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How do you mix several flavors into many buckets of popcorn?

By Monty Siekerman
How do you mix several flavors into many buckets of popcorn?

You ask ONU mechanical engineering students to invent a process that will save time and money and results in less waste.

As a senior capstone project, four students took on the challenge last fall at the request of Pete Suter, the owner of Shirley's Popcorn in Bluffton.

They designed and built a system for measuring and dispensing the ingredients into small packages which are sealed for use on demand.

Previously, an employee had to scoop a small amount of each ingredient, weigh it, then put it in a package and seal it, all by hand.

The system the students developed can mix several ingredients in varying amounts to make different flavors. It takes only 30 seconds to create a finished package of seasoning.

The system is controlled by a microprocessor which the students programmed for this particular purpose.

With the student's invention, a correct amount of each ingredient is dispensed from a hopper onto a scale that measures the correct amount. The ingredients are sealed between two sheets of packaging material, which are heat-sealed and then cut to form a package for a storage or shipping.

The cooperative effort was a good learning experience for the students, and their end product was helpful to a small business owner in nearby Bluffton.
 

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