Tinius Olsen Oven Fixture Design for Improved Maneuverability

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Date
2022-12-07
Authors
de Groot, Brayden
Han, Sangtae
Kim, Ga-young
Zinko, Nick
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Abstract

The Boeing Canada Winnipeg (BCW) Composites Manufacturing Facility carries out material testing in their Materials Test Lab. A Tinius Olsen (TO) Tensile and Compression test machine requires a Bemco oven to be positioned within its work area to perform elevated temperature material tests. Currently, the oven requires an average of 66 lbs of force from a lab technician to push or pull the oven into place. This amount of force exceeds Boeing’s Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Ergonomic guidelines by 20 lbs, preventing the oven from being used in its current state. This report documents the development of a design that improves the maneuverability of the oven to make it safe to operate. The final deliverables of the project are CAD models with associated 2D drawings, a Bill of Materials, an analysis of the design loads, safety factors, motion/kinetic analysis, and a final report. The main components of the design that must be addressed are the method of force application to move the oven, oven steering, ground interface, as well as how the oven lifts and lowers into a desired vertical position. Through the use of a rigorous concept generation and screening process, a final design that meets the required criteria was developed. The final design utilizes an installed structural steel rail track that runs along the TO apparatus to a storage position for the oven. The existing caster wheels on the oven fixture will be replaced with rigid single-flange cast-iron rail casters to run along the tubing, greatly reducing the rolling resistance of the apparatus. This not only reduces the required force to move the oven but also provides an inherent steering mechanism by restricting the oven’s movement to one degree of freedom along the ground. To provide a force to move the oven, the lab technician may move it manually with an estimated 20 to 40 lbs of force, or use the integrated electric motor drive with speed control. To ensure the safety of the operator and environment, rubber bumpers are added to each end of the track to prevent derailment. A position limit control system is integrated into the controller to stop the motor from driving continuously into the bumpers. This design successfully meets the project needs identified through discussions with BCW and their Materials Lab Test Technicians over the course of the project. These needs include: The fixture is easy to use. The fixture is safe. The fixture can hold and transport the oven with all of its auxiliary components to and from the storage position and TO. The fixture does not impede walkways when it is stored. The total cost of the final design was determined to be CAD $3,854.88, excluding manufacturing costs. Having this oven back in service will allow Boeing to continue to perform elevated temperature material testing in their Materials Lab, saving time and providing redundancy in their operations.

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Mechanical Engineering
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