Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Sae Small Vehicle Lifts, Augustus G. Holz, Nathan K. Harry, Tobias W. Shirts

Mechanical Engineering

The SAE (Society for Automotive Engineers) vehicle teams at Cal Poly need an easy way to access the undersides of their vehicles to facilitate maintenance and servicing. The purpose of this project was to provide a solution that could lift the vehicles effectively and safely from above so that the underside of the vehicles can be accessed, as well as elevating the vehicles to an ergonomic working height. Design specifications were determined based off each vehicle’s requirements in addition to what the team intends to do with their suspended vehicle. After several concept iterations, the team decided to purchase an …

Collision Mitigation System: Pedestrian Test Target, Final Design Report, Timothy Ryan Lee, Melanie Lim, Tiffany Margaret Prather, Chris Michael Welch

Mechanical Engineering

Daimler Trucks North America is creating an advanced emergency braking system which uses radar sensors that detect pedestrians and automatically applies the brakes to bring the vehicle to a stop. To improve and validate their technology, they need a mechanical pedestrian target that can mimic a human walking across the street. However, the assisted braking may not work properly during every test and the pedestrian target must be able to survive impact with a vehicle at low speeds. Four senior Mechanical Engineering students from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo decided to take on the challenge.

The main features …

Guided Target Control System Final Design Report, John Barry, Zachary Eagan, Ryan Mackintosh

Mechanical Engineering

Daimler Automotive, the parent company of Mercedes-benz requires improved methods for testing their Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems. To this end they have presented a series of four senior projects to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. One of the Projects is to build a facsimile of a human crossing the street. The other three projects of which this is a part; are to produce an autonomous car facsimile. These projects are intended for use in testing new Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems and may serve as the basis for future senior projects.

Development Of 3d Compression Molded Composite Primary Structure, Sean D. Tischler, Jacob H. Goldstein, Alea A. Perez

Mechanical Engineering

The work accomplished by the Black Gold team improved upon the carbon fiber compression molding research and information available on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus. The team used the rear suspension rocker arm off a Ventana Alpino mountain bike as a design goal for this project. This research and body of work includes the methods used to design a compression molded part for complex part loading and shape. This extends to the process of choosing an appropriate layup process, in addition to benefits and drawbacks of the use of chopped fibers in compression molding. The research includes the …

Small-Scale Intelligent Vehicle Design Platform, Christopher Grant, Jay Miley, Evan Phillips

Mechanical Engineering

Intelligent Vehicle Design is a growing field with the potential to save many lives by actively minimizing the impacts of human error. Though there are many ways to research intelligent vehicle control, full-scale implementations are expensive and dangerous and computer simulations have extremely steep learning curves. Researchers and students need an accessible, adaptable, and robust development platform to rapidly create and test autonomous control algorithms. While small-scale platforms are often designed from the ground up for specific projects, this requires analysis, design, and manufacture. The goal of this project is to develop a small-scale intelligent vehicle that can be configured …

Marine Biomass Analyzer, Kai Jay Staal, Brian Paris, Tyler Cottle

Mechanical Engineering

This report documents the design, fabrication, and testing for a marine biomass analyzer. The goal of the project and constructed system was to determine the validity and efficacy of a process that could flatten benthic macrofauna to a consistent thickness such that a biomass for the collected sample could be accurately determined. The system that was built and tested consists of a drive train that turns a mill subassembly where the organisms are flattened, supply and collection spools that hold the white fabric and clear film used to capture the organisms, a collection zone where the sample is injected, and …

Leading Edge Boundary Layer Suction Device For The Cal Poly Rolling Road Wind Tunnel, Daniel C. Glover, Liam M. Madden, Robert J. Cabri

Mechanical Engineering

Over the course of three quarters from Fall of 2016 to Spring of 2017, our team designed and built a boundary layer suction device. The boundary layer suction device has three main functions: a scoop that redirects most of the boundary layer air out of the wind tunnel, fans that suck the remaining boundary layer air through a porous plate and ducting and out of the wind tunnel, and a transition bridge that transitions the remaining air smoothly onto the rolling road. The wind tunnel is owned by Cal Poly and the rolling road is a new addition to it. …

Universal Fixture For Orbital Tube Welding, Kevin P. Mcgowan, William Divittorio, Jesse Castaneda

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Megan's Treadmill, Michael Peck, Daniel Byrne, Eddie Ruano

Mechanical Engineering

Megan is a 21-year-old Special Olympian in the local San Luis Obispo area who loves to move. Due to a visual impairment, Megan is limited in the amount of time she can be active and she currently relies on the help of a partner when she exercises. For example, during the school year, Megan participates in the Friday Club in the local recreation center where she teams up with a kinesiology student to obtain physical activity. She also competes every year in the Special Olympics held at Cuesta College. Megan races in the 50- and 100-meter dash holding a baton …

Blend It Wine Blending Distribution System, Connor Clarry, Russell Temple, Matt Moren

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Cal Poly Compost Chomper, David Anthony Jungquist, Cory James Parmenter, Joseph Mark Mcgill

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this final design report is to detail the design, manufacturing, and testing of a bicycle powered compost cutter for use by the Captain Raymond Collin’s Elementary school. Students in the garden program are tired of manually chopping up garden waste into small enough pieces to be composted effectively. Project Sponsor and Master Gardener, Susan Deogracias had the idea to create a pedal powered compost cutter which would save time and improve moral for the aspiring gardeners.

This report details the ideation process the team went through in defining the compost cutting system. Engineering methods are documented for …

Micro-Spi Sediment Profile Imaging Micro-Inspector, Andrew P. Corvin, Caleb T. Davies, Matt R. Ferrari

Mechanical Engineering

This project was proposed by Dr. Brian Paavo through a desire to more easily study the benthic sediment layers of the ocean. To do so, he asked us to build a simple and compact machine for use in sediment profile imagery (SPI). Although devices like this already exist, they are all large scale devices that require a ship with a crane to deploy, which is expensive and time consuming. Instead, he desired a “micro” SPI, which is capable of being deployed from a small vessel that can easily navigate shallow waters. Our interpretation of these requirements was as follows: a …

Personal Utility Cart, Eric Joseph Johnson, Jason K. Munter, Sean R. Portune

Mechanical Engineering

This final design report will detail the entire engineering design process from conceptualization through manufacturing and testing. After introducing the topic and scope of the project this document presents all of the benchmarking and research performed in order to obtain as much information about similar current products and possible solutions. Next the objectives of the project are presented where the needs are transformed into engineering specifications that will guide the design of the product. Design developed is then presented with ideation, idea evaluation and selection, analysis, manufacturing considerations, and final design selection. The final design is then presented with each …

Pedal-Powered Drivetrain System, Geremy J. Patterson, Callaghan Fenerty, Bradley Welch

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Friction Test Machine, Alec J. Makowski, Megan Hardisty, Brandon L. Killian

Mechanical Engineering

Parker Aerospace is interested in collecting empirical data of friction coefficients for skewed roller bearings. A fixture will be designed, constructed and tested to allow a technician to quickly and easily measure the friction torque of a skew roller bearing with varying axial loads, geometries, lubricants, temperatures and rotational speeds in order to improve actuator efficiency.

Joseph's Jogger, Robert Trujillo, Carolina Reyes, Josh Egli, Luke Kraemer

Mechanical Engineering

Joseph Cornelius is a young man with spastic quadriplegia who loves the experience of being in triathlons. He actively participates in triathlons in which he is pushed in a jogger. His old jogger has become worn out and does not dampen road impacts which cause Joseph discomfort. Thus, the scope of this project was to create a new stroller in which he can be pushed efficiently for long distances and that dampens road impacts in order to allow Joseph to continue enjoying triathlons.

Electric Vehicle Drivetrain, Jimmy Andrew King, Kevin Kristopher Moore, Charissa Cadence Seid

Mechanical Engineering

This document serves to outline the design and development of Sharpell Technologies' ST5 electric vehicle drivetrain. Background research was conducted on various drivetrain components and testing methods, leading to the development of our drivetrain’s design requirements. Compiled in this report are the specifications of the components that will be integrated into our drivetrain design. All component calculations and specifications can be located in the appendices. An in-depth manufacturing plan features the modifications necessary to create several key components such as the shafts and housing. The assembly plan details a step-by-step process in which the components are arranged to ensure a …

Deployable Antenna For Cubesat, Mackenzie Thomas Lennon, Caleb Andrew Barber, David Matthew Galves

Mechanical Engineering

This project is a proof-of-concept ground model of a large deployable antenna designed for the small space requirements of CubeSats. This small deployment module is designed to fit a 2 m by 1 m reflective antenna inside a storage volume of with the dimensions 20 cm by 20 cm x 40 cm. The reflector will be deployed to a parabolic shape with the goal of modeling the reflector necessary for high frequency communication. Because this module is designed as a proof-of-concept for the deployable parabolic reflector specifically, no electrical components will be incorporated and will just focus on the deployment …

Drawing And Twisting Of Graphene Fibers, Gregory T. Lane, Robert J. Sekerak, Isaias Diaz

Mechanical Engineering

The aim of this project was to develop a more automated process for drawing and twisting of graphene fibers than was currently in place. This was implemented by having two chemical baths with variable speed rollers at either end, and intermediate roller to spool fiber between stages, and a twisting cylinder with integral spool to twist the fiber as it is collected. The goal was to have this first iteration deliver a working prototype, however due to manufacturing delays and timing constraints, that will be missed. A second follow-on project would be able to continue the work presented here and …

Maize Mill Senior Project, Jose Ignacio Delgado, Wesley C. Curtis, Charles Steese

Mechanical Engineering

Engineers Without Borders (EWB) has worked on several projects to help developing communities around the world build the infrastructure necessary for modern life. One of their projects is the creation of an inexpensive and easily manufactured maize mill that communities in Africa (mainly Malawi) can use to grind corn and make their main food source, Nsima. Geoffery Wheeler, an accomplished engineer and former mentor to EWB’s Malawi team, wants an inexpensive, easily manufacturable and effective maize mill that can be fabricated and sustained in Africa.

This report describes the process in which the Maize Mill Senior Project team created the …

Azelia's Walker, Jordan C. Ramsey, Kathleen C. Balfour, Jayne K. Benedict, Gabrielle Merkin

Mechanical Engineering

A Biomedical Engineering student, KC Balfour, two Mechanical Engineering students, Jayne Benedict and Gabrielle Merkin, and one Industrial Engineering student, Jordan Ramsey, make up the interdisciplinary senior project team of Azelia’s Walker. The goal of Azelia’s Walker is to create a custom walker for an 8-year-old girl in the San Luis Obispo Community, named Azelia, who has decreased motor control. Her current walker does not suit her active and energetic lifestyle, so Azelia’s Walker is challenged to design and manufacture a collapsible all-terrain walker that best suits Azelia’s needs. Throughout the academic year, Azelia’s Walker participated in the brain-storming and …

X-Beam Alignment System, Whittaker Ian Hamill, Joseph Michael Falcao, Robert Kim-Yan Tam

Mechanical Engineering

The goal of the project was to design, build, and test an automated machine for Micro-Vu that will align a pair of rails to the necessary precision and affix said rails to Micro-Vu's X-Beam as to reduce manual labor and human error.

Swanton Pacific Railroad - Track Maintainer Upgrades, Jakob Graf, Dustin Platt

Mechanical Engineering

This project’s sponsor is Swanton Pacific Railroad, a 1/3 scale railroad in Santa Cruz, CA. Our team was given the task of upgrading a maintenance cart used to clear debris from the track and level the gravel ballast during maintenance projects. Our focus was to upgrade the blowing system used to clear any debris. The current system used is a hydraulic fan with a single length of ducting serving as its outlet. Our solution is to mount two Stihl backpack leaf blowers to manufactured saddles and mount the assembly to the cart in place of the hydraulic fan. Ducting is …

Low-Cost Jetting System; Space And Naval Warfare Systems Command (Spawar), Carson B. Bush, Daly Sombat, Charles J. Kleeman

Mechanical Engineering

SPAWAR, a research and development side of the U.S. Navy, needed a way to bury classified payloads below the seafloor in order to anchor the devices. They currently use a jetting system that costs around $20,000 to do it, and they desired a cheaper system capable of performing the same tasks. SPAWAR presented the project to Cal Poly Mechanical Engineers as a senior project in the fall of 2016.

The design team that decided to take on the project was interested in creating the system with two key factors in mind in order to make the device less expensive.

1. …

Avalon Submersible Support Structure: Final Project Report, Alexandra Mililani Zaragoza, Octavio Mendoza, Austin Scott Eslinger

Mechanical Engineering

The MBMM, represented by our sponsor Bob McCay, is currently looking for a new way to support the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV), Avalon, that they have on display. The DSRV is currently sitting on a Short Haul Vehicle (SHV) trailer and the total weight (32 tons) is currently being supported by the SHV’s tires. This is a source of concern for the MBMM due to the weathering the tires have undergone combined with the amount of time that they have been supporting the weight. The MBMM is looking for a support structure that will take the weight off of …

Cal Poly Supermileage Steering System, Lucas S. Rybarczyk, Sean K. Michel, Giovanni P. Murillo

Mechanical Engineering

The following report outlines the full design process that the senior project team went through to develop a steering system for the 2018 Cal Poly Supermileage vehicle from the development to the manufacturing and testing of the senior project steering system. The team was successful in reducing the weight of the steering system from 12.64 to 5.85 pounds while remaining within the cost budget provided for the Cal Poly Supermileage team. The new steering system initially failed drop testing which resulted in the uprights pulling out of the bottom carbon supports. This failure was repaired with a small redesign to …

Mini High Temperature Test Unit Final Design Report, Kevin Liu, Juan P. Castillo

Mechanical Engineering

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has invested considerable effort to develop new standard for nuclear grade HEPA filters that can withstand high temperatures along with methods to optimally test not only the experimental filter media, but also new frame seals and media binders. Therefore, LLNL in collaboration with Cal Poly has designed and built a Mini High Temperature Testing Unit (MHTTU) to recreate conditions observed during a fire and to test different materials in an effective, inexpensive, regulated and reliable method. The existing prototype was unable to achieve the ideal testing conditions of 1000°F air at the low flow rates of …

Marine Gastrobot Final Design Report, Wesley B. Williams, Eric Kane Dreischerf, Tommy Nicholas Yath

Mechanical Engineering

The Marine Gastrobot sponsored by Dr. Christopher Kitts of the Cal Poly Center for Applications in Biotechnology was a research and development effort intended to explore the use of microbial fuel cell technology as a power source for underwater robots. Our team Ocean Locomotion succeeded in developing a first iteration of an underwater robotic platform suitable for microbial fuel cell integration. The primary feature of the design is its sinusoidal fin propulsion intended for benthic exploration with limited risk of entanglement. During the course of development, Ocean Locomotion explored the use of low power actuation methods and determined their limited …

Water Fun At Exploration Station, Nicholas M. Runyan, Heriberto Rodriguez, Raymond F. Morales, Alejandro M. Gonzalez-Smith

Mechanical Engineering

This report documents the design and fabrication processes involved for the creation of an interactive science exhibit for the Grover Beach Exploration Station. This is a student-led senior project advised by Sarah Harding, professor of mechanical engineering, as a part of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo’s mechanical engineering program. The final product is a fully functioning, durable system that is capable of pumping and recycling water throughout use when users are in its vicinity.

The exhibit is to be considered in 4 main subsystems: basin, plumbing, frame, and sleep mode system. A fiberglass basin that holds all …

Grey Water Capture, Paul B. Brenneman, Vicente J. Ramirez, Kevin J. Alexander

Mechanical Engineering

Many households today do not implement any kind of grey water recycling system. People do not get a grey water system for a variety of reasons; the benefits could be unknown, the uses for grey water could be limited in their specific home, or the economic gain is too minimal to constitute a modification to the house.

For our project, we are going to design an easy to install product that enables the reuse of grey water from household sources. Examples of our final product could be something that lets the customer use grey water from the bathroom sink to …