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The objective of this work was to design an automated bed clearing mechanism for the Anet brand A8 3D printer, which uses Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process. This work has been carried out as a capstone course. Many OEMs are focusing on using functional 3D printed parts to replace metal parts that otherwise require complex assemblies or to reduce weight. The concept behind the work presented in this paper was to allow every user to be able to print multiple parts without human interaction. This saves time to load and unload one part at a time. The idea was to develop a universal bed clearing mechanism that can be used for most brands of 3D printers. Upon researching into the many different styles and designs of printers, it became clear that the designs are different and complex to create a universal product. It was decided to aim for the most common style of 3D printers for which easy modeling and testing should be possible.

The objective of this project is to analyze potential design changes that can improve the performance of helical spring in an independent suspension. The performance of the helical spring was based upon the result measure of maximum value of stress acting on it and the amount displacement caused when the spring undergoes loading. The design changes in the spring were limited to coil cross section, spring diameter (constant & variable), pitch and length of the spring. The project was divided into Stage I & Stage II. For Stage I, using all the possible combinations of these design parameters, linear stress analysis was performed on different spring designs and their Stress and displacement results were evaluated. Based on the results, the spring designs were classified as over designed or under designed springs.

The transmission mount in a powertrain mounting system is often a primary path for noise. This is especially the case when the transmission is mounted directly to the body without the benefit of a structural frame or isolation between the bracket and body. Since most transmissions generate frequencies above 150Hz, the transmission mount system becomes a likely noise path for this and higher frequencies. A combination of very stiff transmission bracket and very soft rubber mount between the transmission bracket and the transmission would help this problem. In this paper the development an optimally designed transmission mount for a longitudinally mounted powertrain is presented. The development procedure of such a design considers the transmission mount as part of the total system.

A coupler has been developed to prevent windshield wiper systems from being damaged by excessive loads that can occur when the normal wiping pattern is restricted. The coupler is composed of a pultruded composite rod with injection-molded plastic spherical joints (a.k.a. sockets) attached at either end. The sockets are used to attach the coupler to the crank and rocker of the windshield wiper linkage. Because the loads exerted on a coupler vary in magnitude and direction during a wiping cycle, the joint between the sockets and the pultruded composite rod must be robust. The paradigm for attaching sockets to steel couplers (i.e. over-molding the sockets around holes stamped into the ends of traditional steel couplers) was applied to the pultruded rods, tested, and found to produce inadequate joint strength. This paper details the methodology that was employed to produce and optimize an acceptable means to attach the injection-molded sockets to the pultruded rods.

Large hood mounted plastic trim components are subjected to complex and often extreme loading conditions. Typical loading conditions include solar and thermal cycling, as well as road and powertrain induced vibrations, aero lift and buffeting, and mechanical loads such as car wash. For the above components understanding and classifying the typical loading conditions is an essential and important step in achieving long term quality. This paper discusses different approaches to the design, analysis, development, and testing of plastic trim components. Samples of analysis and test results are presented to demonstrate how to identify and prevent the loss of the part function. Some useful guidelines and practices for addressing thermal expansion, dimensional variation, and redundancy in attachments are also discussed.

Doors inside an automotive HVAC module are essential components to ensure occupant comfort by controlling the cabin temperature and directing the air flow. For temperature control, the function of a door is not only to close/block the airflow path via the door seal that presses against HVAC wall, but also control the amount of hot and cold airflow to maintain cabin temperature. To meet the stringent OEM sealing requirement while maintaining a cost-effective product, a “V-Shape” soft rubber seal is commonly used. However, in certain conditions when the door is in the position other than closed which creates a small gap, this “V-Shape” seal is susceptible to the generation of objectionable whistle noise for the vehicle passengers. This nuisance can easily reduce end-customer satisfaction to the overall HVAC performance.

Sliding contact between friction surfaces occurs in numerous torque transfer elements: torque converter clutches, shifting clutches, launch or starting clutches, limited slip differential clutches, and in the meshing of gear teeth under load. The total temperature in a friction interface is the sum of the equilibrium temperature with no sliding and a transient temperature rise, the flash temperature, caused by the work done while sliding. In a wet shifting clutch the equilibrium temperature is typically the bulk oil temperature and the flash temperature is the temperature rise during clutch engagement. The flash temperature is an important factor in the performance and durability of a clutch since it affects such things as the reactivity of the sliding surfaces and lubricant constituents (e.g., oxidation) and thermal stress in the components. Knowing how high the flash temperature becomes is valuable for the formulation of ATF, gear oil, engine oil and other lubricants.

A comprehensive finite element methodology is developed to predict the compressible flow performance of a non-symmetric 7-blade axial flow fan, and to quantify the source strength and sound pressure levels at any location in the system. The acoustic and flow performances of the fan are predicted simultaneously using a computational aero-acoustic technique combining transient flow analysis and noise propagation. The calculated sound power levels compare favorably with the measured sound power data per AMCA 300-96 code.

Since the popularization of the Electric Vehicle (EV) there has been a large movement of consumers, governments, and the automotive industry due to its environmentally friendly characteristics. Unlike an IC engine, the batteries use multitudes of rare earth minerals and complex manufacturing processes which in some cases have been shown to produce as many emissions as an ICE vehicle over its entire lifespan. Another unnoticed important environmental concern has been the final recycling and disposal of the power train after its use. Unlike an ICE engine, which can be melted down or re-used, recycling batteries are much more difficult. In most cases the recycling process and the byproducts produced can be very harmful to the environment. This paper aims to be a complete cradle-to-grave analysis of all emissions produced in the life of an EV battery.