sustainability report for solidwork project

Figure 2: Sample car sketch

For your design, you will receive the following components:

1. Mini Electric DC Motor

2. Gear Box

3. Motor mounting bracket

4. Boat Rocket Switch to turn on and off the motor.

5. Battery Holder (2 x AA) with batteries

6. Set of Plastic Gears

7. Two shafts (2mm or 3mm diameter) that can be used as axle for the car

8. Super Glue

9. Wires

DESIGN CONSTRAINTS:

· Maximum number of wheels = 4

· Design Chassis of the car

· Design the tires of the car that will carry the load on the sand surface (Not allow the additional materials such as rubber, spikes, etc.)

· Minimum diameter: 25mm, maximum diameter 70mm.

· Design for carrying a box of size 50mm X 50mm X 50mm with a maximum weight of 200 grams.

· The vehicle must be able to carry the load on the flat and the inclined surface.

· Your designs must minimize the overall weight and volume of the 3D printing material used in the construction of this project.

· Must not use more than 100 cm3 of material

· Must not be more than 75 mm wide.

· No bearings or other materials other than what is included in the kit.

Phase 1: Group Formation

· A group of four students will be assigned by your instructor.

· Share the names and contact information of the students for each group

· The instructor will also assign you a group number.

Phase 2: Initial Sketch and Brainstorming (This is an individual contribution)

· Each student must come up with a sketch for how the components are to be laid out and come up with approximate dimensions of the overall design. Make sure that your overall design is not bigger than the given design constraints.

· You must submit on Canvas. Your design must be original.

Phase 3: Design in SolidWorks

· Design all parts in SolidWorks including battery holder, motor switch etc

· Minimize the material required for 3D printing the chassis and the wheel

· Assemble in SolidWorks

· Generate drawing files for the chassis and the wheels

Phase 4: Get your design approved

· Make an appointment with your instructor to go over the dimensions and clearances for the parts

· Make an appointment with the Digital Fabrication Supervisor to make sure that your parts have all the required settings and clearances for your design. Afterwards you can schedule 3D printing.

Phase 5: 3D-print your design

· Collect your printed parts from your instructor when they are ready

· Any issues or concerns, please let your instructor know about it

Phase 6: Assembly and Testing

· Assemble your car

· Test your car

Phase 7: Competition for the sand ramp challenge

· Come up with a name for your group

· Get ready for competing with other groups

Competition scoring

· Finish L1(Flat) : 20 point

· Finsh L2 (Slope) : 30 points

· The wining team – Finish L1 & L2 with fastest time (In case the time is same, low weight car is win)

· Winning team will get the bonus credits

Phase 8: Peer Evaluation Submission

· You will evaluate your team members for their contribution for this project

· A sample evaluation form will be uploaded on CANVAS

SCHEDULE

Week 1 Tasks:

1) Submit individual design sketches (ink) as per Phase 2.

2) Meet with your group and utilize a systematic design process to generate alternative vehicle designs from individual deisgns in Phase 2. Refer to Appendix A for details.

3) Create a functional solid model of the vehicle you have chosen

4) Write Progress report due week 2.

Week 2 Tasks:

5) Complete design Phase 3.

6) Attend an introductory lecture from the digital fabrication laboratory supervisor.

7) Finish creating assembly of your design rendered in Solidworks:

a. Each part should include your group number as an identifier (e.g., as extruded lettering) to unambiguously identify your part from amongst other submissions.

b. Be mindful of 3D printing limitations. Features below 1/16” cannot be printed, and features below 1/8” (or greater, depending on application) will likely not have sufficient strength to perform any load bearing function. The printer over sizes by approximately 0.01”, so you must offset your dimensions in order to fit shafts/holes, etc. If in doubt, please consult The digital fabrication supervisor.

8) Create properly dimensioned part and assembly drawings of the SV. Be sure to label the sheet scale, units, title, and author names.

9) Submit solid model files of the SV in the proper format for 3D printing for approval.

10) submit parts for 3D printing

11) Prepare progress report for due week 3.

Week 3 Tasks:

12) Complete the Sustainability tutorial found under Design Evaluation and Simulation tab.

13)Perform a sustainability analysis on the SV. Refer to Appendix B for details.

14)Prepare sustainability report for week 4.

15Assemble and test vehicle for SV competition.

Week 4 Tasks:

13) RACE DAY

14) Write up and submit your final report. Refer to Appendix D for details.

Grading

Grading:

Final Report with drawings: 200 points

Progress Reports: 100 points

Contest: 50 points

Self Study: 50 points.

Appendix A. The Engineering Design Process (Design Intent)

There is no singular method that engineers must follow when designing a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints. However, many engineers in professional practice utilize a systematic design process involving at least the following steps (note: many ancillary considerations have been omitted for this introductory document):

1. Problem Identification

a. What is the main goal of the engineering project?

b. Ask ‘what’ is needed to solve the problem

i. Do off-the-shelf solutions already exist? If not, what is inadequate about the current state of the system, component, or process?

ii. What new features would be desirable and most relevant?

c. Develop specifications in as much detail as possible

i. What objective(s) must each system, component, or process achieve?

ii. What design constraint(s), if any, exist?

An objective-constraint tree can be used to summarize design requirements:

<SYSTEM, COMPONENT, OR PROCESS>

1. <OBJECTIVE CATEGORY 1>

a. OBJECTIVE 1

b. CONSTRAINT 1

c. CONSTRAINT 2

2. <OBJECTIVE CATEGORY 2>

a. OBJECTIVE 1

i. SUB-OBJECTIVE 1

1. SUB-SUB-OBJECTIVE 1

2. SUB-SUB-OBJECTIVE 2

ii. SUB-OBJECTIVE 2

b. OBJECTIVE 2

c. CONSTRAINT 1

Broad objective categories may be broken down into objectives and/or constraints of increasingly detailed specification. An objective-constraint tree is an evolving document that can change throughout the design process as the engineers (and clients!) learn more about the problem.

2. Concept Generation

a. Perform a function decomposition analysis by asking what function(s) (i.e., work or specific actions) must each system, component, or process perform?

i. Analogous to an objective-constraint tree, a function decomposition tree can be used to delineate the most basic functions of each system, component, or process:

<SYSTEM, COMPONENT, OR PROCESS>

1. <FUNCTION CATEGORY 1>

a. FUNCTION 1

i. SUB- FUNCTION 1

1. SUB-SUB- FUNCTION 1

2. SUB-SUB- FUNCTION 2

ii. SUB- FUNCTION 2

b. FUNCTION 2

2. < FUNCTION CATEGORY 2>

a. FUNCTION 1

i. SUB- FUNCTION 1

1. SUB-SUB- FUNCTION 1

2. SUB-SUB- FUNCTION 2

ii. SUB- FUNCTION 2

b. FUNCTION 2

ii. At this stage, do not worry about how these functions will be implemented. The purpose of function decomposition analysis is to develop a fundamental understanding of required design functionalities.

b. Brainstorm multiple approaches to the problem. Do not reject any ideas out of perceived impracticality: ideation and evaluation should be handled as separate exercises.

i. Research the state-of-the-art to know what has been done.

ii. Focus primarily on how to implement the most basic functionalities identified in the function decomposition tree.

iii. Work collaboratively. Consider each other’s ideas and build upon them.

iv. Whenever possible, communicate visually. Utilize sketches to convey and modify ideas.

3. Concept Selection

a. A decision matrix is a rubric that applies a weighted set of evaluation criteria to a number of candidate solutions. An example decision matrix is provided below:

In the above example, the lower the total score, the ‘better’ the candidate solution. Of course, numbers aren’t everything!

i. Develop your evaluation criteria in collaboration with your group. Be sure to consider your categories in a broad context, including the following:

1. Functional performance

2. Physical form (e.g., size, weight)

3. Economics (e.g., cost of maintenance, fabrication, etc.)

4. Environmental (e.g., disposal, manufacturing techniques, etc.)

5. Ethical (e.g., does it infringe on others’ intellectual property, does it satisfy codes of professional conduct, etc.)

6. Health and safety (e.g., does it pose risk of harm to users or labor used to create it, can it be used for nefarious purposes, etc.)

7. Manufacturability (e.g., materials availability, etc.)

8. Sustainability (e.g., will it need to be repaired or replaced, etc.)

9. Usability (e.g., how easy is it to use, are there user or operator requirements for effective implementation, etc.)

10. Aesthetic

ii. Create a set of weighting factors according the relative importance you give to each evaluation criterion.

iii. Rank the candidate solutions objectively and tally the overall scores.

iv. Compare your weighting factors with other group members – is there consensus on the relative importance of each evaluation criterion?

v. Reflect on the relative ranking outcomes of your decision matrix versus those of other group members. Are you surprised by any of the outcomes? Do you wish to modify the evaluation criteria or their weighting factors? If so, perform this exercise a second time (be sure to retain your original decision matrix for future documentation purposes).

b. Justify your selection of a ‘best’ solution using the analyses developed thus far. For complex systems, components, or processes, you may need to perform the entirety of these exercises for each basic function identified in the function decomposition tree. In this case, a design decision table can be a concise means of organizing the solutions. A design decision table template is provided below:

The justification column summarized your reasoning for arriving at the selected solution, and should reference the reasoning behind the decision matrix rankings.

4. Realization/Prototyping

Many techniques exist to manufacture prototypes. Recently, additive manufacturing has become an economical means to rapidly print three-dimensional components from digital solid models. This requires the translation of a CAD model into a numerical code used by the printer to build up a component in a layer-by-layer sequence. For this project, you will utilize the Alfred University Digital Fabrication Laboratory for prototyping of your selected alternative gripper assembly. Work with Digital Fabrication Laboratory personnel to generate appropriate CAD models subject to realistic constraints.

5. Testing/Evaluation

In this course, we will focus on evaluating the functional proficiency of your selected designs. In professional practice, ‘testing’ also encompasses benchmarking, user feedback, and quality assurance.

a. Observe whether your design behaves as intended. If there are discrepancies, how might you go about modifying your design?

b. Using your selected alternative gripper assembly, attempt the challenge tasks described in Appendix C. Record the results of your testing.

c. If your design could not successfully complete the challenge tasks, identify what caused the failure(s)? At what stage of the design process was the design flaw introduced?

6. Refinement

a. If you had to do it all over again, what changes (if any) would you make to your selected design?

b. What changes to the design process would you recommend?

c. What controls could be put in place during the design process to prevent perceived shortcomings in the future?

7. Documentation

In professional practice, detailed record keeping is necessary not only for regulatory purposes but for the benefit of both the client and end-user. For example, operator, trainer, and maintenance manuals must be written, manufacturing protocols must be prescribed, and business plans must be developed. For this project, you will be documenting the engineering design process.

a. Keep detailed records of each step of the engineering design process, recording the contributions of each group member along the way.

b. Organize your records according to the formatting requirements found in Appendix D.

8. Production

One of the last stages of the design process for the engineer is to scale up the manufacture of the system, component, or process after iterative refinement of selected designs. For example, manufacturing processes must be chosen, supply chains identified, and transportation and distribution models must be agreed upon. You will scratch the surface of these considerations in your Sustainability analysis described in Appendix B.

Appendix B. Sustainability Analysis (Optional)

The Sustainability module in SolidWorks allows users to conduct ‘cradle-to-grave’ life cycle assessment of parts and assemblies to determine the environmental impact of materials selection, manufacturing technique, and many other factors contributing to energy and natural resource usage. The SolidWorks Sustainability methodology is summarized in the following graphic:

Figure courtesy of Dassault Systems.

The Sustainability tutorial found in the SolidWorks Education Edition 2014-2015 will familiarize you with the features of this module. The instructors encourage you as future engineers to be environmentally conscientious as you invent and augment technologies to better the human condition.

Conduct a sustainability analysis on your selected alternative gripper assembly.

· Assume that all manufacturing processes are performed in Asia and subsequently finished products are transported to North America for sale.

· Compare the relative impacts of at least four different combinations of materials and manufacturing processes. Justify your selections. Are the selected materials and processes similar to those likely employed by the manufacturer of the robotic arm kits?

· Generate a sustainability analysis report and summarize your recommendations to a prospective manufacturer of your selected alternative gripper assembly.

· Identify any environmental issues that SolidWorks Sustainability did not account for.

· Suppose that the costs associated with your recommended manufacturing process have dramatically increased, forcing you to revisit your designs. Further suppose that a business partner urges that you cut corners and use the cheapest material/process combination for your parts. How do you valuate the sustainability of your product? Reflect on this difficult question and provide an honest, ethical response in less than three paragraphs.

Appendix C. The Sand Vehicle Challenge

Appendix D. Final Report Requirements

Your final report (At least 5 pages, 1.5 spaced, 12pt Times New Roman or 11pt Arial font, inclusive of figures and tables) should at least include the following:

1. Cover page featuring:

1. Engineering 102

2. Computer Aided Design

3. Fall 2018

4. Section number

5. Instructor name

6. Project title

7. Names of all group members

8. Submission date

2. Abstract (1 paragraphs)

3. Introduction (2 paragraphs)

4. Problem statement (1 paragraph)

5. Documentation of the design process:

1. Problem identification/objective-constraint tree

2. Concept generation/function decomposition tree

3. Candidate selection/decision matrix

6. Selected design:

1. Design decision table

2. Technical drawings

3. 3D printed prototype

4. Iterated design considerations

7. Performance evaluation

8. Suggestions for further design refinement

9. Conclusions and lessons learned

Appendix E. Progress Report Outline

Alfred University

School of Engineering

FROM:

TO:

DATE:

PROJECT:

SUBJECT: Progress report No. 1.

Project objectives

Tasks to be completed for this Report

Accomplishments since Previous Report

Unresolved Difficulties

Tasks to be completed before next report