Projects

Vacuum Plate Fixture

This small vacuum fixture was designed to create a fixture system that is able to hold thin flat workpieces which are hard to hold or deform when held by conventional methods such as a vice. The vacuum is generated with a venturi pump that runs on compressed air. The base plate of the fixture has a shoulder so it can be mounted in a standard vise without parallels. Unfortunately, due to in person classes being shut down do to COVID, I have not yet been able to fully test it's clamping force or make any parts using it.

• Modeling completed in Solidworks and Fusion360

• Selected tooling, sequence of operations, and programmed CNC toolpaths in Fusion 360

• CNC machining performed on a Hass MiniMill

• The side NPT port for the press-to-connect fitting was drilled on a Bridgeport

• Tuned program to reduce cycle time and to improve finish. Cycle time was reduced by 48% from the first working CAM model. Further improvements could be made to cycle time however the primary limiting factor currently is the 6,000 rpm spindle of the MiniMill

Setup Sheets:

Base Plate

Top Plate

Assembly Drawing

Utility Carabiner Tool

This design was inspired by similar tools on the internet and created to learn complex setup and how to produce a part machined on both sides. It is still a work in progress. The blue pulleys were 3D printed with PLA to evaluate the design and proportions. The final pulleys will be turned out of aluminium using a CNC lathe. I also hope to make a machined spring clip.

The body was run on a Hass MiniMill, programmed and posted in Fusion360, has three setups and and uses 10 tools (which is the capacity of the MiniMill tool changer).

Setup Sheets:

Side 1

Side 2

Drill Clevis Pin

BMW Lift Puck

This part was created to make it safer to lift my car with a floor jack as well as a learning project to cut custom jaws. The boss of the puck fits into the jacking point recess on the sides of the car just as the emergency jack does. The skills used to create this part include:

• Modeling in Fusion360

• Custom cut lathe jaws

• Hand written lathe program to face and turn part

• Custom cut soft jaws for mill

• Boss and diamond pattern CAM programmed and posted from Fusion360

Tools used:

Hass ST-10 Lathe

• CNMG for facing and turning

Hass MiniMill

• .500 3 flute carbide end mill

• .250 45 deg chamfer tool

• .125 100 deg engraving tool

Gear Box Design

A reducing gear box train was designed for a course in Elements Of Machine Design. This includes bending stress and contact stress analysis, material selection, shaft design as well as selection of standard bearing, keys, and couplings.

Given:

Input speed = 3450 rpm

Output speed = 27 rpm +/- 3%

Power = 27 hp

Power source = electric motor

Design:

Gear pairing =

N_A = 20 N_C = 20 N_E = 35 N_G = 110

N_B = 100 N_D = 100 N_F = 140 N_H = 140

VR = 5 VR = 5 VR = 4 VR = 1.273

Actual output speed = 26.953 rpm (0.02% variance from design specification.

Gear material requirements:

• Maximum bending stress 39ksi (grade 1 or 2)

• Maximum compression stress 145ksi (grade 1 or 2)

• Hardness 360 HB (grade 1 or 2)

See the Full design report for a compressive look at my design process and full results.

3D Printed Universal Joint

The primary purpose of this project was to understand fit and tolerance. The model was presented with all features at nominal size. Features had to be adjusted on all parts for proper running fits and interference fits. All parts were printed with PLA on a Dremel Diglab 3D40 at medium quality (0.2mm). The pins are precision ground steel.