Manufacturing Commons^™

Stair Climbing Hand Truck, James Mcpherson

All Undergraduate Projects

Abstract

Getting a heavy object up a flight of stairs usually requires a team of two or more people. Even with a team of people, the task is often still difficult, dangerous, and possibly insurmountable by one person. This problem is especially prevalent in for those who are moving into apartment complexes. Most apartment complexes have many buildings with two or more floors of living quarters, and elevators are often missing. This project sought to offer a solution to this problem. The solution in question; a motorized hand-truck with 2, trigonal planar pinwheels in place of the stock wheels. The …

Custom Foot Prosthetic: Diabetic Care, Chandler Streuli

All Undergraduate Projects

Across the United States there are people every day who lose their toes to diabetes or to loss of circulation within their legs. The problem becomes building a more cost effective and efficient prosthetic for these individuals. The prosthetics that are used for medical purposes are often costly, especially without the help of insurance. The new prosthetic was designed to be taken in and out of shoes so that it is fast and easy for the user to move the device from shoe to shoe. The manufacturing method for this project was using a 3D printer to build the initial …

Medallion Manufacturing, Luis Perez

All Undergraduate Projects

A more efficient manufacturing process is needed to create the approximately 30 MET medallions, given to the graduating class. The process must be repeatable, consistent, and efficient. The objective is to create a method that can remain the same year to year, save time, and be repeated by anybody. Two approaches were developed: a casting method, and a machining method involving a computer numerically controlled (CNC) mill. The casting method began with a match plate was developed by attaching 3D printed models and runners to plywood. The design was evaluated before the pour using SolidCast software. Special attention was directed …

Electrathon: Body, Ryan Shiner

All Undergraduate Projects

• The Electrathon Vehicle project is an ongoing project that dates back to 2012. This vehicle will be raced at events to see how many laps it can complete on a single battery charge. The existing body for the Central Washington University Electrathon vehicle required modifications to fit over the current frame. These modifications were required because the rear suspension design had changed. The rear panel of the body interfered with the rear suspension. Using a rotary cutting wheel, the panel was slotted so the body could slide over the suspension and drive chain. Additionally, spacers for various sizes were needed …

Custom Designed Wall Mounted Shop Crane, Bradley Lewis

All Undergraduate Projects

The objective of this project was to design and fabricate a custom wall mounted jib crane to specific, non-standard dimensions. The crane was designed to be industry rated for 2000 pounds, rotate at least 180 degrees, and be designed to have a maximum boom length tailored to the specific installation site. Two potential installation sites and purposes were selected for construction: inside the bay doors of a fabrication shop, intended to transfer large pieces of material to and from a plasma table, and inside a car maintenance garage, intended to lift and remove engines and transmissions from cars.

Design of …

Autojack - Hydraulic Powertrain System, Tyce Vu

All Undergraduate Projects

A primary problem for mechanics and automotive enthusiasts is the risk associated with lifting and securing a vehicle with conventional jack stands. Often times, improper jack-stand installation results in the vehicle collapsing unexpectedly, causing injury and/or death. This problem can be minimized through the application of a newly re-designed vehicle lifting system. The conventional method for lifting cars is time consuming and can be unsafe in many circumstances. A better, safer, and more efficient lift design was needed; the AutoJack. The approach of the AutoJack design was entirely focused on the safety of lifting a vehicle. Safety was improved by …

Composite Recycler: Delamination, Nathan Sauer

All Undergraduate Projects

A great deal of composite waste is generated in the construction of wings for the Boeing 777. These carbon fiber “wing trimmings” are currently being disposed of in a landfill. These carbon fiber boards are made of several layers laminated together, making them very rigid and hard to recycle. This report proposes a method to delaminate the layers of these composite wing trimmings using a hydraulic press and a V-shaped steel die so that they may be more easily shredded and thus recycled. A top, “male” die with two points is pressed into a bottom, “female” die with three points …

Exercise Machine Generator, Duane Harbick

All Undergraduate Projects

Exercise “spinning bikes” and bicycle training stands are common ways to maintain fitness and train for cycling. This exercise necessitates the user putting work into the machine by means of pedaling. In many instances the work put into exercise bikes and training stands is not taken advantage of. The objective of this project is an attempt to make use of some of the energy that a person would usually expend during exercise by building a generator that interfaces with multiple spinning bikes and training stands. It uses a synchronous pulley system to interface with the exercise machine and spin a …

Slab Tipper, Thomas C. Durand

All Undergraduate Projects

Stone countertops are very heavy and fragile. When installing a finished countertop, up to six workers are required to lift the stone onto the countertop, risking their safety and possibly breaking the stone. The safety of both the workers and the stone are very important, so there needs to be a better way. NSI Solutions came up with an idea for a mechanism to aid in the insulation process while limiting the number of workers required, and keeping the workers safer while adequately supporting the stone to prevent it from breaking. Designing methods and calculations were done to ensure the …

Rc Baja Car Suspension, Tyler Martin

All Undergraduate Projects

This year the Mechanical Engineering Technology Department at CWU is holding an R/C Baja car competition using the same rules as the ASME competition. The designed car must compete in three separate events: the slalom course, drag race, and obstacle course. By not only completing, but also being competitive in each of the events, the car will be deemed a success. Suspension and steering are two essential components of any R/C car, and was the main focus for this report. The suspension must be able to support the car in the event of impacts. In addition, the steering must be …

Asme R/C Baja Car, Torrie Large

All Undergraduate Projects

How does one build a car? Do they start with the tires and build inward or do they develop separate aspects at the same time? This remote-controlled car was designed and built with the intention of competing in the annual Baja Competition. There are three competitions: sprinting, slalom, and an obstacle course. The suspension system of this car must be designed to support the car for both the physical build and the competitiveness. It must do this without interfering with the drive train and steering mechanism designed by Doug Erickson. The suspension system employs suspension arms attached to the chassis …

Asme Rc Baja Challenge: Suspension And Steering, Hunter W. Jacobson

All Undergraduate Projects

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) usually hosts an RC Baja challenge each year, testing a RC car in three events: slalom, acceleration and Baja. Although ASME will not be holding an event this year, CWU will be holding a similar event with three RC Baja car teams from CWU. The RC car that is tested in these events is designed and manufactured typically in teams of two. The RC car that each team submits must be able to complete these events while also remaining competitive. One part of great importance for the RC car is the suspension and …

Cassette Lockring Removal Tool, Kyle Wright

All Undergraduate Projects

Removal of a bicycle cassette requires additional tools to hold the cassette in place while loosening the cassette lockring. Typically a tool called a chain whip is used to stabilize the cassette, but is difficult to quickly and correctly apply to the cassette. Due to the need for an additional tool to hold the cassette, the user is faced with utilizing both hands while still needing to somehow hold the wheel in place. The lockring is torqued relatively tight and the overall combination of force, ergonomics, and number of tools required makes the task difficult to perform quickly. The objective …

H.F. Hauff Pruner Cutting Blades, Wyley Stewart

All Undergraduate Projects

Apple orchards are a critical component of agriculture in the United States, and keeping the apple trees in the best shape for optimum growth and production is hard work. Neil Hauff, an agriculture industry expert, challenged students at CWU to engineer a power assisted tree pruner. Across the country, apple orchards need pruned every season. The pruning of the trees is strenuous manual labor that requires many man hours. The proposed solution is to create a power assisted tree pruner that would minimize the amount of work needed to trim each tree branch. This project has been separated into three …

Cwu Bottle Opener Manufacturing, Austin Sanford

All Undergraduate Projects

Previous students from the Mechanical Engineering Technology program came up with a method to help raise funds and awareness for the program. The idea was to manufacture and sell CWU bottle openers. However, a more efficient manufacturing method was needed. The aspect of the process that would have the most impact on the manufacturing time and material efficiency was the CNC machining of the parts. There were many potential variables to change to improve the process, but the main changes were to the cutter speeds and stock material size. Consequently, the changes made to stock material size reduced the number …

Tensile Specimen Punch, John Allen

All Undergraduate Projects

This project comes from a need to have tensile specimens made for the MET 351, Metallurgy/Materials and Processes, and 426, Applied Strengths of Materials, labs. This punch is designed to be used with an arbor press to create the desired tensile specimen shape out of plastic blanks. The initial concept was suggested by Dr. Craig Johnson. The designs went through many changes, for example getting rid of the sides originally proposed to hold the specimen in place, and modifications to other parts to make them more efficient. Additional parts were also added to the design with the help and advice …

Built-In Bicycle Rack For Cars, Scott A. Hansberry

All Undergraduate Projects

Transporting a bicycle after riding somewhere and then needing to be pickup can be problematic. Bicycles will not fit in most vehicles without removing components. There is also the risk of damaging the inside of the vehicle. Expecting everyone to have a bike rack for their vehicle is unrealistic because the bike rack could be considered unappealing visually, take up to much space in the trunk, or limit the vehicle owner’s access to the trunk. The solution to this problem is a bike rack that mounts onto your car and then mounts your bike onto the rack. Most people don’t …

Pin Router Duplicator, Daniel Phan

All Undergraduate Projects

The purpose of this project is to develop a pin router duplicator to accurately produce guitar bodies, necks, and fret boards. The pin router duplicator is designed to speed up the production process for the class Lean Manufacturing (MET 345), offered at Central Washington University. In the class, students learn how to work as a team to improve the way a woodshop is ran. In Lean Manufacturing, guitar bodies, necks, and fret boards are produced by using a CNC router. For this project, the motivation is to increase production by reducing production time. Accuracy and repeatability is also taken into …

Weather Balloon Payload Box, Shellbie Liberty

All Undergraduate Projects

A payload box holding a self-rotating camera was constructed to go on a weather balloon that will document the upcoming solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. A group of physics students, and the paper’s author, are working under Dr. Darci Snowden on the CWU Near Space Observation Team for research dedicated to the eclipse in Oregon. Various projects, including the payload box, are being designed to go up on a high altitude weather balloon. The payload box was designed and constructed to withstand the impact force of falling from 120,000 ft. This was done so the box could be reusable …

High Accessibility Cabinet Insert, Matthew Leal

All Undergraduate Projects

Watching grandparents and parents get older, the struggle of day-to-day activities generally increases. One of the most recurring issues the older generation experiences nearly daily is their inability to reach dishes, glassware, and other things on the topmost shelves of a kitchen. Not only is it difficult for them to use things such as stepstools, it also becomes increasingly dangerous. With age, a fall from any height could be catastrophic. With this scenario in mind, a user-friendly cabinet insert would be a very effective way to combat this issue. However, many existing models of cabinet designed to fit these requirements …

H.F. Hauff Outrigger: Vertical Arm, Juan Tovar

All Undergraduate Projects

H.F. Hauff is a company based out of Yakima which specializes in farming equipment. One of their products is a trailer which has a wind machine attached to it. In order to keep the fan’s thrust from tipping the trailer over, the trailer needs outriggers to extend out. The outriggers also serve as a way to level out the trailer in uneven surfaces. The outriggers are what needed to be designed. This portion of the project was the vertical arm which extends from the horizontal arm, and goes towards the ground to raise the trailer. The project consisted of three …

Composite Cold Expansion Tooling, Andrew Amos

All Undergraduate Projects

In the world of aircraft manufacturing, cold expansion products literally hold these aircraft together. The problem faced today is that the Little Brute Hydraulic Puller designed and built by Fatigue Technology Inc. is a handheld steel hydraulic cylinder that is heavy and expensive to produce. In a market that demands continuous improvement, there is a constant push to make the product cheaper, better and lighter. In order to accomplish this demand a composite tube will be substituted in the design as the primary pressure cylinder instead of the traditional steel pressure cylinder in order to create a lighter and cheaper …

Beer Rack On Demand Water Heater, Jason Warenski

All Undergraduate Projects

On-Demand Water Heater (for homebrewing systems)

By Jason Warenski (Engineering Technologies)

The on-demand water heater is being built for a home brewing system. The is intended to improve brewing process efficiency while reducing the footprint of the brewing equipment. The device contains a coil made from 3/8” soft copper tubing. The coil is inserted into a housing which is constructed of two 22-gauge stainless steel cylinders and a layer of ceramic insulation. Attached to the inlet and outlet of the coil are monitoring and control devices. On the inlet is a water flow meter which allows the user to monitor …

Directional Rope Capture Device, Seaver Philipp

All Undergraduate Projects

The current market for rope capture devices shows a trend of using toothed devices as the method of creating a rope capture system. These systems are effective for a variety of applications but in any scenario in which a high load is encountered there is a large amount of damage done by the teeth to the rope. The objective of this project was to create a rope capture device that did not utilize teeth in order to create a safer loading condition on the rope. The method used for this project was application of equiangular spirals, this is the same …

Portable Snow-Bike, Tiago Sousa

All Undergraduate Projects

The world of extreme sports and more specifically the world of snow sports is changing by the minute. At the forefront of these new changes is the snow bike. The bike allows you to ride the mountain like you were riding a mountain-bike on skies, but it comes with challenges. The biggest of them being portability. The bike is restricted to certain types of lifts within the mountain and that restricts the user of its potential. This report will show that it is possible to “fold” both the frame and the handlebars to make the bike portable and therefore opening …

Pin Router Duplicator Base, Matthew Tebo

All Undergraduate Projects

The idea for the following project came from the Lean Manufacturing class that is offered at Central Washington University. In this class the manufacturing processes is demonstrated through the production of guitar kits. A problem with the class is that the CNC machine gets backed up causing a bottleneck in the production line. The solution to this problem was to make a pin router duplicator. A pin router duplicator is a device that allows the operator to trace a finished part with a pin while a router mimics its movements, cutting a new part. The component that is looked into …

Grant County Public Utilities District - Rotor Pole Lifting Device, Baylie Johnson

All Undergraduate Projects

Grant County Public Utilities District is planning a rehabilitation of all turbine and generator units at Priest Rapids Dam beginning in August 2016. After the generator rotor is removed from the unit, the rotor poles must be removed from the rotor. They are oriented vertically in the rotor and horizontally on the floor and in shipping containers. The objective of this project is to design, manufacture and test a lifting and a turning device for Priest Rapids Dam’s generator rotor poles. The lifting device was designed to attach a 3500 pound rotor pole to a crane and lift it. The …

Asme Mini Rc Baja: Drivetrain, Jason M. Moore

All Undergraduate Projects

Title and author: ASME mini RC Baja Drivetrain by Jason Moore; partner Mike Cox. (Engineering Technologies, Safety, and Construction)

Abstract/Artists Statement: The issue that this project is concerned with is how to design and build a drivetrain, steering and suspension systems for an RC car. The systems must be simple and functional. Furthermore, these systems will be designed to fit on a small chassis and not interfere with each other. They also need to be strong and durable enough to propel the car forward and maneuver through various obstacles and be built in a way that is easy to take …

Multi-Use Fireline Handtool, Bruce W. Bernard Jr

All Undergraduate Projects

A wildland firefighter is a valuable resource to protecting public lands and managing fuels. The many hand tools used by firefighters aid in their ability to complete any required tasks effectively. Several of the tools available are specially purposed for individually grubbing, scraping, or liming. A small squad of firefighters could become a more effective resource if the tools they carried could perform several of these purposes as one single tool. To improve the effectiveness of an individual on the fireline a multi-use hand tool was designed to include an axe for liming and a heavy duty scraper for grubbing …

Jeep Wj Multipurpose Oversize Spare Tire Carrier, Caleb J. Marrs

All Undergraduate Projects

OEM spare-tire wells have size limitations that only allow up to a certain size tire. However, the OEM tire well is not effective for the off-road enthusiast that needs an extra over size tire in case of an emergency. While off-roading it is important to be equipped with all the necessary tools and parts to get out safely because there is no roadside assistance off-road. The Jeep WJ is not a popular off road vehicle which means aftermarket accessories are not common. In order to optimize the space inside and out of the vehicle, a device is needed that will …