Fixture Designs for a Two-Track Cantilever Tower Assembly
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Date
2018-12-05
Authors
Ilnisky, Justin
Mitchell, Simon
Kemp, Chris
Habib, Afzal
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Abstract
Modern Manufacturing Limited (MML) is a railway communication equipment manufacturer who approached Team 3 with two issues regarding the assembly processes of a two track cantilever support structure. The issues MML are currently facing emphasize the large amounts of manual labor and slow throughput time of the fabrication of a cantilever support structure. Two design areas were identified, to which Team 3 provided MML with separate solutions to both of the areas. The two designs Team 3 created were the gusset locator and the trunnion. The gusset locator is a fixture designed to locate and hold gussets on the cantilever support structure in place for the welders during the early stages the tower’s fabrication. The gusset locator utilizes two laser measurement devices to position the fixture within the required tolerance of ±0.06in. The fixture is made primarily out of aluminum plate, in order to prevent any cross contamination between materials upon contact with the support structure during welding. The gusset locator has ergonomically incorporated low friction material strips that come into contact with the support structure, as to reduce the amount of effort required to move this fixture from one gusset location to the next. The trunnion is a rotational mechanism which is used to hold the cantilever support structure horizontally and allow it to rotate during the final stages of fabrication. The trunnion is composed of three main components: the support structures, the mounting brackets, and the rotational driving components. The mounting brackets are the elements that position and secure the subassemblies of the cantilever support structure relative to one another. These mounting brackets provide the connection point to the two shafts, which are mounted on top of the support structures. One support structure is fixed to the ground and houses a gearbox to provide the necessary means of rotating the structure. The other support structure is mounted on casters, providing it the ability to move into position during installation of the cantilever support structure into the trunnion. The team successfully delivered the designs of the gusset locator and the trunnion to the client, MML. The estimated cost of...