Work toward the lesson goal: Workcell Safety & Operating States. Use the directions and success criteria in the activity below.
Materials
For the online work: a browser and your engineering notebook. Follow the activity’s materials list for any physical build, and get teacher approval before using equipment.
Plan your time
Suggested work block: 45–60 minutes. Physical builds and projects may span several classes; follow your teacher’s schedule.
Learning Targets
By the end of this lesson
Differentiate normal operation, controlled stops, and emergency stops.
Explain how signal towers, barriers, presence detection, and emergency stops reduce risk.
Evaluate hazards created by automated motion.
Program a predictable response to an abnormal condition.
Equipment & Systems
What you will use
VEX CTE Workcell
Signal Tower
Emergency stop controls
Workcell guarding / safety zones
Student Workflow
What You Will Do
Identify hazards created by the arm, conveyors, and pneumatic mechanisms.
Build an operating-state table that defines the expected signal-tower indication for normal, warning, and stopped states.
Analyze instructor-provided fault scenarios and choose an appropriate workcell response.
Modify or create a program so an abnormal condition produces a controlled, clearly communicated stop.
Test both normal operation and the programmed fault response.
Programming Focus
How coding supports the lesson
Apply Unit 1 conditional logic to safety behavior. The goal is not to relearn if/else; it is to make the system enter a predictable safe state and communicate that state to the operator.
