Final Design
Water Buffalo Final Design:
The final cart design consists of 5 basket levels. With each level holding 20 components, the maximum loading capacity of the design is 100 components of varying sizes. Components are loaded onto the baskets in a circular pattern to optimize the loading space. To ensure the components are cleaned thoroughly, the baskets are all placed on top of a heavy duty bearing, allowing the baskets to spin inside the conveyor washer so water hits components are multiple angles
The cart itself weighs approximately 150 lbs.. When loaded with components, the total weight adds up to roughly 250 pounds. Analysis with an accelerometer showed the rotation speed inside the wash to be around 36 RPM.
Final Cart loaded with components Final cart wrapped in plastic for transportation
Components:
Basket: Originally a clothing rack topper, the baskets have a retaining wall along the outside to keep components inside. The open grid feature gives components maximum water exposure during cleaning.
Original Basket
Since the basket radius was an inch short, the team bent stainless steel rod the expand the inner diameter of the baskets to hold the components.
Welding joints where the new ring was added to the basket
Bearing: Coated Steel and Iron bearing was coated in high temperature corrosive resistant material and can hold up to 5000 lbs axial load. This bearing will support all the weight of the cart and components as well as allow for a more smooth rotation. This bearing is sealed to keep out water and debris from damaging the inside steel balls. The bearing also comes with a spring loaded pin, allowing the cart to have its spin mechanism locked completely for transportation and wrapping.
Bearing with spring loaded pin lock
Centrifugal Brake: The brake consists of a flat square piece of aluminum with friction material on one side. The brake is attached to the base support structure with a hinge, allowing it to swing freely. As the cart rotates at increasing speeds, the centripetal force on the brake increases, causing the brake to push against the baseplate and increasing frictional force.
Centripetal Brake taken off the cart
Base-support structure: The base support structure holds up the support poles, attaching everything to the top of the bearing. Additional support was added in between each bar to reduce the twisting of the cart and provide additional stability.
Base structure on welding table
Wheels: Stainless steel iron-caster wheels were used to prevent rusting after going through the washers several times.
Lockable caster wheel
Support Poles: The baskets are held between 4 aluminum support poles. The poles haves holes in them 10.5 inches apart to fix the baskets. Slots were cut at the bottom of each pole to attach it to the base support.
Anodized aluminum support pole
Component Separators: The components are separated by stainless steel cable, fixed to a ceiling layer and the bottom basket. The cable is flexible to allow components to be easily loaded and removed.
Stainless steel cables crimped at the top layer
Video of Prototype testing in wash:
