2006-2007 Senior Capstone Project
Design Theories
Design Concept 2
Design Concept 1
An incompressible liquid device would be designed in the specified parameters. The general operation of the device would include displacing an incompressible fluid and reading the change in pressure using a pressure transducer. This design consists of a thin flexible balloon material placed around a perforated tube that would be filled with an incompressible fluid. The device would be placed into the crimp head and a radial force would be applied by the crimp head displacing the fluid into the handle. Within the handle a pressure transducer would read the pressure change and output a voltage reading.
This design consist of a strain gauge that would be constructed around a cylindrical material such as a metal. Ideally the strain gauge would measure the change in diameter of the metal cylinder and this information will produce the force the crimp head is exerting on the cylinder.
Design Concept 3
The idea behind this design is to measure the defection of a piece of rubber. A cylindrical piece of rubber will be placed inside the crimp head and the lateral movement will be measured by non contact sensors. The sensors will be mounted to the activation arms of the crimp head using magnetic hubs. Rubber has constant volume so we are able to use this information to find the force that is applied to the rubber by the crimp head. Shown are some pictures to visualize the design.
Decision Matrix
Decision Matrix Each of the 3 design concepts were researched thoroughly and put into a Decision Matrix to determine which design would best suit our client’s needs, such as size, feasibility, cost, ergonomics, and how well it solves the given problem.
Each design criteria was weighted by importance from 1 to 3, 3 being high, 1 being low. Each design was then weighted individually from 1 to 3 based on how well they met the criteria. The Design Criteria value were multiplied by the Design concept values and totaled. The lowest value indicates the least effective design theory and the greatest value indicates the most effective design concept.
As can be seen from the Decision Matrix below it is clear that Design Concept 3, Lateral Displacement, is the most effective and best design choice.
