Engineering Commons^™

Exercise Power Grid Display And Web Interface, Alexander (Alex) Chernetz

Computer Engineering

The 2008-2009 expansion of the Recreation Center at Cal Poly includes three new rooms with cardiovascular fitness equipment. As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainable development, the new machines connect to the main power grid and generate power during a workout. This document explains the process of quantifying and expressing the power generated using two interfaces: an autonomous display designed for a television with a text size and amount of detail adaptable to multiple television sizes and viewing distances, and an interactive, more detailed Web interface accessible with any Java-capable computer system or browser.

Formula Sae Interchangeable Independent Rear Suspension Design, Mike Mccune, Daniel Nunes, Mike Patton, Courtney Richardson, Evan Sparer

Mechanical Engineering

The Suspension Solutions design team has completely designed built and tested an independent rear suspension system for the 2008 FSAE car. The car currently features a solid rear axle, and the task of converting it to incorporate an interchangeable rear suspension has been undertaken in order to quantify the advantages and disadvantages of each design philosophy. The car has been properly tested with both the solid axle and independent rear suspension side-by-side, however more testing is suggested. After pushing both setups to their limits on a 50ft diameter skid pad, the test results were quantified, and a final comparison between …

Broccoli Floret Cutter: Gold Coast Packaging, Inc., Sean Stamm, Walter Salguero, Felipe Gomez Jr, Ruben Duenas

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Material Sustainability, Jessica Meadows, Natasha Morris

Architectural Engineering

This paper addresses the sustainability of the materials used to construct buildings today. Timber, concrete and steel are analyzed for carbon output, cost, and recyclable-ability.

Tsukahara: A Comprehensive Web Solution Designed To Simplify The Process Of Hosting A Gymnastics Meet., Jonathan Thomassian

Computer Science and Software Engineering

The process of setting up a gymnastics meet is long and complicated. Most meets organized today involve large amounts of paperwork by both organizing gyms and attending gyms. Tsukahara seeks to address this issue by providing a comprehensive web based solution, to make it easy for gyms to both host and attend meets.

Analysis And Selection Of New Rental Paintball Masks For Gladiator Paintball Park, Geoff Wakefield

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This project is designed to select new rental paintball masks for Gladiator Paintball Park. The currently used rental masks are worn down and need replacement. Criteria for new rental masks are examined and include customer preferences, owner's constraints, and time studies. Candidate masks were found by asking customers what they like in rental masks, interviewing other paintball field owners, and referring to the online paintball community. Three candidate masks were found, the V-Force Vantage, JT Alpha, and Kingman java paintball masks. These masks were compared to the currently used rental masks, the V-Force Armor. Customers were surveyed to find out …

Acs Custom Creation's New Business And Assembly Operations, Kent Christensen

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

ACS Custom Creations had assembly and business operations that wasted time and wasted money. The objective of the project is to improve and implement ACS Custom Creations business and manufacturing operations. The proposed assembly process involves the rearranging of the bottlenecked steps to eliminate constraints. The assembly workstations were also redesigned to reduce cycle time. With the improvement of the new assembly and business operations, ACS is poised to grow into a bigger company. Financial Statements were created to improve visibility of the company’s historical data. These financial statements include an income statement, balance sheet, and a cash flow statement. …

Solder Qwik Pentm, Katherine E. Robbins

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Electronics soldering is a technique used frequently in the manufacturing of Printed

Circuit Boards (PCB) to attach small electronic parts or wires together. Often times

the need to remove a solder joint arises; this is known as desoldering. Solder wick,

fine braided copper wire infused with rosin, is one of the most effective ways to

desolder because it results in the cleanest joints. Currently using solder wick

involves several time consuming and somewhat awkward steps. This report will

cover the process behind designing, manufacturing, and testing a new ergonomic,

dispenser for solder wick that can be used with one hand. …

Design, Reconstruction And Evaluation Of A Dynamometer For Quarter Scale, Samuel Sanchez

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project discusses the design, reconstruction, and evaluation of a dynamometer. A new test stand for the Quarter Scale team would improve the testing of the engines and the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). All the readings will be done electronically in order to provide the most accurate data collection. The dynamometer will be a closed hydraulic system for ease of use. This system will be able to test all of Quarter Scale engines. The data collected will be used to determine which engines are in the best condition, and which may need to be fixed. With the new design, the …

Design, Construction And Evaluation Of A Fueltank/Tool Box Combination, Michael R. Chase Jr

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project is the design and development of a combination tool box and auxiliary fuel tank built as a single unit, specifically built for a 2000 Ford F250 short bed truck; having a fuel capacity exceeding 50 gallons; meeting federal requirements for motor vehicle fuel tanks; performing as an auxiliary tank using the factory fuel gauge and having a tool box that can carry a wide array of tools. This paper will describe the design considerations, the regulation requirements, the material selection, and the construction process of the combination tool box/fuel tank.

Module Cover Conductivity Enhancement, Niles Dhanens, James Fortner

Mechanical Engineering

A clam shell module cover for printed circuit boards (PCB) has been designed for use in Boeing’s AECM cabinet. The cover utilizes materials with high thermal conductivity and cools the PCB by conducting the heat to a cold plate interface. Materials were compared and aluminum 6061-T6, aluminum 3003, and annealed pyrolytic graphite (APG) were chosen. A prototype was built and tested using aluminum 6061-T6 which was able to dissipate 57.7% of the projected wattage. Issues may include unforeseen complications in assembly along with components performing at lower levels than specified by manufacturers. The APG prototype was unable to be tested …

Session Initiation Protocol Server Implementation For Linksys Routers, Matthew Duder

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signaling protocol used for network-based media interaction. SIP Servers are required to process and forward requests and responses between end clients. Once connection setup is complete, the end clients utilize some other protocol (such as Real-Time Transport Protocol) to complete their task.

Such a server may be implemented and installed on routers. Unlike the SIP protocol, however, router development currently remains without standards. For this project, Linux-based residential-grade routers had their kernels replaced with an open source version. This allowed for installation of open-source development, such as a SIP server implementation.

This project led …

Redesigning Src2pkg, A Linux Package Creation Toolkit, Timothy Goya

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Package managers ease installation and removal of applications. However, as the name indicates, in order for a package manager to be useful, they need packages created from upstream sources to manage. This is the purpose of src2pkg, a toolkit written in Bash shell script which automates many package creation tasks. src2pkg, however, suffers from major design flaws that cripple its ability to package some exotic upstream sources. src2pkg-ng is a prototype redesign of src2pkg that eliminates these flaws. src2pkg-ng fully supports creating packages for Slackware and Slackware-compatible variants for at least 21 upstream sources with various levels of complexity. Debian …

Punching Bag Trainer, Gian Delacruz

Electrical Engineering

Martial artists, such as boxers, kick boxers, and karate practitioners, use punching bags in training all the time to work on technique, speed and power but there hasn’t really been a good way to train reaction and combination speed (a combination is a string of strikes) without the aid of a training partner. Reaction and combination speed are important in competition because a faster competitor can attack successfully before his or her opponent has the time to react. This device aims to help martial artists increase reaction and combination speed through the use of randomly flashing targets attached to a …

Dc-Dc Converter For Harvesting Energy From An Exercise Bike, Henry Ureh, Chris Henry

Electrical Engineering

Create an efficient buck-boost converter that adapts to input voltage range from ~3.8V to 70V, and outputs 13.7V DC, the voltage required by a charge controller to charge a battery. The energy stored in the battery will be supplied back to the grid.

The cost of energy saved by the converter should eventually cover the initial price of the converter. The converter should help reduce the net power consumption of the exercise machines used in the Cal Poly gym

Lab-Scale Thyristor Rectifier And Static Var Compensator Circuits, Haroun Idris, Ibrahim Idris

Electrical Engineering

The purpose of this project is to design thyristor circuits by using single-phase FCRO 4100 firing board donated by ENERPRO. These circuits in conjunction with a thyristor module will be used for future lab experiments in power electronics courses.

The first part of this project is to study the full effect of a firing angle on a controlled single phase full bridge thyristor rectifier circuit. Furthermore, the resulting circuit setup will be implemented as part of future lab experiments in Power Electronics I course. The next purpose of this project is to design a small-scale Static VAR Compensator (SVC) lab …

Energy Harvesting From Elliptical Machines: Dc Converter Troubleshooting, Michelle Lum, Jonathan Yuen

Electrical Engineering

In continuing the global effort to integrate innovative technology and renewable energy in the world’s power system, Cal Poly endeavors to harvest energy from elliptical machines and feed that power back into the electrical grid. This continuation of the previous project, Energy Harvesting from Exercise Machines Self‐generating Elliptical Machines, seeks an alternative DC to DC converter to function within the existing elliptical self‐generating system. By attempting to implement this new DC to DC converter, the project strives to reduce the size of the converter in order to mount it on the elliptical machine. The project also tries to explain how …

Rfid Modeling, Characterization, And Optimization, Joseph A. Cudrnak

Electrical Engineering

Passive RFID tags may be used to transmit a message to a reader. This technology is useful for many applications, including inventory systems. However, due to electromagnetic cancellation on conductive surfaces, the reader cannot detect RFID tags placed directly on conductive objects. Using tag characterization in an RF anechoic chamber and modeling in HFSS, three types of Omni ID tags were characterized and a design was proposed to maximize signal power delivered to the reader.

Protected Ir Input System, Kevin Ersoy

Electrical Engineering

The result of this project is a product that may be used to apply a digital input to a system without physically touching a device. The combination of a modulated IR signal and reflective technology produces this remote actuation. The signal emitter should produce the modulated IR light, and the receiver should continuously wait for this signal to be received. If the IR signal should encounter an obstruction causing reflection at the appropriate distance, it will be reflected directly into the receiving device. This project may be extended to include multiple duplicate systems in proximity by transmitting a modulated digital …

Passivation Of Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes, Stephen A. Fehrman

Electrical Engineering

This senior project investigates various methods of packaging polymer LEDs. The polymer LEDs fabricated in the EE 422 Polymer Electronics lab use calcium cathodes. While calcium acts as an excellent low work function electrode, it quickly oxidizes in the presence of oxygen or water. Additionally, the intrusion of water can degrade the OC1C10-PPV electroluminescent polymer and the PEDOT polymer. Therefore, in order to use these devices outside the inert atmosphere of a glove box, we must first apply a passivation layer that inhibits the deterioration of these materials.

For this project I will test two packaging methods. The first method …

High Contrast Grayscale Object Tracking Embedded System Design, Scott Donald Neally

Electrical Engineering

The purpose of this project is to prove that a real-time object-tracking camera can be implemented using the Digilent NEXYS board with Xilinx Platform Studio. With great ambition I set to implement the camera with RGB color tracking of bright green objects. This would make segmentation between the object of interest and its background much easier, allowing less stringent requirements on the background color beyond the object. Because of time restraints, the actual implementation remains as 8-bit grayscale, where the object of interest is intended to be white and highly contrasted from its black background. A simple algorithm is used …

Simpler Packaging, Tomiko Oden

Graphic Communication

This project explains how product packaging is become more "green", and thus more simple. Packaging needs to go beyond just simplifying materials and graphics - it needs to create a simpler process in order to reduce wasted time, energy, and resources.

Hydraulic Hand Press Final Project Report, Nathaniel Marc Brown, Matthew Thomas Knorr

Mechanical Engineering

This report provides a thorough description of the design of a hydraulic hand-operated press by mechanical engineering students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, for the Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles, California. It begins with research into hydraulic operations, a brief study of fluid power and incompressible fluids, and a look into existing products. Specified customer requirements stipulate the loading and general size constraints. As part of the project, a schedule is laid out following industry techniques. Brainstorming and decision matrices are utilized as well, conveying our design process. A basic structure is developed using strength …

Best-In-Class Global Bumper Reinforcement Beam, Garret Anthony Bautista, Chad Anthony Hardin, Benjamin Ray Taylor

Mechanical Engineering

Modern bumper systems are governed by laws and regulations imposed separately by various countries. Today, the regulations in China, North America, and Europe are becoming more similar, but there is not a widely accepted bumper reinforcement that meets the requirements of all markets around the globe.

A universal bumper reinforcement beam incorporating Plug-n-Play techniques was developed to meet and exceed all testing requirements and performance standards of each country. These Plug-n-Play techniques consist of adding energy absorbing attachments to the front of a base bumper beam. Simple beam analysis and FEA were the primary analysis tools in the development of …

Pump Sequencing Optimization, John S. Allan, Kyle J. Nekimken, Spencer B. Weills

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this document is to demonstrate the design, production, and testing of optimum pump sequencing logic for variable frequency drive (VFD) pumps in commercial heating ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The product will be developed by Pump Efficiency Solutions (PES), which is a group of Cal Poly students working on their senior project. The product is being developed for Trane, an industry leader in large scale HVAC systems. MATLAB™, Microsoft Excel, Pump System Improvement Modeling Tool™ (PSIM), and fluid mechanics hand calculations were used during software development. Next, we converted the program into Trane’s graphical programming language …

Boundary Layer Data System (Blds) Heating System, John Hauge, Drew Hutcheson, Paul Scott

Mechanical Engineering

The boundary layer data system (BLDS) is the result of a collaborative effort between Dr. Westphal, a researcher and instructor at Cal Poly, and Northrop Grumman. The BLDS is capable of measuring the boundary layer profile and characteristics of flow over aerodynamic surfaces and is intended for high altitude, high speed use. The instruments inside the BLDS malfunction at the low temperatures present when operating in flight at altitudes above 30,000 ft. To solve this problem, analysis was done on the existing BLDS which determined the heating requirements, around 50 watts, needed to keep the internal temperature within the rated …

Two-Material Cylinder Stress Response Software, Katherine Gage, Matt Highstreet, Liz Del Cid

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Callaway Golf: Variable Curved Impulse Sealer, Justin Cook, Ben Jones, Sean Reynolds

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Indirect Pipe Pressure Measurement, Clayde Barkley, Mikel Betts, Anthony Olay

Mechanical Engineering

Statement of Confidentiality The complete senior project report was submitted to the project advisor and sponsor. The results of this project are of a confidential nature and will not be published at this time.

Chip Removal Tool Project, Brett Mori, John Cote, Kyle Rowland, Micah Wells

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly senior project team worked with Helical Products Inc. to develop an automated method for removing swarf and chip buildup from the drill bits of their CNC milling machines. The removal methods in this report were designed for and tested using a Fanuc Robodrill while keeping the potential in mind for their use in other CNC milling machines. After extensive background research, preliminary and prototype design and testing the final chosen design is shown below. The cleaning device is made from flexible sheet metal and placed on a fixture that occupies one of the two pallet locations inside …