Summary Page for Individual Report
| Date: November 29, 2006 |
Team: Team EFI
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Table of Contents |
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| Author: DJBurton |
(format taken from Shane Peterson of Team Hexaball ‘05)
Problem Statement:
The Titan-40w Cell redesign focuses around the automation of a test procedure for the company EFI Electronics. Currently the operator, taking anywhere from 30 seconds to a full minute, completes the test procedure. Introducing an automation system would be able to cut down this time to simply a few seconds. For this to work, a program must be designed to allow minimum user interface. We chose a Programmable Logic Controller, PLC, to control the process.
The “thing” that I am designing is a housing to hold the PLC, as well as all the other controller parts. This requires a design that is safe, reliable, and easy to access. The current design is a simple box that is safe but not very easy to access. The parts that go into the box do not have to be in any specific order or orientation which allows for many different possibilities to be thought of. The final design should be able to encompass the current needs of EFI Electronics plus be able to adapt to future needs.
Summary of Approach:
The approach I took was to look at all the components that needed to be incorporated into the “box” and decide how they could fit together. I also looked at what requirements needed to be met. From this I was able to brainstorm up several different ideas that I could then compare and turn into a final design selection.
Summary of Results:
By using a QFD approach I downselected the several ideas that I had come up with. The criteria used for the QFD was dependent on the customer needs of EFI Electronics. The final selection was actually a modification of one of the brainstorming ideas. The design was modified because of the lack of performance toward one of the customer needs.
Lessons Learned:
Several important points were discovered during the design process. These discoveries came because I was able to see several solutions to the problem of building the box during the brainstorming process. Then by using the QFD matrix, I was able to actually conceptualize the strengths and weaknesses of the designs in relation to the customer’s (EFI Electronics) needs, thus enabling me to grasp the best design solution possible.