Project Description:
The team was tasked with designing an automatic oyster shucking machine that works with various sizes of oysters, doesn't damage the oyster meat, and requires minimal human intervention. The motivation for the project stemmed from the high rate of oyster shucking injuries and the difficulties associated with sourcing labor. The team decided to design for a Chesapeake Bay cannery operation under a $10,000 cost constraint. The final design predicated upon compressing the sides of an oyster to induce an opening in the bill, detecting and sending a wedge through the opening, and finally shearing the oyster meat from the shell through rapid deceleration.
