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Natalie LoVullo

Mechanical Engineering 2156 Portfolio



Assignment 5

Problem Statement

Design a hand held belt scraping tool that can fit into a 1 1/2 " diameter slot on a low friction railing 32" off the belt line to remove plastifications from and industrial conveyor belt. It should keep the operators safe while allowing feedback and maneuverability that allows for movement of the scraper tool without punching through the belt. This tool should have a mechanism to adjust the angle that the scraper blade makes with the belt with a quick release or easy release for the angle to be changed in a timely manner as the operator cleans. The tool will be cut out of 1" thick nylon plastic. The area that will need to be assembled will be the shock absorber to the nylon head. It will need to go through 1 1/4" and then fasten together and have enough clamping force to eliminate the movment of the head.


Assumptions

The tool needs to be able to work at belt speeds above 340 meters per minute.It needs to touch the belt with enough force to remove plastifications but not enough to puncture or wear the belt. The tool head should be movable and should have a mechanism with enough clamping force to secure the angle under pressure from the operator.The clamping force that is needed to overcome can be found statically with frictional analysis.

Gantt Chart

This Gantt chart is a rough representation of this project time line. At this point (April 10th 2018) The project has been initiated on the line. In real life, it has been. The Gantt Chart is symbolic at this point. The project has been completed.

Decision Matrix

Cost: Cost is the defining factor for most manufacturing processes. It determines which strategies will grow into concepts and which concepts become applied practices. For this particular problem, the cost is the defining factor as to which strategy will be used, thus it is weighted 40%.
Time Efficiency: The amount of time it will take each strategy to be developed into a product is important for this project's success. It is 5% of the total importance of the decision matrix.
Manuverability: Each strategy has been given a number based on the Manuverability of strategy. This means that the strategy should be easily moved out of the way of the operators during belt changes and routeing maintenance. This has been given a relative weight of 10%.
Ease ofAdjustment:This refers to the ability of the scraper head angle to change in relation to the belt face. As this is of considerable importance to the cleaning process, it has been allotted 15% weight.
Feedback: Each strategy should work so as to recognize feedback movement from the belt as to not tear or cause further problems. This has been assigned 5% weight.
Safety: The entire premise of this design project is to ensure that operators are kept at a safe distance from the moving machine and to keep their hands away from the belt to avoid injury. This is the second most important factor in choosing the proper strategy. It has been allotted 25% relative weight.

Component 1: 3/8th High- Strength Steel Hex Head Screw Grade 8

The fastener that will connect the head to the shock will be a 3/8th High- Strength Steel Hex Head Screw of Grade 8. It will be 1 1/2" in length. The bolt will go through each leg of the head and the top of the shock absorber. The clamping force will be calculated between all three faces and the nut that will be attached to the end in order to increase the friction to the degree that

Degree of Freedom: Zero

SolidWork File
Math Analysis
FRDPARRC

Component 2: 1/4 " Aluminium Hex Head Screw

The fastener will connect the head to the shock will be 2" in length with a minor diameter of 1/4". The bolt will go through each leg of the head and the top of the shock absorber. The clamping force will be calculated between all three faces and the nut that will be attached to the end in order to increase the friction to the degree that all faces will stay static. The aluminium offers a light weight and cheap still strong clamping force.
Aluminium Screw File
Math Analysis
FRDPARRC


Component 3: Steel Thread-Locking Hex Head Screws—Grade 8

This fastener will connect the head to the shock. It will be 1 3/4" in length with a 3/8" diameter. It will be a vibration resistant thread locking screw with Zinc Yellow-Chromate Plated coating.This will allow for a better stagnant clamping force that will keep the forces constant when the tool is being used on the line.
Solid Model For Vibration Resistant
Math Analysis
FRDPARRC

What I've Learned:

This concept's simplicity tends towards a tunnel vision approach to its design. Fasteners are very specific to their application and it is important that the clamping force is appropriate for the design this limits the type and configuration of the design component.

To my Advisees:

Walker: I appreciate the cohesive layout of your page. I like that you tired to incorporate actual picutres of your solid models into your webpage but wished they were of the design as a whole instead of a zoomed in focused section. perhaps next time, try to incorporate both aspects into your webpage for a more through visual aid.

Logan: Your page is clean and thorough. I really like your 3D models with the colour coated parts. I think that it gives a nice focus as well as the reader of the page and idea of how the whole fits together. Your Gantt Chart is still a scroll through box which I would like to see either condensed into a single page or perhaps expanded so that it can be viewed as whole.