a) What is the overall purpose of your project?
To bring precision robotic automation, machine cell tending, and custom tool fabrication into the Machining Technologies and Advanced Manufacturing program. Adult learners will use the ROBOTIS OMX articulated manipulator system alongside our campus sorting line to master how modern automated manufacturing plants load parts, manipulate workpieces, and route finished products using smart robotics.
b) What need(s) does it address?
Modern machine shops and precision manufacturing floors are transitioning rapidly from manual machine loading to automated cell tending and robotic part handling. In today's advanced facilities, CNC machinists and fabricators do not simply cut stock; they set up, program, and maintain the robotic arms that feed parts into machines, unload finished components, and clear defective items off conveyor lines. Our adult machining students develop strong foundational skills in blueprint reading, manual milling, and CNC tool paths, but lack hands-on experience interfacing their machined parts with precision robotic arms and automated sorting systems. This project provides a fully accessible, modular robotics cell that lets machining students design, machine, and test custom robotic tooling right on the shop floor.
c) What learning goal, academic standard, or outcome does your project address?
This project aligns directly with the Florida Department of Education’s Machining Technologies / Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machinist framework (Program J200200 / CIP 0648051002), specifically supporting competencies in CNC operations, precision measurement, CAD/CAM part design, workholding fixtures, and automated production processes.
Students will:
- Design, machine, and 3D-print custom robotic end-effectors (grippers, brackets, and vacuum mounts) tailored to pick up specific machined parts and raw metal stock.
- Program and teach multi-axis robotic arms using intuitive leader-to-follower demonstration to automate repetitive pick-and-place and sorting routines.
- Integrate robotic arm movements with our sorting conveyor to inspect part orientations, reject defective components, and load finished items into staging pallets.
d) How does this project connect to a school or district priority?
Directly advances Collier County Public Schools’ strategic focus on workforce acceleration, technical craftsmanship, and high-wage career placement. Southwest Florida’s manufacturing, aerospace machining, and automated distribution sectors urgently need cross-trained technicians who understand both precision metal fabrication and modern industrial automation.
Aligns with iTECH’s Vision of empowering students through innovating hands-on training and our shared beliefs that instruction must represent current technology and practices and that instruction is meaningful when it is relevant to the students and incorporates current issues.
a) How will students actively participate?
Students will operate in precision engineering teams. Learners will build and set up the robotic manipulator arms at dedicated shop workcells. Machining students will use CAD/CAM software, mills, and 3D printers to fabricate custom gripper fingers designed to hold specific machined aluminum components. Using the system's intuitive demonstration arm, students will physically guide the robot through a loading routine—teaching the machine how to lift a part from a tray, position it precisely on a workholding fixture, and remove it after simulated processing.
b) How will this project meet the needs of your students, classroom, and/or school?
This project connects traditional machining trades with advanced industrial robotics. Rather than treating robotics as a distant computer-science concept, students see it as an essential shop tool that works hand-in-hand with CNC machines. It gives adult learners practical experience with modern automated machine tending, showing them how robotics increases shop throughput, prevents worker strain, and ensures repeatable part handling.
c) What teaching strategies or instructional activities will be used?
- Custom Gripper & Fixture Design: Students measure irregular workpieces, design custom aluminum or polymer jaws, and mount them to the robot's wrist to test mechanical grip stability.
- Demonstration-Based Motion Teaching: Teams physically guide the leader arm through a complex path, recording motion trajectories so the follower arm can repeat the cycle with precision.
- Conveyor Offloading Practicums: Students interface the robotic arm with our campus sorting line, programming the arm to recognize part orientation and sort good parts from flawed items.
d) How will student participation connect to classroom instruction?
Directly reinforces machining competencies in fixturing, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), machine setup, cycle-time efficiency, and automated quality control. Students will rotate through the robotic cell during manufacturing lab periods, applying their machined components to automated handling challenges.
a) What specific improvements do you expect for your students?
Elevating Machinists into Automation Technicians: Many adult students in our manufacturing program are preparing for second careers or working toward high-wage opportunities in regional industry. Equipping them with hands-on robotic programming and cell-tending skills transforms them from basic machine operators into versatile automated manufacturing technicians who can command top starting wages.
A Campus-Wide Cross-Disciplinary Bridge:
- Machining & Advanced Manufacturing: Students design, mill, and test custom physical fixtures, brackets, and robotic tooling for automated part handling.
- Accounting & Inventory: Business students track the arm's pick cycle times and scrap rejections to calculate machine throughput and operational cost efficiency.
- Information Technology: IT cohorts assist with networking the local controller and vision cameras, mirroring the collaboration between machinists and maintenance teams in modern factories.
b) How will you know the project was successful?
Success will be achieved when 100% of participating student teams successfully design and mount a custom gripper or fixture, program a multi-step trajectory using demonstration teaching, and achieve a 95%+ pick-and-place success rate across repeated production trials.
c) What evidence, observations, student work, or assessments will demonstrate impact?
- Fabricated Tooling Artifacts: Student-machined or 3D-printed custom gripper attachments evaluated for dimensional fit, finish, and holding strength.
- Production Run Quality Sheets: Quality control logs documenting cycle times, repeat accuracy, and successful sorting counts.
- Demonstration Video Portfolios: Short video recordings of student-engineered workcells in action, providing demonstrable proof of robotics proficiency during job interviews.
Purpose of Funding
The requested funds establish two identical, self-contained robotic automation workcells for our manufacturing shop. Each station includes a complete ROBOTIS OMX manipulator system (featuring a leader arm for human demonstration and a follower arm for automated execution), a dedicated local processing unit, high-speed solid-state storage, and an optical alignment camera.
This modular hardware runs entirely on-site without any recurring software licenses or cloud fees. It provides a permanent, reusable physical training asset that will serve successive classes of adult machining and manufacturing students for years to come.
Budget Narrative
Direct Student Learning Alignment:
- 2× ROBOTIS OMX Manipulator Systems ($687.70 total): Provides four total arms (two pairs of Leader and Follower units), allowing two student teams to build, program, and test automated pick-and-place routines simultaneously.
- 2× Dedicated On-Site Edge Processing Nodes ($998.00 total): Provides dedicated computing power at each workstation to control smart motor servos, run visual part alignment, and execute smooth trajectory paths locally.
- 2× Industrial 512GB High-Endurance NVMe SSDs ($110.00 total): High-speed local solid-state storage to save student motion programs, CAM models, and continuous machine cycle logs without system lag.
- 2× Precision Wide-Angle Vision Cameras ($174.00 total): Optical sensors mounted over the workstations to detect part position and verify correct orientation before the arm grips a workpiece.
NOTE: The Jetson units requested here are dedicated exclusively to these Robotic Arms, and are separate from the Jetson units requested in our companion Silicon Glades proposals.
Number of Students Benefiting:
- 24 to 35 adult students annually in Machining Technologies and Manufacturing will train hands-on with these workcells.
- 150+ cross-campus learners across logistics, business, and IT will engage during automated line and sorting demonstrations.
- 100% Non-Consumable: Rugged, industrial-grade hardware with modular, replaceable gears and servos engineered for long-term classroom durability.
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2x - ROBOTIS OMX-AI Manipulator System (Leader + Follower Bundle)
