Introduction

For the final semester of the Manufacturing Engineering Technician Program (MEN1) at Fanshawe College students were tasked with creating or modifying a mechanical device and completing all the aspects associated with Project Management for their respective devices. The Veggie Blaster Team decided to create a vegetable slicing device similar to manual systems in the market today but more robust and safer for the user.

The Veggie Blaster Team Consisted of:

The purpose of this report is to summarize all aspects of the project including technical deliverables, project status, and the success/failure of the project. This report will outline the steps along the way the team needed to take to complete the various phases of the project. Along with the specific deliverables, any variances in planned values and actions compared to what occurred will be discussed in detail. Finally, all results and findings the team made throughout the process will be discussed and illustrated through the various documents the team completed.

The previously mentioned topics to be presented will be broken up into their respective areas of the Project Management process. Technical deliverables can be found in the Project Methodology section of the report. The Project Management section of the report will highlight the planning and scheduling aspects of the project, including all budgets and planning (i.e., Gantt Chart). Everything the team learned throughout the completion of the project will be discussed in the Recommendations and Lessons Learned section. Finally, the team will provide a detailed conclusion to assess the success/failure of the project.

Project Methodology

The project consisted of 6 phases:

· 1.1 Project Planning

· 1.2 Google Site Creation

· 1.3 Mechanical Design

· 1.4 Prototype Creation

· 1.5 Final Product Design

· 1.6 Final Presentation and Report

In the project planning phase of the project the team was tasked with creating the Scope Statement, initial planning documents, and the initial designs were created. The scope statement was prepared with the assistance of Professor Volkening and Professor MacDonald and submitted for approval. After reviewing the document, all required signatures were obtained and work on the project began. The team completed the initial budget and initial Gantt Chart along with the Risk Assessment. After the formal documents were completed, the team then moved on to completing the Pool of Ideas and Project Sketch, both of which gained approval.

Following the Project Planning phase, the team then moved on to creating the Google Site, with help from Professor Volkening, the team created a successful team website to house all the documents and results. Weekly updates were added to the website when tasks were completed along with 4 major updates occurring on a bi-weekly basis. The final iteration of the website contains every document the team created along with the status of the project.

The Mechanical Design phase of the project involved the team modelling every component of the device on Solidworks to create the final engineering drawings. These drawings consist of the main assembly drawing, tolerance stack-ups, and the Bill of Materials. The team encountered an issue with corrupt files during this phase resulting in EVA impacts and this is discussed in further detail in the Project Management section of the report.

After completing the engineering drawings, the team focused on the Prototype Creation phase of the project. This phase involved the team conducting material research to produce any components not purchased, contacting suppliers to discuss potential purchases, and completing the design evaluation.

After completing the previous tasks, the next phase, Final Product Design was completed. Material was purchased to machine key components of the device and a Low Volume Process Planning Evaluation was completed on one key component.

Finally, the team moved on to the Final Presentation and Final Report. The team finished machining key components and presented on April 05, 2022. The final report was completed for first submission on April 08, 2022, and after feedback from Professor MacDonald the completed Final Report was submitted on April 16, 2022.

Project Management

The project management section outlines the planning completed by the Veggie Blaster team and all variances between initial plans and actual plans are discussed. The team encountered various issues throughout the project, all of which had an impact on the projects timeline and the team was forced to accommodate to maintain deadlines. The final SPI value for the project was 0.8722 and the final CPI value was 0.9982. At the time of completion of the project the final status was behind schedule by approximately 10%, however 84% of deliverables were completed. The project was overbudget by $16.00 in terms of planned values of the tasks completed. Issues with time management, material suppliers, technological difficulties, and time commitment to the project by the team members are the root causes for the previous values. Despite the setbacks, the team was able to complete all technical documentation deliverables, and most of the machining and purchasing of components.

Recommendations and Lessons Learned

Through the various setbacks and challenges the team faced during the completion of the project. There a few key recommendations the team could make to improve on future projects. The most impactful recommendation the team made is to maintain focus on the tasks at hand. There were many times where the team lost focus on the current tasks and focused on the larger picture of the project and fell behind the schedule. As a result, time had to made up in future tasks and some tasks were left unfinished. Along with that, meeting as much as scheduling allows would provide a better result in completion, use of proven product over designing new components would make designing aspects of the project easier and save time, and finally start tasks as early as possible giving the team more time to accommodate for issues that arise.

Conclusion

As a conclusion the Veggie Blaster Team does believe the project was a success despite not having a functioning device. As was stated above, 84% of the project was completed and delivered on time. The project was only slightly over budget by a marginal amount compared to the total cost (0.15%). Given more time, the team would have been able to create a prototype and a functional device. There were setbacks and misunderstandings, but the team still managed to deliver every technical component aside from having physical components. Through simulation the device’s functionality is possible and the team believes it would perform as intended.

Project Description

In the current state of vegetable preparation, there lies many issues related to safety in terms of using a traditional knife and cutting board. The Veggie Blaster aims to create a solution that will eliminate the use of knives as a whole and create a device that will provide not only a safer alternative but a more efficient alternative to traditional preparation methods. Along with eliminating safety issues, the Veggie Blaster device aims to relieve the stresses placed on the body from repetitive wrist motions during the preparation of large quantities of vegetables in the Food Service Industry. Finally, persons with physical disabilities may find it difficult to prepare vegetables independently, so the Veggie Blaster will create an alternative for such persons that will give them the ability prepare vegetables without the assistance of another person.

To satisfy the above-mentioned issues with vegetable preparation, the Veggie Blaster utilizes a covered blade that will not allow the user not to be endangered by a sharp edge while device is in use. The rotary crank used to operate the device provides an ergonomic solution to the repetitive motions necessary to prepare mass quantities of vegetables. Finally, using the single crank the Veggie Blaster is operated with the use of only one hand and will require minimal dexterity to operate.

The Veggie Blaster operates with the use of a single rotary crank to control the movement of the cutting blade. To accomplish proper operation, raw vegetables can be placed by the user into the input end of the vegetable chute. The raw vegetables are fed down the chute by gravity. The main body of the device houses a rack and pinion system operated by the rotary crank that reciprocates the cutting blade across the bottom of the chute. The sliced vegetables then exit the device through a opening underneath the cutting blade with the use of gravity. The main mechanism housing and input chute are fastened to an A-Frame structure used to hold the device above any preparation surface, including but limited to a salad bowl. The feet of the A-Frame are capable of properly gripping the surface beneath the device to avoid any movement of the device during operation.