ROUGH Assessment of Sorting Parts by ROUGH Variable Slot Width DRAFT! DRAFT! Thomas Mildorf
Problem Statement. To analyze the efficacy of sort parts by using slots and 
utilizing the variable angular velocities that result when parts of distinct 
physical dimensions move off of a relatively flat inclined surface. 

Purpose. The final goal is to assess the feasibility of quality control based 
on taking advantage of the different orientations at various time after 
release that are caused by deviations from the original product. Such an 
ability would be potentially useful in a manufacturing environment where it is 
necessary to distinguish between two or more different types of pieces, or to 
prevent defective pieces from passing through synthesis to be sold.
Scope and Procedure. 
Parts are to be uniformly released from the top of an inclined plane, wherefrom 
they will slide towards the edge of the surface. Since the resultant motion is 
continuous, angular velocity is acquired as each piece tilts over the edge. 
The focus of this project is the analysis of the resultant rotation, and 
attempting to sort the parts using the different rates of rotation. The idea is 
that each piece will have its longer dimension parallel to the ground at a 
different time, and therefore be rejected by slots of certain heights. The 
creation of the experiment and programming of the model are disjoint facets of 
this project; it is my intention to program and refine a model which agrees 
with experimentation. To create the experiment itself, I will need little more 
than a piece of plywood and a saw from which to cut the parts and the inclined 
plane. Obtaining the independent variables will require a ruler and a 
protractor. A stopwatch may also be used to determine the constant of kinetic 
friction via a routine calculation. To measure the angular rotation, I will 
note the angle at which each piece strikes the ground. To create the 
computational model, I will implement the relevant theoretical physics and 
employ an OpenGL-based GUI. All of the necessary tools are currently installed 
in the computer systems lab. The goal is to be able to sort pieces using this 
variation in angular velocity, or at least be able to comment on the utility 
in so doing. This I expect to be able to do. Above can be seen a sample run of 
the program in which the block successfully passes through the slot; to the 
right is an instance of rejection. Although the blocks are notably dissimilar, 
the idea is that slots can be finetuned to rejected even the slightest 
deviations from the desired product Time is represented by the changes in 
color.