the situation our group of engineering students encountered when we needed to grow vascular tissue for a bioengineering project at Walla Walla University, and found existing solutions were not acceptable.
It’s a Wrap! Automated Taping Machine
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightControl & Signaling DevicesDrivesEducation/DIYEnclosures & AccessoriesIndustryIssue 35 - 2016Learning ResourcesMachine ControlMotion ControlNotebook IssueOnline OnlyPackagingProductSafetyStudent SpotlightStudent Spotlight

It’s a Wrap! Automated Taping Machine

The capstone senior design project is the crowning achievement for seniors at the University of Connecticut School of Engineering.  In this two-semester course, senior students are mentored by faculty and industry engineers as they work to solve real-world engineering problems for their corporate sponsor. Students learn about the principles of design, how ethics affect engineering…
Raising the Curtain on STEM Education
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Raising the Curtain on STEM Education

STEM education is becoming more important in today’s fast-paced technical world. But some kids may have a difficult time with traditional STEM classes especially when a student doesn’t think they’re a “math or science type.” One way to encourage an awareness of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) is to look for activities that already attract…