Browsing by Author "Mpofu, K."

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    Design of a Control System for a Vending Machine
    (Elsevier, 2020) Murena, E.; Sibanda, V.; Sibanda, S.; Mpofu, K.
    Vending machines are available in many public places for vending of items like snacks, beverages, newspapers, tickets and smoking cigarettes Recently developed vending machine requires a control system to offer a variety of products to the general public. In this light, this paper, therefore, is aimed at developing a control system for the developed vending machine by developing various inputs required to make the machine function efficiently. The system controls and monitors the vending machine functions, namely: alarm system, product dispensing, refrigeration and payment system. The microcomputer capitalises on the evolution of high-performance processors and stable operating systems to implement control requirements. The project shall use intelligent vending machine input/output board to link other machine peripherals. The control system shall enable the machine to handle coin, mobile and point of sale terminal payment options. Implementation of the control system enhances flexibility in payment, remote machine monitoring and inventory control, and improved user experience through the integration of digital touch screen user interfaces and high-speed transaction processing
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    Development and performance evaluation of a web-based feature extraction and recognition system for sheet metal bending process planning operations
    (Taylor and Francis, 2021-02-14) Murena, E.; Mpofu, K.; Ncube, A.T.; Makinde, O.; Trimble, J.A.; Wang, X.V.
    Sheet metal bending manufacturing companies require changeable and adaptable process planning systems to shorten the production cycle time and reduce operations costs. This is due to globalisation and the rapid change in market demands for sheet metal products. In light of this, this paper proposes a web-based feature extraction and recognition system. The system would ensure automated planning of various processes used by a bending machine to produce varieties of sheet metal products. The algorithms were implemented using C++ to produce the geometric and feature models used to extract, and recognise the bending features in various CAD files acquired from literature. Five (5) CAD files of various sheet metals were utilised to test the functionality of this system. The results from the feature recognition process have proven to be precisely what the user has designed and saved in the model file. Bend radius and bend angle. Finally, the developed system is able to transform a STEP file into a feature model and display the 3D CAD model within the least time. It is a cost-efficient standalone system that provides data storage, allows collaboration and data sharing. can be used anywhere where there is internet access.