Approach Page for Individual Wiki Report
| Date: 29 November 2006 |
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Table of Contents |
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| Author: Clinton Bushman | Team: Solar Car |
Requirements
There were several requirements to mount the wires and lines throughout the solar car, including:
- Securing wires from the solar cell array to the shell
- Securing wires from batteries, motor, electrical components
- Minimizing weight
- Safety
- Securing brake lines
- Minimizing cost
Specifications
The specifications were taken from the requirements of the mounts to make a list that could be answered with a specific metric or with a Yes/No. There were many requirements the six I used to select the mounts used on the solar car are as follows:
- Light weight
- Safety
- Adjustable position
- Simply to manufacture
- re-usability
- Low cost
Concept Generation and Sketches
After researching the different ways wires and lines are mounted in industry, I performed the original concept generation for this design problem using a mindmap technique. For a description of what a mindmap entails, please see the Lab 1 Assignment and Supporting Materials for the Fall 2006 ME 4000 class. An image of my mindmap can be seen and downloaded below.
Figure 1: Bushman’s Mindmap
The mind map shows many different ideas some were more practical then others. I tried to pick the designs that would best complete the job on the solar car. As a part of Lab 3 I further explored some of the designs I felt were most viable.
Initial Downselect and Design Refinement
As a part of Lab 6 I was asked to choose two designs to further develop. I used a ranking system know as a design matrix. As discussed in the specification the six most important features were used in the matrix. The most important features called engineering metrics were weighted heavily, while those that were less crucial received a lower weight. A composite score was assigned to each design and they were ranked accordingly. I then refined the two designs that were ranked as the best. My design selection matrix, which is a spreadsheet showing the values and rankings each design received, can be downloaded here. The two designs that were selected from the design matrix can be see below. The wire bracket and the eye hook were the best both scored very high and would perform the function needed in the solar car. They are similar in that they are low in cost, are re-useable, and are safe to use, securing wires. They both could be manufactured by the solar team, but it would be much easier to buy existing brackets from the store.
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| Figure 3: Bushman’s First Design Refinement | Figure 4: Bushman’s Second Design Refinement |
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