Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
ward serial data transfer over USB to communicate with the modules
(each contains an Arduino microcontroller, movers, and individual
products). Desk conducts the orchestra: it controls the operations at
each point in the system, and sets and keeps track of the state of each
part. We're currently using a touchscreen display to interact with each
FARKUS Desk, but it would be nice to have everything connected to a
server so that factory status could be monitored and tracked from any-
where.
The last major component of FARKUS is a set of nests: electromech-
anical connectors that attach to the products themselves as they make
their way down the production line. Both Cubelets and MOSS have
simple, self-aligning magnetic connectors, so building their corres-
ponding nests entails just a quick 3D print of a connector and a PCB to
break out the electrical connections. Many products won't need elec-
trical connections—if your FARKUS system manufactures T-shirts or
laser-etches Jesus faces into toast, you won't need serial data to and
from the toast or T-shirt. Nests for circuit boards are usually laser-cut
plastic sandwiches inspired by the SparkFun manual pogobed design
and fitted with header pins to interface with a carousel. We also have
nests that are milled from steel so that MOSS faces can be ultrasonic-
welded into their plastic frames. Depending on what you're making,
designing appropriate nests for a product can range in complexity from
straightforward to extremely complicated, and this sort of necessary
customization is one of the main reasons we decided to open source
FARKUS.
I'm not filled with open source dogma; I don't think that everything
should be open source. FARKUS is open source even though our con-
sumer products are closed source. Our consumer products are designed
to be used, not to be taken apart and rebuilt. Hacking into Cubelets and
circumventing the battery protection circuitry, for instance, could cause
the product to subsequently catch fire in a nine-year-old child's hands.
But open source is perfect for FARKUS for a couple of reasons. Auto-
mating a factory requires a significant amount of customization. Al-
though FARKUS can provide common features like conveyor modules,
material-handling modules, indexing, testing, and sorting modules, an
actual implementation will need custom tools, jigs, and nests that
handle the actual product being manufactured perfectly. Factories are
usually run by capable engineers who can modify and hack assemblies
