Third Year Projects
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Design of an Entry-Level CNC Machine
Objective: To design an entry-level professional CNC milling machine that can provide accurate milling on materials such as varieties of Aluminum, wood, composite materials and laminates
 Final CNC Machine Design |  Final CNC Machine Design |
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 Final CNC Design |  Rack and Pinion Mechanism |
 Design's Rotary Table |  Part Tensioner |
Requirements:
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Low cost
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Various ranges of cutting speed and torque
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Provide 4 axis of motion (X, Y, Z and rotation around X)
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Compact size
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Low maintenance
Steps: Industry CNC milling machines were studied in details and three candidate designs were suggested. After carefully evaluating the candidate designs, it was concluded that a rack and pinion driven CNC machine with a rotary table and a cast iron body would best meet the requirements. Then all the other components such as stepper motors and spindle motor were selected to meet the required level of torque and speed. Finally the CAD model of the final design, all engineering drawings and bill of material was provided.
Results and Achievements: Apart from learning how a CNC milling machine can be built from scratch, this project taught me how to select appropriate electric motors based on the application as well as the advantages and disadvantages of different axial motion mechanisms such as rack and pinion, lead screw and belt.
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Manufacturing Harrington Clamp
Objective: To select the best manufacturing technique that can mass produce a clamp that is used for surgical treatment of Sclerosis.
Requirements:
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Cost efficient
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Time efficient
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High quality
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Produce 100,000 clamps
Steps: The advantage and disadvantage of many manufacturing techniques were studied to determine the best manufacturing process that meets the project requirements.
Results and Achievements: It was concluded that plastic injection molding would be the option to meet all the requirements. The detailed specifications of this method, the time required to produce 100,000 clamps and the engineering drawings of the part and its GD&T were provided. Performing this project was very helpful to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each manufacturing process and how to design for manufacturability.
