Requirements

In this section, each customer requirement will be discussed and ranked. The CRs were derived from the project description given in the beginning of the semester and from the firstclient meeting. The customer requirements are as follows: reliability, durability, supports size requirements, supports load requirements, budget, benchtop mountable, electrostatic discharge compliant, ease of manipulation, safety and portability.

Each of the requirements, listed in the Table above, must be met by the team in order to provide the client with the best version of the project. The requirements are listed in order from most important to least important, as ranked by our client. The top seven are the requirements the team must meet in order to deliver an acceptable product. The bottom four are goals to aim for but can be reached in other ways if necessary. This table displays the customer requirements on the left, along with their respective weights, the engineering requirements that were created to accomplish the customer requirements, and the target value expected to be met on the right. Additional details outlining each engineering requirement are further discussed in the following sections.

The House of Quality above helps the team compare cutomer requirements to engineering requiremnents to ensure every customer need is satified. By knowing which engineering requirement matches the customer requirment the team can focus on meeting the clients most inportant need.

• Last Updated: May 3, 2019

Close Project

Manufacturing of Subsystems

Creating the Handling Arm

This section explains the multiple subsystems and how they are manufactured to complete the whole system. Manual labor, CNC Machining, and 3d printing were all used to make the handling arm. Some parts were machined by a machine shop online, while other parts were machined in the NAU Machine shop. Raw materials were purchased for the parts that could be manufactured on campus.

• Last Updated: May 3, 2019

Close Project

Gallery

Here are some pictures related to the Handling Arm.

Proof of concept prototype

For this prototype (above), the team used a squeeze clamp and PVC pipe to make a basic representation of the handling arm. The clamp attaches to a table and uses a PVC pipe and cap to mimic the vertical tube. A T-joint is used to mimic the sleeve with a set-screw. The set-screw concept will be changed in the actual handling arm to become a rack and pinion system, which is not currently implemented in this prototype. The T-joint has a cap that was tapped to thread onto the Titan Rigging Arm. This arm is what the team will use to reverse-engineer the single knob locking mechanism. It also shows the two individual links that will be implemented to the actual device. Attached to the Titan Rigging Arm is a bolt pattern head attachment, similar to the bolt pattern the team will have manufactured. Another attachment that simulates the team’s idea is the claw, which is displayed on the table.

Titan Arm

The locking mechanism for the handling arm will model the titan arm shown above. The Titam arm was reversed engineered to better understand how the locking mechanism works, so it can be implemented into the teams design.

• Last Updated: May 3, 2019

Close Project

Sketches

The following sketches come from concept generation.

This design features a C-clamp at the base to secure the arm tothe benchtop. It also has two joints as opposed to three,similar to the leg shape of a bush baby.The zero-link springs are capable of holding the attached device up, without it falling.The springs will also allow for easy maneuverability, and the ability to lock out at a desired location.The head for this is a ball-joint that would allow for different attachments to be added on.

This design uses a C-channel base with two screw clamps to fasten the device to a workbench. A vertical tube is welded onto the top of the base. A sleeve with set screw goes over the vertical tube to make vertical gang adjustment and rotation. A one degree of freedomball joint isattached to the sleeve at a 45-degree angle. The first link attaches to the ball joint then attaches to the center pivot on the other end. Inbetween the two links, there are a pivot joint and the locking mechanism for the two ball joints at either end. On the end of the second link,there is a “fully rotating” ball joint with quick detach for the different head options. The quick detach consists of a C-clip to lock axial movement as well as a groove and key to lock rotational movement of the head. The central pivot will utilize a knob to rotate two cams that will force two shafts to pin the ball joints in place at either end. The shock assists with ease of manipulationkeep the arm from collapsing when the joints are unlocked and help contribute to the overall load factor of safety. Exact materials for all the components have not been decided upon.

This design focuses only on mount head type.The body is made out aluminum and features 3 joints with abolt-pattern mount head. There is an industrial-grade clamp attached to the benchtop which lacksthe ability to adjust to a wide variety of benchtop thicknesses. This design allows the vertical joint to swivel in the base of the clamp so the entire arm can have a full 360 degrees of rotation. There is no designated locking method on this design,however, it has the capability to add a locking mechanism.The bolt head allows users to attach an avionics system to the arm by bolting the avionics system to the attached bolt mount featured on the arm. This design does not have the ability to switch head mounts as the bolt pattern is fixed and would not be removable. The bolt pattern on the head is a generic bolt pattern used in industry that would allow for a wide range of bolt spacing to be used and adequately attached.

This design makes use of a weighted base attached to a cylinder with a sleeve over it. The sleeve is attached to a beam, which isattached to a hydraulic cylinder which are pinned to each other. The sleeve will give the system yaw and vertical movement. The beam and hydraulic will give the system pitch. The arm cannotextend outwards and does not allow for roll. The ideal system would consist of six degrees of freedom which the hydraulically assisted design does not meet. The weighted base is also infeasible becausethe device must hold an avionic at a lever arm, so the base would have to be a multiple of that. So in order for the weighted baseto work properly, it would have to be much heavier than the team’s maximum weight of 50-pounds. The weighted base could also be a potential safety hazard if it was not able to hold the weight of the avionic. The hydraulic allows for easy manipulation of the avionic becauseit will extend at a steady rate. This will make it easy to position the device in desired position before working on the avionic. The hydraulically assisted arm also uses crank straps to hold the avionic in place. This will allow for a secure hold for abstract shapes.

This design uses a C-channel base with two screw clamps to fasten the device to a workbench. On top of the base is a shaft with ball bearings allowing for full rotation at the base. From there, there is rectangular tube going up to a 1 degree of freedom joint with a shock mount. Another link extends to another 1 degree of freedom joint with a shock mount. On the end of this third link,there is a ball joint with quick detach shaft. The quick detach consists of a C-clip to lock axial movement as well as a groove and key to lock rotational movement of the head. The shocks assist with ease of manipulationkeep the arm from collapsing when the joints are unlocked and help contribute to the overall load factor of safety. Exact materials for all the components have not been decided upon.

This design uses a C-channel base with two screw clamps to fasten the device to a workbench. A vertical tube is welded onto the top of the baseand a sleeve with a set screw goes over the vertical tube to make vertical gang adjustment and rotation. A one degree of freedom (DOF) ball joint is attached to the sleeve at a 45-degree angle. The first link attaches to the ball joint then attaches to the center pivot on the other end. In between the two links, there is a pivot joint as well as the locking mechanism for the two ball joints at either end. On the end of the second link there is a “fully rotating” ball joint with quick detach for the different head options. The quick detach consists of a C-clip to lock axial movement as well as a groove and key to lock rotational movement of the head. The central pivot will utilize a knob to rotate two cams that will force two shafts to pin the ball joints in place at either end. The shocks assist with ease of manipulation,keep the arm from collapsing when the joints are unlocked, and help contribute to the overall load factor of safety. Exact materials for all the components have not been decided upon.

• Last Updated: May 3, 2019

Close Project

Computer Models

This section shows what the final design looks like in solidworks

Complete Assembly

The CAD model for the handling arm was created using SolidWorks. There are four subsystems in the arm: table attachment, vertical height adjustment, locking mechanism, and head attachments. Overall, the CAD model satisfies all of the size requirements given by the client (it should not be too large or heavy for one person to be able to transport). Each subsystem on the arm satisfies a different engineering requirement.

Clamp Assembly

The table attachment subsystem is made up of a C-clamp with two screws and a 6 x 4 x 3/8th inch thick plate. The screws are 1/2 inch in diameter, and the plates for the C-clamp are 2 x 4 inches. This satisfies the benchtop mountable engineering requirement.

Sleeve Asssembly showing interior gear train

The vertical adjustment subsystem is made up of a rack and pinion system with a crank. This rack and pinion allows for rotational movement and vertical adjustment, which satisfy the degrees of freedom engineering requirement.

Arm Assembly

The locking mechanism subsystem is modeled after the Titan Arm (shown in the gallery). The center pivot point of the locking mechanism has a 2 inch diameter, and a T-handle for the lock. Turning the handle locks the center joint and the two ball joints using pressure. This subsystem satisfies the torque engineering requirement, as well as the customer request that the arm be lockable in only one place.

Head Attachment

The head attachments subsystem allows for avionics to be easily attached and removed. A ball pin is used to attach the head to the arm. The head mount will be duplicated by Northrop Grumman, so that they can design their own unique heads and easily attach them. This subsystem satisfies the engineering requirement of size of component requirement because it supports the minimum and maximum dimensions given by the client.

• Last Updated: May 3, 2019

Close Project

Documents

This section contains crtitcal documents to the team.

Deliverables:

Team Charter

Background Presentation

Preliminary Report

Presentation 2

Presentation 3

Bill of Materials

Final Proposal Report

Meeting Minutes:

9/5/18 Meeting Minutes

9/10/18 Meeting Minutes

9/12/18 Meeting Minutes Pt.1

9/12/18 Meeting Minutes Pt.2

9/17/18 Meeting Minutes

9/24/18 Meeting Minutes

9/26/18 Meeting Minutes

9/28/18 Meeting Minutes

10/1/18 Meeting Minutes

10/8/18 Meeting Minutes

10/10/18 Meeting Minutes

10/15/18 Client Meeting Minutes

10/15/18 Meeting Minutes

10/16/18 Meeting Minutes

10/22/18 Client Meeting Minutes

10/22/18 Meeting Minutes

10/29/18 Meeting Minutes

11/05/18 Meeting Minutes

11/12/18 Meeting Minutes

11/19/18 Client Meeting Minutes

11/05/18 Meeting Minutes

11/12/18 Meeting Minutes

11/19/18 Meeting Minutes

11/26/18 Meeting Minutes

11/28/18 Meeting Minutes

12/03/18 Client Meeting Minutes

12/03/18 Meeting Minutes

• Last Updated: May 3, 2019

Close Project