MECH 8290 - Capstone Project 2
Capstone Project 2, Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering.
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- Design and prototype of a 3D printer
- The following report outlines the detailed design process followed by the construction of a 3D printer prototype was conducted throughout this project. The purpose of the project was to create a 3D printer with tool changing capabilities, a high degree of resolution, and a print volume of 300x300x300mm. The final product was handed over to Stephen McMillan, at which point it was added to BCIT’s fleet of rapid prototyping technologies. The design process followed that of typical iterative engineering design methodology. Initially, the process began with rough hand sketches and conceptual design reviews, followed by solid modelling in SolidWorks, and finally the construction of a physical prototype. Initial difficulties included finding the optimal placement of the critical components throughout the frame such as the electronics and the X, Y, and Z motion control systems. Deciding on the placement and orientation of each of the major components required the use of much foresight into the latter stages of project progression. Throughout the manufacturing process, it was found that many of the design choices required an immense amount of time in the shop due to lack of experience and high tolerances – this further extended the project length due to the vast number of custom parts created. Testing and calibration procedures had to be performed in a systematic manner due to the inherent dependency of systems between one another, requiring an extensive trial and error process to achieve the desired results. A project scope change was required to be made after the final design was agreed upon due to the tool changing components not being made commercially available, and were instead stuck in beta testing phases. The shift from this major scope change required a high degree of adaptability in order to work around the road block while still providing the proof of concept and infrastructure required to meet the initial goal. Throughout the manufacturing process, the design of the model also changed, allowing for a significant decrease in the total time required for construction, making predominantly minor adjustments where needed. Once the manufacturing was complete, tolerance stack-up was considered and remedied through the extensive foresight of adjustable mounting options. The resulting motion control systems were executed as originally planned, with a rising and lowering Z-axis and a planar CoreXY motion system positioned at the top of the printer. Further results included the successful integration of the electronics with the aforementioned motion systems –providing the adequate power, safety, and maintenance requirements. Through the employment of an extensive design process backed up by key resources and expertise, the revised project goals set forth during the project were successfully completed. The total cost of the project was just over $2,300 CAD, a fraction of comparable products available on the market.
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- Front-end wheelchair attachment analysis
- The objective of this project is to develop a SolidWorks simulation model which reflects the same geometry as a physical model given by the sponsor, furthermore has the capability to conduct accurate static loading simulations. As well an objective is to conduct a static simulation stress study on the foot-peg of the wheelchair to simulate and determine the stresses that are formed by a 200lb load (mimicking a person) on the wheelchair while the front-end attachment is secured onto the foot-peg. To ensure the results gathered from simulations are correct, physical validation conducted using a strain gauge test and an analytical calculation were used to determine the stresses at a specified point. Using the simulation and two validation methods, an acceptable result for the stress at a specified location on the frame can be verified and analyzed. The purpose being to determine if the SolidWorks simulation model results at the same point can be validated by the physical and analytical.
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- Geo-thermal heat exchange system
- Geo-exchange systems allow heat pumps to be operable in colder regions where the low efficiency of conventional heat pumps prohibit their usage. The barriers to the widespread usage of the geo-exchange systems are as following: 1) the high costs associated with the installation of the deep-well heat exchangers and horizontal-trench heat exchangers, 2) the high cost of real-estate in urban/suburban areas supporting the required footprint. The aims of this project (phases I-III) is to increase the energy density of geo-exchange (heat) systems resulting in reduced installation costs and land requirements. Theoretically, by burying a fluid (water) filled tank, hosting the outdoor heat-exchanger, in the ground and below the frost line, a stable temperature could be achieved. This provides an optimal location for year-round heat transfer from the surrounding ground to the water within the tank and from the water to the heat-exchanger. The project focused on the proper instrumentation of the system (using electronic sensors, a mini-computer, and the required coding/programming) as well as the ground-heat source (simulation) and aimed to build upon the phases I & II. The instrumentation of the system was achieved using appropriate electronics. The installation of the heat belt and the insulation of the tank had no effect on the COP of the heat pump and/or the heat transfer rate as made possible to be evaluated by the instrumentation and the data analysis. However, the installation of the heat belt and the insulation of the tank increased the system lockout time by ~ 14 hours.
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- MATE 2018 ROV Competition
- Deep Blue Marine Engineering (DBME) has developed an ROV that satisifies the design requirements outlined in the RFP submitted by the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at the University of Washington. DBME’s Marauder was designed and built by a team of 4 mechanical engineering students from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). Marauder was prototyped to perform tasks required for locating and recovering the engine of a vintage airplane, installing a seismometer, and installing a tidal turbine and instrumentation to monitor its marine environment. Marauder was intially prototyped at BCIT’s Burnaby campus before it underwent thorough and rigirous testing at the BCIT Marine Campus to ensure functionality and reliability when performing the required tasks. To complete the scope of work provided by the APL at the University of Washington, DBME was organized into mechanical and electrical design teams. A collaborative design approach between mechanical and electrical design teams was used to insure functionality and control of mission specific tooling during prototyping and testing. Marauder’s frame and tooling was precision manufactured using in-house equipment that includes a 3-axis CNC mill, a water jet cutter, and multiple 3D printers to insure component fitment and potential development of multiple prototypes. Furthermore, with the aid of precision manufacturing equipment, Marauder’s frame and tooling was also designed to meet the minimal size and weight requirements for ease of portability. The following technical document outlines the design process and results produced by BCIT Deep Blue Marine Engineering during the development and prototyping of Marauder.
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- Multi source heat pump for geoexchange systems (GXS)
- With the use and effectiveness of conventional heat pumps decreasing drastically in colder climate regions, geo-exchange systems have become the solution to allow heat pumps to still be operable in these colder regions. However, with the high costs of installation required for deep-well heat exchangers and horizontal-trench heat exchangers, and the high cost of land in high-density urban/suburban areas, their adoption is still small. For this reason, this project aims to increase the energy density of geo-exchange systems so that high installation costs are not required, and large land requirements become non-existent.
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- Remote torque and speed data logger
- Baja SAE is an intercollegiate design competition hosted by SAE International, previously known as the Society of Automotive Engineers. At each event, more than 100 teams compete to design, build, and race light off-road vehicles. The British Columbia Institute of Technology is represented by its SAE-affiliated team, BCIT Racing, which has competed in four SAE events since 2015, and is in the early stages of designing and building a third-generation race vehicle. This paper describes the design, function and use of a wireless torque and rotation data logger device, which attaches to a vehicle’s drive axle for the purpose of observing drivetrain loads. The project was proposed by BCIT faculty member Adam Marciniak, in his role as BCIT Racing’s faculty supervisor. Upon completion, the data logger prototype will be used by BCIT Racing to determine peak force loads in the gearbox and drivetrain of the team’s Baja SAE race vehicle. This data will be used during the design of the team’s third-generation vehicle. The data logger project can be divided into three functional components: the housing, electronics, and software. The housing provides protection for sensitive electronics and sensors, and the software is used to gather sensor data and transmit it to a mobile phone application. At the time of this report, all sensors have been validated, and data is being successfully captured and stored. Recommendations for future work will be included in the report conclusions.
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- Rexroth Bosch two axis servo trainer
- This document is a final report on the fourth-year mechanical engineering Capstone project: Two-Axis Servo Trainer/Bolt Tightener. This report covers the project background, current status, theory, activities, results, and conclusions. The project was sponsored by Rexroth Bosch who provided the opportunity to two BCIT fourth-year mechanical Capstone groups. The project was to create a physical servo motor trainer for learning employees and clients. The mechanism must be based on a commonly automated industry task, require position, velocity, and torque control, and 2-axis synchronization.
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- Skateboard truck testing device
- Skateboard trucks are one of the three major components that, when assembled together, make up a skateboard along with the skateboard deck and wheels. The truck connects the deck to the wheels and translates the tilting motion of the deck to a turning motion of the truck to cause a turning response. As such, there is a relationship between how much the deck tilts to how much the trucks turn. Furthermore, the truck itself can come in varying sizes and configurations. The axle length, hardness of the bushings used and the angle that the truck sits on relative to the deck all can vary to provide a different feel and response for the rider of the skateboard. Although skateboards have been used since the early 1960’s, no device has been created to quantify the feel that skateboard riders feel with varying configurations of the truck. The purpose of this device is to provide quantitative data and results for each truck configuration tested so that the response of differing setups can be compared and provide valuable results for either riders or companies that design skateboard trucks.
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- Truck bed bike rack
- McMillian’s Bike Co. contracted Wix Design Ltd. to design and prototype a bike rack situated in the bed of a truck. After doing a survey of their customers, McMillian’s Bike Co. found that customers were not satisfied with the current products in the market for transporting bicycles and believes there is a unique product development opportunity. The objectives that McMillian’s Bike Co. aim to fulfill is that the product be modular, compact, easy to use/install, versatile, affordable and secure. In terms of compactness the product should be able to hold at least four bikes with the potential of holding up to five. The product should be versatile in terms of securing different types of bikes that can range from BMX bikes to large mountain bikes. The product should be able to be broken down into modular units so that one can choose how many bikes can be attached to the rack. The design team from Wix Design Ltd. set out to design a product that would meet these criteria.