MS Topcase Enclosure Design
MS Topcase Enclosure Design
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Enclosure Design for Automotive Manufacturing in Hazardous Environments
Enclosure Design for Automotive Manufacturing in Hazardous Environments
Completed August 2020
This project was done during my internship at Carlisle Fluid Technologies in the summer of 2020. The goal of the project was to design an enclosure for the MS Topcase powder coating control computers. At the time of starting the project the MS Topcase was already an established product on the market. However, the product was having issues with its old enclosure, some resulting in catastrophic failure.
This project was done during my internship at Carlisle Fluid Technologies in the summer of 2020. The goal of the project was to design an enclosure for the MS Topcase powder coating control computers. At the time of starting the project the MS Topcase was already an established product on the market. However, the product was having issues with its old enclosure, some resulting in catastrophic failure.
For those unfamiliar, powder coating involves spraying a dense cloud of statically charged plastic particulates, which adhere to the surface being coated. These charged particles represent significant risk to electronics so it is imperative that all electronics in the manufacturing area are properly protected. The old enclosures were sealed with a spray sealant that once applied permanently sealed the enclosure. This method lead to two problems, 1st and most common, workers at facilities would need to open the enclosures to fix internal issues, braking the seals and opening the possibility for a catastrophic failure. The second issue is that the back end plates of the enclosure were only secured by 4 screws in the corners, leading to weak spots in the seal. When coupled with the natural weakening of the seal over time, the seal would often brake at these weak spots, leading to the possibility of catastrophic failure.
For those unfamiliar, powder coating involves spraying a dense cloud of statically charged plastic particulates, which adhere to the surface being coated. These charged particles represent significant risk to electronics so it is imperative that all electronics in the manufacturing area are properly protected. The old enclosures were sealed with a spray sealant that once applied permanently sealed the enclosure. This method lead to two problems, 1st and most common, workers at facilities would need to open the enclosures to fix internal issues, braking the seals and opening the possibility for a catastrophic failure. The second issue is that the back end plates of the enclosure were only secured by 4 screws in the corners, leading to weak spots in the seal. When coupled with the natural weakening of the seal over time, the seal would often brake at these weak spots, leading to the possibility of catastrophic failure.
My main task for the internship was to design a new endplate, seal and enclosure for the product. Doing so involved many iterations of design and testing to arrive on a satisfactory improvement. I tried many different sealant methods, including various spray sealants, foam seals, and using O-rings. Ultimately I decided a permanent foam seal was the best way to solve the problem. The permanent foam had the advantage of enabling the enclosure to be resealed when opening and closing, while retaining its shape and flexibility under high and low heat conditions. I coupled the foam seal with a redesign of how the endplates attached, adding 2 additional screws in the sections where seal failure were most common on old models.
My main task for the internship was to design a new endplate, seal and enclosure for the product. Doing so involved many iterations of design and testing to arrive on a satisfactory improvement. I tried many different sealant methods, including various spray sealants, foam seals, and using O-rings. Ultimately I decided a permanent foam seal was the best way to solve the problem. The permanent foam had the advantage of enabling the enclosure to be resealed when opening and closing, while retaining its shape and flexibility under high and low heat conditions. I coupled the foam seal with a redesign of how the endplates attached, adding 2 additional screws in the sections where seal failure were most common on old models.
I ended the summer by giving a presentation of my new design. The design met a positive reception with no major pieces of negative feedback. Carlisle has incorporated the design into its next generation of MS Topcase products, so if your company uses any of them on your production lines you are using a product I helped design.
I ended the summer by giving a presentation of my new design. The design met a positive reception with no major pieces of negative feedback. Carlisle has incorporated the design into its next generation of MS Topcase products, so if your company uses any of them on your production lines you are using a product I helped design.
Though there was a team in charge of the MS Topcase product suite I worked largely independently. There was only one other mechanical engineer on the team who was my mentor, and greatly helped me throughout the project, especially early on when I was learning new software and equipment. In addition, I worked with one of the several electrical engineers on the team to ensure that the geometry changes required for my design were compatible with the physical layout of the electronics within the enclosure. Other than that I did not work closely with many of the other members of the team. The company was set up in such a way that each engineer had their own task for which they were responsible and they only interacted to ensure compatibility of their modules. I would say that the project was a success. The enclosure design was approved with no major concerns with the design and is currently being offered as part of the company's product line.
Though there was a team in charge of the MS Topcase product suite I worked largely independently. There was only one other mechanical engineer on the team who was my mentor, and greatly helped me throughout the project, especially early on when I was learning new software and equipment. In addition, I worked with one of the several electrical engineers on the team to ensure that the geometry changes required for my design were compatible with the physical layout of the electronics within the enclosure. Other than that I did not work closely with many of the other members of the team. The company was set up in such a way that each engineer had their own task for which they were responsible and they only interacted to ensure compatibility of their modules. I would say that the project was a success. The enclosure design was approved with no major concerns with the design and is currently being offered as part of the company's product line.
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