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Subsystem Build & Test

Table of Contents 1 Team Vision for Subsystem Level Build & Test Phase 2 Subsystem and Testing Equipment Build 3 Test Results Summary 3.1 Plastic Melting Test #2 4 Risk and Problem Tracking 4.1 Risk Assessment 4.2 Problem Tracking 5 Benchmark 5.1 Strip Heaters 6 Functional Demo Materials 7 Plans for next phase

Team Vision for Subsystem Level Build & Test Phase

Phase 6 Team Plan + Milestones (online)

In this phase the team hoped to finalize a lot of the building and get ready for integration and debugging of the systems. This was to be supplemented with completed design packages for the structure build, the mold design and measurement and control electronics for the system. Whilst putting the heating together was to be put off for a couple more weeks until we had a better plan for integration. On the building side we wished to finalize our test mold, and mold design. With the objective of actually running some preemptive tests. The welding of the structure was also to be finished, this was unfortunately not completed as our team member Pierce got hospitalized, leading to noticeable delays on the structural side of things.

We managed to test our mold, creating a sheet of plastic that fully melted on the one side where even heating was applied. The other side of the mold was not heated correctly thus the plastic did not melt. The final mold design was changed to have the ability for easier extrusion and cooling. As well as resolving some of our main machining concerns. The structural design was redefined and updated, and a design and build package was created to start getting the welding and building going. The parts for the structure were machined and cleaned up, prepared for assembly and welding. The heating system has been bench-marked and after some budget wise problem solving seems to be ready for ordering. A lot of risk analysis was undergone this phase leading to a safer system design, which we believe to have a greater probability of success.

Subsystem and Testing Equipment Build

Welded Frame Assembly Drawing

Mold Drawings

This new mold design was made with the idea of extracting and cooling the mold with greater ease. With another added advantage of much better manufacturing capabilities, as the previous iteration of the design would have been extremely demanding in regards to machining and building. This design involves a three piece mold with alignment systems and an aluminium core.

Machining

Test Results Summary

Plastic Melting Test #2

Tools:

• Hot Plate - From Applications Lab
• Mold Release Spray- Purchased
• Small Mold - Made by Ignacio out of surplus materials
• Plastic Chips - Purchased
• Heat Gun - Borrowed from Machine Shop
• Screwdriver - MSD Lab

Procedure:

• Mold sprayed with Mold Release and placed on Hot Plate
• Hot Plate set to 350 deg C;
• Let Hot Plate and Mold Heat up for 2 minutes
• 2 Minutes - Plastic chips spread evenly within mold
• 3 Minutes - Top of mold placed on mold
• 3 Minutes, 45 Seconds - heat gun applied to top of mold
• 4 Minutes, 45 Seconds - Steel weight added to top of mold for compression
• 12 Minutes - Heat Gun turned off
• 13 Minutes - Hot Plate turned off
• 18 Minutes - Mold removed from Hot Plate
• Allowed to cool on shop table
• 54 Minutes - vent placed over top of mold for cooling
• 1 hour and 10 minutes - Mold opened using screwdriver and plastic sheet extracted

Takeaways & Results:

• Even distribution of heat from Heat Gun is difficult to achieve
• No real temperature values recorded in test
• Heat NEEDS to be applied to both sides to properly melt the plastic evenly
• Use more mold release and extract carefully
• Edges are proper length but inside needs more plastic
• Thickness Measurement 1 Picture shows the edge thickness is 1/8th inch
• Thickness Measurement 2 Picture shows the internal thickness at the chipped corner is 1/16th inch
• Next time, overfill mold and possibly flip it?
• Overall Time To Create One Sheet = Approximately 1 Hour

Risk and Problem Tracking

Risk Assessment

A working Risk Assessment file can be found here. The primary source of risk mitigation has come from better understanding the heaters that we will be purchasing:

• R2 - Heater could break down and malfunction.

However, an additional risk was added concerning the cost of the heaters:

• R34 - Heater parts are too expensive/outside of budget.

Problem Tracking

A working Problem Tracking file can be found here.

The primary problems that are being dealt with are:

• P1 - Loss of a team member for an extended period of time
• P2 - Heater parts are too expensive/outside of budget

Benchmark

Strip Heaters

We have contact multiple companies for assistance with Strip Heaters. Many of which have offered expertise and input into what could work with our system. However, few come with all the parts we need and fall bellow the $300 price range. Wattco has presented an offer to provide us with heaters for free in exchange for acknowledgement in our project but we have yet to get a full quote from them. We may purchase from the cheapest vendor for now in order to meet our deadline but continue to pursue the Wattco offer for the opportunity to get more heaters later on and for the next team.

Functional Demo Materials

• Notes from review
• Action Items

Plans for next phase

• As a team, where do you want to be in three weeks at your next demo?
  • Building
    • Welded structure to be completed
      • Integrating the compression system into the structure
      • Integrating wheels
      • Slits to allow for mold aliment with the compression system
    • Final mold build
      • Machining of top, middle and bottom plates
      • Sand grinding all surfaces for best finish
    • Electrical system build
      • Integration with the heating system

• • Testing
    • Further plastic melting testing
    • Structural strength testing
    • Safety of the structure
    • Ejection of material once cooled
    • Material temperature requirements
    • Electrical system
    • Heating components
    • Heat distribution through the mold
    • Mold aliment system

• • Team
    • Updating ER/CR requirements
    • Creating a decision process
    • Maintaining BOM/Budget
    • Maintaining risk analysis
    • Maintaining problem tracker

• As an individual on the team, what are you doing to help your team achieve these goals? (Use the individual 3-week plan template for this)

• Ignacio Martos - Phase Plan
• Adam Santagata - Phase Plan

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