Node™ Suspended Channel Design Development
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PARC®, a Price Industries company, is expanding their Node™ product line via a new suspended ceiling channel option. The objective is to design a suspended channel that fully integrates PARC®’s Node™ product line by December 8th, 2021. The project has specific performance targets and deliverables to meet, inclusive of a self-supporting suspended channel design available in various lengths and configurations to house the Node™ devices. The design activities focused on the profile of an extruded channel, a ceiling suspension solution, inter-channel assembly components, and aesthetic finishing components, namely end caps and dust caps. The design team followed a detailed concept generation and development approach to identify the best solution. Brainstorming techniques, concept screening and scoring analysis, and communications with the client were all implemented to ensure the final design meets the client’s vision for the product. The design criteria used to evaluate preliminary design concepts' performance were: ease of installation, manufacturing costs, adjustability, aesthetics, and serviceability. The final design is comprised of an aluminum extruded channel that can accommodate the installation of PARC®’s Node™ devices. Cost-effective imperatives led the team to rely on a strict minimum number of parts and effective raw material usage while ensuring that material suppliers and manufacturing processes available to PARC® could be used. This resulted in a primary assembly method with screws, bolts, and rivets, with core components comprised of a single extruded channel and dust cap blanks, laser-cut plates, and limited machining tasks. The cable mounting bracket and the dust cap have interlocking features to facilitate a streamlined installation process by on-site contractors. Analytical and finite element analysis studies were conducted to determine the required material properties to withstand worst-case scenario loading conditions and ensure the design meets safety requirements. This design should effectively meet PARC®’s needs for market testing and further development for near-future implementation. This project report fully details the engineering process undertaken by the team and the resulting design and presents a viable solution for PARC®’s new suspended Node™ product offering. The key features of the final suspended channel design developed throughout this project are: • Seamless integration of PARC® Node™ devices. • Lengthwise mounting point adjustability. • Widthwise mounting point adjustability off from the channel width center. • Available X, T, L, and linear channel connection options. • User-friendly interlocking features to facilitate installation. • Total cost of a sample 8-foot suspended channel assembly.