Manufacturing
Facility – Mechanical Engineering Department
Sabina Miles
With reference to the minutes on 02/04/04, the group consulted the technicians
in the departments manufacturing area. The results were as follows:
• General Cutting Machines: CNC, mills and lathes etc.
• Rapid Prototype
• Sheet Metal Work: forming and welding
• Pre-formed plastics: cutting and fixing
• Wood work
This information relates directly to how each component should be made with
the optimum function and cost in mind.
Structure:
The restraints of the facility apply. Metal and plastic can be bought in
rod or sheet form and fixed accordingly.
Floating Bodies:
The material for the floating part of the vessel needs to have uniform wall
thickness to ensure that the centre of gravity can be calculated. It should
be of simple geometry, water-tight and reasonably hard wearing. The options
are:
SLA Resin- which can form a thin-wall shell of any shape. It can only be
left in water for around 30 mins, although treatment can be applied to extend
this time. The material is reasonably cheap because it is readily available
to the department. The maximum size is a cube of 250mm in each direction.
Perspex Sheets- can be used for the square-type geometry. They can be cut
and fixed cheaply, with screws and silicon glue. A curved geometry would
need to be pre-formed. However, the department currently has a length of
tube, 150mm diameter and 5mm wall thickness, available for use. Alternate
plastics can be used depending on cost vs. qualities.
Weights:
The metal should be hard wearing so that the weights maintain their accuracy.
With reference to ‘Job Shop Machining’, the machines can produce a highly
accurate mass of metal to be used as weights for the experiment.