AUTOMATED CURRY PREPARATION SYSTEM

Project Summary

Role: Mechanical Design Engineering Intern
Company: Siltech Industries
Duration: June 2025 – July 2025
Domain: Consumer Product Development

Designed and developed an automated curry preparation system that transformed a conventional electric cooker into a minimal-intervention cooking appliance. The project focused on mechanical product development, ingredient dispensing, manufacturability, and system integration to automate the cooking process.

The Challenge

Preparing curry requires continuous user intervention for adding ingredients at different stages of cooking, making the process time-consuming and physically demanding.

The objective was to design a product that required users to load pre-cut ingredients once, after which the system would automatically dispense ingredients, manage the cooking sequence, and complete the cooking process without further intervention.

The solution was intended to address the needs of elderly users, working professionals, and households seeking a convenient cooking experience.

My Role

My responsibilities included:

• User Requirement Analysis
• Product Architecture
• Mechanical Design
• CAD Development
• Mechanism Design
• Material Selection
• GD&T
• Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
• Prototype Planning

Engineering Process

Understanding User Requirements

The project began by identifying the challenges faced by different user groups during everyday cooking.

The design objectives focused on reducing manual intervention, simplifying operation, improving safety, and enabling reliable automated cooking.

Product Architecture

The complete product architecture included:

• Ingredient Dispensing System
• Container Support Structure
• Drive Mechanism
• Positioning System
• Electronics Packaging
• Existing Electric Cooker Integration

Each subsystem was designed to operate independently while integrating into a compact and manufacturable product.

Mechanical Design

Mechanical development focused on designing a dispensing mechanism capable of accurately positioning and releasing ingredients during different stages of the cooking cycle.

Major design activities included:

• Ingredient Container Design
• Dispensing Mechanism Development
• Positioning System Design
• Structural Frame Development
• Mechanical Packaging
• Assembly Optimisation

CAD Development

Complete assemblies were developed in SOLIDWORKS.

Development included:

• Part Modelling
• Assembly Design
• Motion Verification
• Manufacturing Drawings
• Design Iterations
• GD&T Application

Manufacturing Considerations

The design was developed with manufacturing feasibility as a primary objective.

Engineering decisions included:

• Material Selection
• CNC Manufacturing
• 3D Printing for Prototypes
• Ease of Assembly
• Serviceability
• Cost-effective Production

Results

• Developed a complete automated cooking product concept from user requirements to detailed CAD assemblies.
• Designed a modular dispensing mechanism capable of automating ingredient addition during cooking.
• Applied Design for Manufacturing principles to improve manufacturability and assembly.
• Demonstrated a structured product development workflow from concept generation to manufacturing planning.

Key Takeaways

This project strengthened my understanding of consumer product development by combining user-centred design, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing considerations into a practical automated appliance. It reinforced the importance of designing products that are not only functional but also manufacturable, reliable, and intuitive to use.