Unit 5: Components

Many elderly or disabled people may have a more difficult time moving from location to location within their home. Therefore, trivial tasks such as turning on and off the light switch may become rather difficult, especially at night if they have to navigate back to their bed in the dark. Therefore, the purpose of this passion project is to design a mechanical system that allows for the light switch capabilities to be accessible from any area of a room rather than simply its physical location via a remote. After following the engineering design process to select a specific module and subassembly, I will need to analyze the various components encompassing it as well as the forces that are acting upon each of them.

It is to be assumed that it is a standard toggle light switch that can be powered on or off simply by applying a small force in the upward or downward direction. Furthermore, the switch is enclosed by a standard single size plastic wall plate measuring 2.75 x 4.5 inches that is screwed into the wall. Furthermore, it is assumed that the remote will be utilized within 300 feet of the switch, and will be aimed towards the mechanism so it can recognize the command.

When creating a decision matrix to evaluate the 3 modules, I tried to consider the factors that would be most desirable for the primary consumers, disabled and elderly people who could utilize the mechanism to have greater access to their lighting system. Furthermore, I tried to consider the companies who would be manufacturing these systems, and which design would be most optimal to them to produce a large amount of high quality products to allow it to reach the people in need. Considering all of this, the design parameters I selected were cost, reliability, aesthetic, ease of installation, and manufacturability.

Cost - 25 % - Many elderly people are no longer generating a yearly income, and therefore need to watch their expenditures more closely. Therefore, cost is a big factor to consider, making sure that they can afford to acquire this mechanism, and potentially more than one in order to have access to all of the different lighting systems around their home.

Reliability - 30 % - This is the highest ranked evaluation criteria because it's important that the mechanism will work properly and turn the light on and off with little to no malfunctions, even after repeated usage. Otherwise it will not accurately fulfill the intended purpose, and make it difficult for the user to adjust the light as the original source (the switch) will be covered by the box holding in the inner mechanisms.

Aesthetic - 15% - If this item is expected to cover the light switches in someones home, it is often important for the consumer that it is visually appealing. Therefore, it would need to be a product that is aesthetically pleasing and does not take up too much space in the room.

Ease of Installation - 15% - The installation process is very important in determining the best strategy design. This is because, while it is only a one time thing, if any maintenance or replacement ever needs to be done to the product in the future, specifically the DC Motor, it would be very helpful if it could be easy attached or removed from the light switch.

Manufacturability - 15% - The more simple the manufacturing process, the more likely a company would be to produce a larger quantity of the produce and to sell it for a cheaper price. It is important to design a produce will more simplistic parts to manufacture that can be assembled at a cheaper cost, ultimately benefiting the company and the consumers.

After considering each of these factors and their respective weights, the strategy that won was module 1. This is because the specific needed components allow for a more convenient manufacturing process that contributes to a cheaper cost, as well as an easier arrangement for installation and repair later on. Furthermore, since all of the components are directly in the main box, it leaves less room for the shaft and motor to move around, and therefore a more reliable design that should properly function and move the light switch each time. It is therefore most aesthetic too, since it is once again all contained in the main box rather than a small box to the side like in the third module. All of this considered, module 1 is the design I have selected to move forward in my passion project.

I learned the importance of safety factors in order to account for any unexpected additional stresses or applied forces, ensuring your mechanism will be able to withstand them.

Everything truly does takes twice as long, especially when it involves depending upon a computer program that may not always want to function properly. It truly is important to get started early and leave plenty of time for unexpected issues.

Each component plays an important role in the overall subassembly and ensuring that the device is able to effectively carry out its set purpose.

Updated the problem statement, including the new phase I am in for the project on 11/14/20 from 1 - 1:30 pm

Wrote out the new assumptions that are relevant to my newly configured subassembly and components on 11/15/2020 from 4 - 5 pm

Determined the categories the decision matrix would be based upon and their percentages on 11/17/2020 from 10 - 11 am

Ranked the 3 modules in the decision matrix and determined which was the best to proceed with on 11/18/2020 from 9 - 10:30 am

Started creating the components for the selected sub-assembly on 11/21/20 from 4 - 5:30 pm

Finished the needed components and took screenshots of them on 11/24/20 from 3 - 5 pm

Created FRDPARRC Tables for each of the components on 11/29/20 from 3 - 5 pm

Updated the Gantt chart for Unit 5 on 11/30/20 from 1 - 1:30 pm

Reviewed advisee projects and provided helpful feedback on 12/1/20 from 12 - 12:20 pm

Reviewed completed materials and uploaded to website on 12/2/20 from 2 - 4 pm

Great job! Your CAD Models are very detailed and I can tell you thought through all of the needed calculations to make this a successful design. However, since you only have two components I would consider breaking down one of the subassembly's to a more simplistic design to allow for more components to analyze.