Multidisciplinary Senior DesignProject Readiness Package

Project Title: Rochester Roots Continous Classroom Vermicomposter

Project Number:(assigned by MSD) P1742x

Primary Customer:(provide name, phone number, and email)

Jan MacDonald, Rochester Roots, jan@rochesterroots.org

585-802-0843

Sponsor(s):(provide name, phone number, email, and amount of support)

Rochester Roots, $500

Preferred Start Term: Fall 2016

Faculty Champion:(provide name and email)

Sarah Brownell, sabeie@rit.edu

Other Support: Dr. Dawn Carter (biology) dxcsse@rit.edu

Project Guide:(assigned by MSD) Chris Leibfried

Sarah Brownell 7/18/16Prepared By Date

Received By Date

RIT – Kate Gleason College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary Senior Design

Project Readiness PackageTemplate Revised Spring 2016

Project Information

* Overview:Rochester Roots, a local non-profit, educates school children about the global food system, healthy eating, sustainability, resilience, innovation, and gardening through hands-on and systems focused projects.

The Montessory Academy where Rochester Roots works has 24 small worm bins that are used in the individual classrooms. A starter group of 75 red wiggler worms in these bins has now turned into more than 500,000 worms! At the end of the school year, all these bins are returned to the science room and need to be combined into a larger bin. Currently, there is no easy system for managing these worms over the summer or for managing larger scale worm composting in the classroom more generally.

Current worm bins

This team is tasked with engineering a larger-scale, continous worm composting bin for the Montessori Academy Pre-K--6th grade classroom that uses red wiggler worms to decompose shredded vegetable, fruit and paper waste from the school. The bin will ideally roll under a counter when worms are not being fed and roll out for feeding. It should have four levels: 1) red wiggler worms and worm habitat made from peat moss, shredded paper, soil and nutrients to which raw food and paper is added as compostable materials, 2) worm castings and worm cocoon sorting level, 3) final vermicompost product, and 4) drainage. The system should allow the worm castings to be removed without disturbing the feeding worms and should drain any excess liquid. Rochester Roots would like to incorporate sensors to notify them if the moisture level in the bin is too low so that water can be added. Finally, the bin should provide educational experiences and opportunties for the grade school who use the classroom, for example, allowing them to see the worms in action under the soil.

* Preliminary Customer Requirements (CR):

RIT – Kate Gleason College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary Senior Design

Project Readiness PackageTemplate Revised Spring 2016

Accepts shredded vegetable, fruit and paper wasteFits under counterRolls out from under counter for worm feedingRolled and accessed by one adultSupports weekly feedingsProvides suitable habitat for red wiggler worms

Holds worm beddingMonitors moisture level and warns if too dryProvides dark environment insideDrains excess moisture

Provides continuous composting: castings can be removed without disturbing the wormsSorts out cocoons from worm castingsStores final sorted vermicompost productCollects and stores excess liquidAllows easy access to each layer of the system for removal of products and/or maintenanceAllows students to see into worm bin while it is in operationAllows students to see worms in action under the soilResists deterioration, durableKeeps grade school aged users safeOperates on standard electrical output 110 VAC

* Preliminary Engineering Requirements (ER):

Specification Ideal MarginalWeight of food scraps/paper handled per feeding session (kg) > >Number of worm bins that can be consolidated into new system

24 >20

Food port opening Full surface >90% of surface

Feeding frequency <1/week 1/weekTotal weight of system < <Max weight of removable components (with contents) <30 lbs <35 lbsRange of moisture monitoring 50-95% 60-90%Ideal moisture 80%Accuracy of soil moisture sensing <+/- 4% <+/-8%Frequency of moisture sensing Hourly dailyData storage ? 1 month 2 weeksPercent of room where moisture warning is noticeable >90% >75%Max dimensions (ft) 4’x3’x3.5Component weight <30lbs <35 lbLeachate storage >2 gallons >1 gallonsTime to remove leachate <2 min <5 minFrequency of vermicompost removal > 1x/week 1x/weekTime to remove vermicompost or sorted cocoons <10 min <15 minVermicompost storage >3 gallons >2 gallonsWorms removed in sorting system per gallon vermicompost <20 <10RIT – Kate Gleason College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary Senior Design

Project Readiness PackageTemplate Revised Spring 2016

Cocoons ending up in finished vermicompost per gallon <5 <10Light levels in system < 3 lux < 5 luxSpace observable by studentsEstimated life of each component >3 years >3 years

* Constraints:Fits under counterFits through doorRollsUtilizes Rochester Roots worm beddingAllows students to see worms in actionCan be moved by one personOperates on classroom power

* Project Deliverables:Minimum requirements: All design documents (e.g., concepts, analysis, detailed drawings/schematics, BOM, test

results) working prototype technical paper poster All teams finishing during the spring term are expected to participate in ImagineRIT

Additional required deliverables: User manual Assembly manual

† Budget Information:Include total budget, any major cost items anticipated, and any special purchasing requirements from the sponsor(s).

$500 or detailed proposal

* Intellectual Property:NA

RIT – Kate Gleason College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary Senior Design

Project Readiness PackageTemplate Revised Spring 2016

Project Resources

† Required Resources (besides student staffing):Describe the resources necessary for successful project completion. When the resource is secured, the responsible person should initial and date to acknowledge that they have agreed to provide this support. We assume that all teams with ME/ISE students will have access to the ME Machine Shop and all teams with EE students will have access to the EE Senior Design Lab, so it is not necessary to list these. Limit this list to specialized expertise, space, equipment, and materials.

Faculty list individuals and their area of expertise (people who can provide specialized knowledge unique to your project, e.g., faculty you will need to consult for more than a basic technical question during office hours)

Initial/date

Dr. Dawn CarterEnvironment (e.g., a specific lab with specialized equipment/facilities, space for very large or oily/greasy projects, space for projects that generate airborne debris or hazardous gases, specific electrical requirements such as 3-phase power)

Initial/date

Cubicle will be neededEquipment (specific computing, test, measurement, or construction equipment that the team will need to borrow, e.g., CMM, SEM, )

Initial/date

Materials (materials that will be consumed during the course of the project, e.g., test samples from customer, specialized raw material for construction, chemicals that must be purchased and stored)

Initial/date

OtherInitial/date

† Anticipated Staffing By Discipline:Indicate the requested staffing for each discipline, along with a brief explanation of the associated activities. “Other” includes students from any department on campus besides those explicitly listed. For example, we have done projects with students from Industrial Design, Business, Software Engineering, Civil Engineering Technology, and Information Technology. If you have recruited students to work on this project (including student-initiated projects), include their names here.

Dept. # Req. Expected ActivitiesBME Could replace an ME with BME, esp. for controlsCEEEISE 1 Focus on ergonomics, safety for children, engineering economy.

Machining, ergonomics, systems design, safety engineeringME 3 One focused on motors/controls/sensors. One focused structure, stability,

RIT – Kate Gleason College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary Senior Design

Project Readiness PackageTemplate Revised Spring 2016

access to products. One focused on sorting out the castings and cocoons from worms and food.

Other

* Skills Checklist:Indicate the sills or knowledge that will be needed by students working on this project. Please use the following scale of importance:1 = must have2 = helpful, but not essential3 = either a very small part of the project, or relates to a “bonus” featureblank = not applicable to this project

Biomedical EngineeringBME Core Knowledge BME Elective KnowledgeMatlab Medical image processingAseptic lab techniques COMSOL software modelingGel electrophoresis Medical visualization softwareLinear signal analysis and processing Biomaterial testing/evaluationFluid mechanics Tissue cultureBiomaterials Advanced microscopyLabview Microfluidic device fabrication and measurementSimulation (Simulink) Other (specify)System physiologyBiosystems process analysis (mass, energy balance)Cell cultureComputer-based data acquisitionProbability & statisticsNumerical & statistical analysisBiomechanicsDesign of biomedical devices

Computer EngineeringCE Core Knowledge CE Elective KnowledgeDigital design (including HDL and FPGA) Networking & network protocolsSoftware for microcontrollers (including Linux and Windows) Wireless networks

Device programming (Assembly, C) Robotics (guidance, navigation, vision, machine learning, control)

Programming: Python, Java, C++ Concurrent and embedded softwareBasic analog design Embedded and real-time systemsScientific computing (including C and Matlab) Digital image processingSignal processing Computer visionInterfacing transducers and actuators to microcontrollers Network security

Other (specify)

Electrical Engineering

RIT – Kate Gleason College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary Senior Design

Project Readiness PackageTemplate Revised Spring 2016

EE Core Knowledge EE Elective KnowledgeCircuit Design (AC/DC converters, regulators, amplifies, analog filter design, FPGA logic design, sensor bias/support circuitry)

Digital filter design and implementation

Power systems: selection, analysis, power budget Digital signal processingSystem analysis: frequency analysis (Fourier, Laplace), stability, PID controllers, modulation schemes, VCO’s & mixers, ADC selection

Microcontroller selection/application

Circuit build, test, debug (scope, DMM, function generator

Wireless: communication protocol, component selection

Board layout Antenna selection (simple design)Matlab Communication system front end designPSpice Algorithm design/simulationProgramming: C, Assembly Embedded software design/implementationElectromagnetics: shielding, interference Other (specify)

Industrial & Systems EngineeringISE Core Knowledge ISE Elective KnowledgeStatistical analysis of data: regression Design of ExperimentMaterials science 1 Systems design – product/process design

1 Materials processing, machining lab Data analysis, data miningFacilities planning: layout, mat’l handling Manufacturing engineeringProduction systems design: cycle time, throughput, assembly line design, manufacturing process design

DFx: manufacturing, assembly, environment, sustainability

1 Ergonomics: interface of people and equipment (procedures, training, maintenance) Rapid prototyping

Math modeling: OR (linear programming, simulation) 1 Safety engineering

1 Project management Other (specify)Engineering economy: Return on InvestmentQuality tools: SPCProduction control: schedulingShop floor IE: methods, time studiesComputer tools: Excel, Access, AutoCADProgramming (C++)

Mechanical EngineeringME Core Knowledge ME Elective Knowledge

1 3D CAD Finite element analysisMatlab programming Heat transfer

1 Basic machining 1 Modeling of electromechanical & fluid systems2 2D stress analysis Fatigue and static failure criteria

2D static/dynamic analysis 1 Machine elementsThermodynamics AerodynamicsFluid dynamics (CV) Computational fluid dynamicsLabView BiomaterialsStatistics Vibrations

2 Materials selection IC EnginesGD&TLinear ControlsCompositesRobotics

RIT – Kate Gleason College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary Senior Design

Project Readiness PackageTemplate Revised Spring 2016

ME Core Knowledge ME Elective KnowledgeOther (specify)

RIT – Kate Gleason College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary Senior Design

Project Readiness PackageTemplate Revised Spring 2016