At the Museum of Science and Industry, we’re in the business of making fun—literally. Opening late spring, 2003, ToyMaker 3000, the newest permanent exhibit at the Museum, tells the story of modern-day manufacturing. Envision a space where 12 robotic arms work together, alongside an automated assembly line perfectly in sync to put together a colorful toy top.
From gathering the toy parts to assembling them to putting them together, the exhibit’s Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) line is the culmination of man’s ability to streamline production and at the same time, free man up for the more creative endeavors. Guests also have the unique opportunity to see a number of robots in action, doing tasks such as drawing guest-chosen pictures and racing a visitor to see who can trace letters faster. There are also many opportunities to learn about the diverse types of jobs in today’s automated manufacturing industry.
Guests enter the exhibit through Ball Enterprise, an exhibit that immerses guests in the world of a high-tech virtual company and gives them a taste of what it takes to be a CEO for a day. In addition to juggling balls, Ball Enterprise’s new product line will be toy tops. Whereas, the technology and jobs involved in the automated manufacturing of the toy tops is explored in the ToyMaker 3000 exhibit. Through story-driven interactive displays, a number of working robots, and an actual assembly line that makes 300 custom toy tops per hour, guests will leave with a better grasp of the way humans use machines to work smarter and more efficiently than ever before!
Throughout the exhibit, guests are introduced to the world of automation through flat panel video screens, robots and other components, but the real adventure begins by watching the assembly process in action. The CIM line is a 2000 square foot stainless steel and aluminum assembly line with the constant motion of purple, green and orange plastic transferring through, creating a toy top as a finished product for children to take home. Starting at the purchase kiosks, guests can customize a top in one of the three colors personalized with their own name for a small fee.
Along the CIM line, guests can witness the assembly process step by step or follow the specific production of own their customized toy. Large area markers hang above the processing area of the CIM line, giving guests the opportunity to put the assembly process in context and learn more about each action. The process culminates as a robot delivers their customized, packaged toy tops. All other tops that had not been customized, but have gone through the assembly process, are disassembled in front of guests’ eyes and robotically “dumped” into appropriate storage bins. This non-stop process takes less than 5 minutes from start to finish.
The constant action, bright colors, and “whizzing” sound of the robots accomplishing their tasks, illustrates manufacturing’s important clean, smart and safe role in the 21st century and beyond, as opposed to the perception that manufacturing is dirty, dull or dangerous. Throughout the exhibit, guests learn that the future of manufacturing technology has created a need for numerous ancillary jobs and skills. -- www.msichicago.org
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