NCR Drivetrain and Tilt Control Design

NCR Canada Corporation is computer hardware and electronics manufacturing company that provides products and services that enable businesses to connect, interact and transact with their customers [1]. NCR is known in particular for its automated teller machines (ATM), Figure 1. NCR Canada recently set out to design a new ATM, with improved performance over its previous models. The project focused primarily on enhancing the tiltenator device, which tilts up and down to mate with two different guide sections through which documents travel. The overall ATM design project involves a broad range of tasks; however, Mike Johnston’s particular assignment was to design a new drivetrain system that would improve the performance of most components of the new ATM, but would have particular impact on the tilting guide device (tiltenator). This device tilts up and down to mate with two different guide sections through which documents travel.

Mike Johnston, a co-op student from the University of Waterloo, was asked by NCR to design a new, faster ATM drivetrain for increased document throughput and to identify an effective method to precisely control the tiltenator's position across a relatively large range of motion (20°).

Figure 1: Multi-Function Automated Teller Machine (ATM)