Teaching
Resources
Precison Design
Adaptive Fixturing System
This project focuses on the various design aspects involved in the making of an adaptive fixturing system for surface grinders. The grinding of the workpieces with large aspect ratios is often time consuming due to the elastic stresses that occur during the clamping of the workpiece, which cause the loss of geometric accuracies once the workpiece is released from the fixture. Even more difficult is the fixturing of an irregularly shaped workpiece whose shape is incompatible with standard fixturing systems. The solution to this problem is a mechanical fixturing system that can adapt to the shape of the workpiece. By doing so, elastic stresses due to deformation are avoided and the system is capable of fixturing workpieces that would otherwise be impossible to hold during machining. more>>
Conceptual Machine Design Simplification Modeler for Rapid Machine Design
Analysis and objective evaluation of complex designs such as machine tools is difficult to perform during the conceptual design phase. CoM-SiM is a 3D parametric sketcher tool which aids an engineer to set up 3D sketches or 'stick figures' of mechanical devices and mechanisms very quickly. The user can sketch the mechanical design in CoM-SiM like sketching on paper. more>>
Concrete Cast Damper
Welded machine tool structures provide easy scalability in terms of size and outstanding flexibility in terms of rapid design and fabrication. The high thermal diffusivity of steel minimizes temperature gradients within the structure, thereby reducing the effects of warping considerably. However, damping of the structure is a very critical issue. Unlike cast iron, polymer concrete, or granite-based components, welded steel plates have virtually no internal damping (Fig. 1). The conventional approach of filling various cavities of the structure with concrete or sand can add damping but also a great deal of mass without any accompanying stiffness. more>>
Drum-Type High-Capacity Magazines For 0.499 Caliber Ammunition For M-4 And M-16 Rifles
The US Coast Guard and US Navy has asked for a magazine that can hold up to 60 of the 0.499 caliber ammunition. Because the size of stick-type magazine is prohibitive, a drum-type magazine has to be designed and tested. more>>
Design of the High-Capacity, High Caliber LW - 15 Stick Magazine
The Leitner-Wise Rifle Company has designed a conversion kit that allows existing M-4 and M-16 rifles to be converted from 0.223 to a 0.499 caliber ammunition. This conversion kit will allow the US Army, Navy, and Special Forces to use their existing rifles with a much more powerful type of ammunition. more>>
NanoStretcher
The NanoStretcher is a miniature material stretching device used in conjunction with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The purpose of this machine in combination with the AFM is to perform in-situ testing that provides the stress-strain behavior and microstructural change observation of Nano-Composites Materials. The machine is designed to test different types of material specimens with a wide range of stresses and strains (rubber polymers to high-strength Aramids). more>>
Design Guidelines for Spherical Aerostatic Bearings
Spherical aerostatic bearings are useful in applications involving three rotational degrees of freedom such as satellite motion simulators or a robotic hand joint. The main advantage of using these bearings is low stiction (starting friction), low rotational friction and high stiffness. The analytical theory developed for the design of spherical aerostatic bearings is complex and cumbersome to use for design engineers. The present work uses the Navier-Stokes equations in spherical coordinates while considering the air as a compressible fluid to obtain simple formulas for direct use by the designers. Presented is a detailed analytical and experimental analysis of spherical aerostatic bearings with multiple inlets and outlets. Equations for load capacity, stiffness, flow rate, and pressure distribution for the bearings are derived. Experiments have been conducted by varying several parameters to validate the theoretical formulas developed and to develop design guidelines for these precision machine elements. more>>
