Democratizing Smart Manufacturing: A Comprehensive Framework for FrED’s Production and Educational Enhancement

Abstract

The Fiber Extrusion Device (FrED) serves as an accessible desktop tool designed to emulate the industrial fiber drawing process, providing engineering students with hands-on experience in critical areas such as data acquisition, control systems, computer vision, data analytics, and smart manufacturing. Its primary objective is to deliver a practical laboratory experience within remote learning environments. Building upon previous iterations, the 2025 FrED team focused on refining the device’s design, scaling up manufacturing, optimizing assembly lines, managing inventory with Tulip, and developing comprehensive educational content. This thesis specifically details the author’s contributions to the implementation of Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) principles, significantly improving product quality and stability. Key contributions also include substantial upgrades to the image processing and Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs), alongside the development of Manufacturing Standard Operating Procedures (MSOPs) for 3D printable components. Through these efforts, the team successfully scaled production to 30 units, optimized inventory management systems using Tulip, and created valuable educational materials. While significant progress was made, certain challenges remain that impact FrED’s potential as a consumer product. These include inconsistencies in diameter readings from the USB camera, complexities associated with the hot glue preform’s physics, and suboptimal motor speed assumptions identified during closed-loop testing, where a necessary reduction in spool speed to increase diameter interfered with subsequent camera readings. Despite these hurdles, pilot production runs, user testing, and the ongoing development of educational content have yielded promising results, affirming FrED’s potential as a valuable educational tool.