Makeline

Makeline combines two ways to assemble a meal in the same counter: a conventional preparation surface above and an automated ingredient-and-bowl path below. At Hyphen, the engineering problem was to fit food storage, dispensing, bowl movement and service access into a modular cabinet line.

My contribution included mechanical concept studies and board-interface drawings. The Makeline joined food-handling mechanisms with refrigeration, electrical controls and a cabinet structure, making the connections between those disciplines central to the work.

Fit the food path and the service spaces

The modular-system design separates the ingredient modules, the bowl positioner and the thermal or electrical services. A bowl moves beneath the outlets while the preparation surface remains available above it. Standard module interfaces let the line be arranged around the required ingredients and available space.

That arrangement also makes access part of the architecture. The patent disclosure places service modules at the operator side and provides an opening into the assembly area. A removable tray beneath the positioner collects food debris. Food handling, motion and cleaning therefore have to share the cabinet without blocking one another.

Define the interfaces before the build

The development whiteboard connects cabinet and subsystem concepts to interface documentation, detailed CAD, quotations, parts and prototype assembly. It makes the dependencies visible: defining an individual mechanism is only part of the work; its envelope and connections have to be resolved before the line can come together.

The drawings show distinct contributions to the system. Electrical layouts for the cold cabinets and denester backsplash are dated January 2021 and credited to Robert. Worm-gear housing and motor-mount drawings dated July 18, 2021 carry Andrew Mulia’s name.

My motor-PCB mechanical drawings are dated May 24 and June 26, 2021; a display-PCB mechanical drawing is dated August 25. These sheets define board envelopes, holes and mounting interfaces so the mechanical packaging can accommodate the electronics.

Connect the mechanical and electrical work

The electrical bill of materials ties the system together at a different level. It lists a Beckhoff industrial PC, operator panel and EtherCAT devices alongside sensors for bowls, positioners, lift and dispenser functions. A photographed Hyphen EtherCAT-to-RS485 bridge board records custom hardware at that interface.

Controls engineering was a named part of that integration. Beckhoff’s May 2022 account features Hyphen controls engineer Bradley Hwang and co-founder and CTO Daniel Fukuba. It describes EtherCAT plug-in modules on custom signal-distribution boards, with TwinCAT control software running on an industrial PC. Bringing communication and power connections onto these boards supported compact, repeatable cabinet assembly.

Plan validation across the line

The team separated demonstration goals from pilot goals. One board calls out repeatability, cleanability and sealing; the broader validation plan covers the backsplash, chassis thermal behavior, denesting, lift, hopper and pan functions, positioning and system rate. Reliability, safety, fault handling and installation or repair appear alongside the individual mechanisms.

A photograph taken on October 28, 2021 records the assembled cabinet line, including installed modules and the shared preparation surface. The planning records describe what needed to be checked, but do not supply measured results for accuracy, endurance, sanitation time or production qualification.

Documented contribution

The system-level contribution is also recorded in the modular food-assembly patent application published on May 23, 2024. I am named with Daniel Fukuba, Maneesh Jain, Mark Manfrey, John Vassa and Keegan Schoch. The application describes a shared architecture; it does not allocate every mechanism or subsystem to one person.

This work connected mechanical concepts and board packaging with the modular cabinet architecture. The drawings, physical assemblies and validation plans show the interfaces that had to come together across the food path, service spaces and controls.