MONROE - What's the one thing you would want a robot to do? If you answered make cupcakes, then Hailey Bradshaw, a Monroe High School senior, and her team have the machine for you.
Bradshaw and a number of other students worked over a course of three weeks to design, build, wire and program a miniature machine that bakes, adds sprinkles and delivers "cupcakes." If you prefer your cupcakes a little woody and cube-shaped, that is. Bradshaw and her team were able to build a miniature cupcake-maker thanks to the funds granted by Project Lead the Way, and the helpful instruction of her teachers Dan Sanders and Edward Neumann.
"One of our classmates loves to bake and always brings in cupcakes - so we thought, why not?" Bradshaw said.
"Is she bringing some in today?" Dan Sanders asked her.
"Yup," Bradshaw said.
"Yes," Sanders said, pumping his fist.
The machine is wired up to three computers and operates in four different phases. First, a wooden cube representing a cupcake is put onto a conveyor belt and rolled down to the "oven" where it is "baked," simulated by a flashlight. Then the cube is dried off by a rotating fan. From there a mechanical arm picks up the cube and places it on a second conveyor belt where the "frosting" and "sprinkles" are added. Finally, a second mechanical arm picks up the finished product and places it on a mobile platform.
All their work was made possible thanks to a 2010 grant of $35,000 given to Monroe High School by the Kern Foundation, making them a PLTW school. The funds lease and maintain an operating system called Inventor Professional, to help students build to-scale models of their projects. But the students say the experience is far more worthwhile.
"It's been a great class, and we are very lucky to have this opportunity," Bradshaw said.
There are currently four classes offered, three of them eligible for college credit in the University of Wisconsin System. The courses focus on science, technology, engineering, with a particular emphasis on engineering. Sanders said the courses are difficult for his students but challenge him as well.
"I lean on my students some of the time, and they lean on me," Sanders said.
Neumann's class has a 3D printer at their disposal bought with an Excellence in Education grant. The printer uses plastic and melts it to form multifaceted models that the students can use as a tiny, 3D blue print.
"It's like a fancy glue gun," Neumann said.
Two junior boys Blain Harpstrite and Matt Monahan designed a hitch for a truck that rotates on a swivel rather than the stoic hitch that can be easily stolen. Harpstrite and Monahan designed the hitch on Inventor Professional, a computer software product that allowed them to create a model of their hitch and then have its components built by the 3D printer. After constructing the small 3D model of their hitch, the boys then welded together the full-sized, finished product using steel donated by Davis Welding.
Neumann said his students struggle to create their final product, but it could potentially pay off in the form of a patent. Neumann encourages his students to patent their inventions, but he said the road to getting that complete product was arduous.
"They fail constantly," he said. "But through failure and designing and testing, and designing and testing, we get something great."
Neumann said PLTW fosters future engineers, and there are plans to start beginner classes at the middle school next year.
Bradshaw and a number of other students worked over a course of three weeks to design, build, wire and program a miniature machine that bakes, adds sprinkles and delivers "cupcakes." If you prefer your cupcakes a little woody and cube-shaped, that is. Bradshaw and her team were able to build a miniature cupcake-maker thanks to the funds granted by Project Lead the Way, and the helpful instruction of her teachers Dan Sanders and Edward Neumann.
"One of our classmates loves to bake and always brings in cupcakes - so we thought, why not?" Bradshaw said.
"Is she bringing some in today?" Dan Sanders asked her.
"Yup," Bradshaw said.
"Yes," Sanders said, pumping his fist.
The machine is wired up to three computers and operates in four different phases. First, a wooden cube representing a cupcake is put onto a conveyor belt and rolled down to the "oven" where it is "baked," simulated by a flashlight. Then the cube is dried off by a rotating fan. From there a mechanical arm picks up the cube and places it on a second conveyor belt where the "frosting" and "sprinkles" are added. Finally, a second mechanical arm picks up the finished product and places it on a mobile platform.
All their work was made possible thanks to a 2010 grant of $35,000 given to Monroe High School by the Kern Foundation, making them a PLTW school. The funds lease and maintain an operating system called Inventor Professional, to help students build to-scale models of their projects. But the students say the experience is far more worthwhile.
"It's been a great class, and we are very lucky to have this opportunity," Bradshaw said.
There are currently four classes offered, three of them eligible for college credit in the University of Wisconsin System. The courses focus on science, technology, engineering, with a particular emphasis on engineering. Sanders said the courses are difficult for his students but challenge him as well.
"I lean on my students some of the time, and they lean on me," Sanders said.
Neumann's class has a 3D printer at their disposal bought with an Excellence in Education grant. The printer uses plastic and melts it to form multifaceted models that the students can use as a tiny, 3D blue print.
"It's like a fancy glue gun," Neumann said.
Two junior boys Blain Harpstrite and Matt Monahan designed a hitch for a truck that rotates on a swivel rather than the stoic hitch that can be easily stolen. Harpstrite and Monahan designed the hitch on Inventor Professional, a computer software product that allowed them to create a model of their hitch and then have its components built by the 3D printer. After constructing the small 3D model of their hitch, the boys then welded together the full-sized, finished product using steel donated by Davis Welding.
Neumann said his students struggle to create their final product, but it could potentially pay off in the form of a patent. Neumann encourages his students to patent their inventions, but he said the road to getting that complete product was arduous.
"They fail constantly," he said. "But through failure and designing and testing, and designing and testing, we get something great."
Neumann said PLTW fosters future engineers, and there are plans to start beginner classes at the middle school next year.