Natalie LoVullo
Mechanical Engineering 2156 Portfolio
Design a hand-held tool that can remove plastifications from an industrial convener belt used for non woven polymer extrusion. The handle needs to be long enough to keep operators outside of the 32" machine guarding. There also needs to be a section of the handle in order to fit in the sliding mechanism at the back of the machine. The scraper head need to be large enough to be supported by the inch diameter pole. The tool also needs to have a mechanism built into the handle that allows for give and feedback from the belt. The tool must be able to be held against the best and moved side to side along the belt to remove plastifications along all areas of the belt.
Activities Date and Time: 1/22/2018 -5:00pm Concept Design: Hand drawn models of 3 separate strategies for design. 1/24-1/25 -5:00pm Material Choice: Research different plastic materials that will hold up against constant friction and use. Material will be ordered after approval from EHS. 2/3-2/10 -5:00pm Hand cut two blade designs with dremels and other tools for prototyping. 2/11-3/2 -5:00pm Handel development and design. Mock drawings of handles will be created and shown for approval. A shop will be chosen to produce our finished handle. 3/5-3/11 -5:00pm Assembly of three prototypes will be complete and ready for testing and operator training.
The scraper tool head will be made out of a polyurethane. Bolted onto an aluminium pole with length 5'and will be crushed in a vice to create the taper necessary to fit into the mount. The scraper blade will be 10" in width with a thickness of 1.5" and will be 6" in depth connecting via a cut out to the aluminium pole.
SketchesThe scraper head will be 10" in length and 4.25" in depth with a 1" thickness, cut from a polyurethane sheet. It will have a collar that will slide onto the pole in order for quick removal and change of an old blade. The pole will have a machined aluminium 5" pole with the tapered piece 6" from the collar. That feature will also be 6" in length so that it will fit into the slide mount at the back of the line. Scraper Head Collar Assembly Handle Drawing Power FRDPARRC
The scraper head will be 6" in width, 4.25" in depth and cut out of 1" thick nylon sheeting. It will be attached to a shock absorber (1/5 size) with a bolt and nut that will be tightened with a socket wrench. The shock absorber will then screw into the handle with will be 5' in length machined from aluminium. There will be a cut made in the pole in order to shape the taper needed to fit into the slide mount. Tool Head Dimensions Tool Head View Shock Absorber Placement Tool Handle Power FRDPARRC
It is very easy to fall into a channel line of thinking when designing a tool for a company that already has something in mind. The autonomy that this assignment offered really helped me to look at all angles of what I was designing and confirmed my decision in creating a tool styled like I have. I learned that the larger amount of constraints, the less creativity in design you have.
Walker: Your strategies are vague enough to have a lot of room for creativity and specific concept designs. Although your FRDPARRC table is simple, it shows the structure that is required to begin such projects like this. My advice would be to try and expand more on your risks. There are a lot of factors to consider when changing process. Logan: Your page is clean and thorough. Your FRDPARRC table has a lot of technical information but lacks the information regarding personnel and construction. I like your pencil designs but they came up a little dull on my screen.
