The Team:
Josh Midley - Mechanical Engineering (University of Maryland College Park)
Silas Cascio -Chemistry & Environmental Science (Oberlin College)
Gnatt chart
List of Problems
Decision Matrix
Problem Justification
Potential Market Survey
Problem Statement
Hotel management and maintenance staff acknowledge that garbage/laundry chutes get blocked up with objects and present possible danger to those below, especially during the summer season in hotels and condos located in resort towns, such as Ocean City, MD.
Individual Summary
This is one of the most thought out and involved projects I have had to work on and I am enjoying it. This is also the first time I have used a Gnatt Chart and followed the schedule so closely, like a real-life, full scale engineering project. At the beginning of this project, I thought that we would be tasked with just building an object of any kind that seemed cool and fun. I soon realized that with the approach that the course was taking that, and easy building project would not be the case. Instead, this project is a thought out, brain-racking, realistic type of assignment. Silas and I thought up of 8 problems that we could potentially invent for out final design. Bouncing our Ideas off each other and working though the decision matrix with Silas was fun and improved both of our teamwork skills. We finally decided on the problem that would be the best for us to work on and created the problem justifications for a smart laundry/trash chute. The potential market survey was one of the hardest parts of the project so far because our project is not as much of a widespread problem as others, so getting enough responses on the survey was a bit difficult but not impossible! Once we finished getting the results, we created a problem statement and moved on to part B.
Previous Patents
Previous Products
Potential Market
After some research conducted, we found that there are 54,200+ hotels in the US. This information collected from the American Hotel & Lodging Association tells us how many hotels can potentially buy our product. There are also about 38 million multi-family Units in the US. The use of any type of chute is usually found in older homes however, if even just a fraction of the total 38 million homes have chutes and will buy our product, we would have a good market.
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Individual Summary
Starting our research and finding a potential market was a bit challenging because of how specific our problem is. Finding the previous patents was fairly easy with the use of Google Patents which had everything we needed, including pictures of the product. Our search for previous products was the challenging part as there are few previous products that matched what solved our problem to the full extent. That caused Silas and I to have to look for previous products that partially solved the problem. After that, we considered who and what would be included in the potential market. This was a Short section of the project, but it was still an important one.
Product and Design Specifications
Product Name: SMART Chute
Designers: Josh Midley and Silas Cascio
Target Consumer: Hotel/Condominium or Residential owners
Our product was designed for trash/laundry chutes which are mostly found in Hotels and Condominiums. Some residential homes still have chutes as well.
Our product was designed for trash/laundry chutes which are mostly found in Hotels and Condominiums. Some residential homes still have chutes as well.
Individual Summary
During this stage of the product, Silas and I started to really get a rough picture of what our product will look like. We considered all the design specifications and constraints that would be implemented in the project and make it efficient and possible to build. Design specifications such as the materials and the target cost took longer to plan out because this is a fairly complicated build, and the materials we use could get expensive. Ductwork and wood are gonna be the two main materials used, with the wood acting as the frame of the chute in the wall and the ductwork as the path the trash/laundry that falls down the chute. We now plan to start building in April and I am excited to see how our build will turn out.
Sketches
Concept Test Survey
Proof of Surveys
Poster Walk
Decision Matrix
Annotated Final Design
Final Design Description: We basically took our original design and changed the trapdoor to work from the side so that it would be more ergonomic. We also changed the dimensions so that the prototype would be a bit smaller, and thus easier to handle and more practical. This design will improve chute safety for users by detecting open doors above and activating a light. For staff emptying the collection bin, there will be a trapdoor that can be closed in order to prevent projectiles from exiting the chute for a short period of time. When the trapdoor is closed, there will be indicator lights on each floor, as well as the basement floor, that will both warn users that objects should not be placed in the chute, and also show maintenance staff that the trapdoor is still closed. Finally, in order to detect blockages, we will try to implement an infrared camera at the top of the chute pointing down that will connect to a display on the basement level. If this does not work, if this does not work, we will instead use a proximity sensor or a pair garage door sensors at the elbow of the chute where most tend to blockages occur.
STEM Concepts Investigated
-knowledge of MultiSim (from previous years)
-wiring circuit board, possibly with chip, and cutting wires
-determining power source (at least for prototype)
-purchasing the correct limit sensors
-how to place glass or material in front of LED in order to make an aesthetic display
-building a scale model: determining materials and where to buy them
-wiring circuit board, possibly with chip, and cutting wires
-determining power source (at least for prototype)
-purchasing the correct limit sensors
-how to place glass or material in front of LED in order to make an aesthetic display
-building a scale model: determining materials and where to buy them
Letter to our Adviser
Needed Items for Construction
-MultiSim
-Circuit board with wires
-4 limit switches
-4 LEDs
-4 door handles
-Infrared camera
-Camera display (spare phone)
-PVC pipe/tubing
-Wood for frame
-Power saw
-Power drill
-Circuit board with wires
-4 limit switches
-4 LEDs
-4 door handles
-Infrared camera
-Camera display (spare phone)
-PVC pipe/tubing
-Wood for frame
-Power saw
-Power drill
Product Viability
Electrical Wire Life Cycle
Plastic Life Cycle
Individual Summary
I learned a lot about what goes into the creation of a product. Products just don't make themselves, but every part of the product has to be manufactured separately. With our product, the life cycle is really long because the sensors and light system are non-moving built to last parts, making the "Use" stage of our product long. It is important to know the life cycle of a product that you design because it can affect various aspects such as price, durability, and maintenance. When a products life cycle is very short, in most cases the price of that item will be less and if the price is less then the build quality and durability will suffer. To be ethical is to be morally good and correct. This could be taken into consideration when it come to the trade offs that concern a design and whether or not it would be worth it to manufacture.
Construction of Prototype
Tools and Equipment Used:
-Circular Saw
-Table Saw
-Circular Saw
-Table Saw
Multisim Circuit
Testing
Test 1
Test 2
Results
Test 1 was a operations test that was conducted on the doors of our trash chute. The objective was to see how well the doors slid open and closed when trying to access the chute. The second objective was to see how well the doors trigger the limit switch sensors on the opposite end of the main face plate. For the first test, the top or 3rd floor door failed the criteria for a passing grade because there was an issue with the door track, causing the door to get stuck when opening and closing. After testing the rest of the doors, we removed door 3 and sanded the bottom area where we thought the problem located. We preformed the test again and the door passed the test.
Test 2 was a observation test that was used to find out the practicality of using the infrared camera as our blockage detection system. We preformed the test on multiple different objects that might be thrown down a chute and found that over 50% of the objects tested were visible by the IR camera. Silas and I did not have to change anything after this test
Test 2 was a observation test that was used to find out the practicality of using the infrared camera as our blockage detection system. We preformed the test on multiple different objects that might be thrown down a chute and found that over 50% of the objects tested were visible by the IR camera. Silas and I did not have to change anything after this test
Individual Summary
I am quite amazed with how the final project turned out. Working hard week by week and seeing it come together was really cool. Silas and I had a bit of extra time and wanted t0 put that time into a short informational commercial/ funny video to add to our presentation. We took the video in short parts and after we got all the takes, we edited all of them to get one final video. Silas and I were also able to contact our mentor for the last time to ask him about any improvements or changes we could make to our design. Mr. Thompson suggested that instead of using an IR camera for our blockage detection system, we could use a sensor very similar to a parking garage sensor. This would be a useful improvement to the efficiency of the detection system, however, with limited time left, we decided to leave the original system alone.
Presentation Review
I think the dry-run experience was extremely helpful and essential to having a great final presentation. I went into the dry-run presentation thinking that it would be identical to the solo practices that Silas and I had. However, I soon realized that even having just Mrs. Zienty grading us while we presented made us nervous and showed us the places we need to improve in the presentation. The dry run went very well, and it was probably the best run through Silas and I had done at the time. We got the feedback we needed to improve the presentation and really impress the judges. Our final presentation was even better than the dry run. With the added changes to the format and the demonstration of our prototype, the final product came out awesome. One thing I wish would be different with the final presentation is the volume of the video/commercial we made. For some reason we were still having volume problems even after I had boosted the video.
Our Advisor and Mentor
Shane Thompson studied Acoustical Engineering at the University of Hartford in Connecticut. He has spent the majority of his career at Wallops Flight Facility working under the NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract, working on integration and testing of various payloads and deployment systems. He now works in NASA's Engineering & Technology Directorate at Wallops Island. We exchanged a few emails with Shane, bouncing our ideas around and receiving feedback and tips from him. He suggested the change from a 90 degree elbow to a 45, among others. We also set up a Microsoft Teams meeting, where we discussed more professional ways of defining requirements (such as using terms like "shall"), how to determine and communicate a final price, and some other ways that we could detect blockages (he suggested garage door sensors, as did Mrs. Zienty). Shane also talked to us about his experience with college and finding work as an engineer, as well as some insight into the design process that he has acquired as a supervisor in his position at NASA.
Reflection
My Reflection:
This whole project was an awesome and very informational experience that I really enjoyed. Seeing a design that Silas and I drafted and worked on for 2 and a half months come to real life is one of the best feelings ever. I really enjoyed working with my partner Silas during this project. He is a very hard worker and has the ability to take on any challenge that stands in his way. Another cool part of this project was being able to use the Gantt chart that we had drafted in the beginning to keep track of our time and progress of the project. It was the first time that I had completed any type of project to a strict schedule that was made by myself. Throughout this project, there were plenteous opportunities to learn new things. One of the new things that l learned is the concept of getting things done the second you have time. I have always been the type to save things for later when I think I will have time, when in reality, I had time right at that moment. During this project I have learned to get what I need to do done so I do not have to worry about extra tasks later. I also thought it was really cool that we were able to have an advisor for our project that was a NASA engineer who was able to give Silas and I extremely helpful ideas and advise. Overall, this project was amazing, and I would 10/10 do it all over again.
This whole project was an awesome and very informational experience that I really enjoyed. Seeing a design that Silas and I drafted and worked on for 2 and a half months come to real life is one of the best feelings ever. I really enjoyed working with my partner Silas during this project. He is a very hard worker and has the ability to take on any challenge that stands in his way. Another cool part of this project was being able to use the Gantt chart that we had drafted in the beginning to keep track of our time and progress of the project. It was the first time that I had completed any type of project to a strict schedule that was made by myself. Throughout this project, there were plenteous opportunities to learn new things. One of the new things that l learned is the concept of getting things done the second you have time. I have always been the type to save things for later when I think I will have time, when in reality, I had time right at that moment. During this project I have learned to get what I need to do done so I do not have to worry about extra tasks later. I also thought it was really cool that we were able to have an advisor for our project that was a NASA engineer who was able to give Silas and I extremely helpful ideas and advise. Overall, this project was amazing, and I would 10/10 do it all over again.
Silas Reflection:
I'm comfortable with the outcome of our product, although I feel as if it is very simple and perhaps we could have made some more improvements to our design. Thinking about it now, it seems pretty feasible to make automatically locking doors, if we found the right kind of switch or some sort of button that could stick out behind each sliding door, holding it in place when needed. We had good time management, and pretty good communication. Josh and I worked well as a team for the most part, but I prefer to be in control and get tasks done thoroughly and ahead of time, while Josh likes to procrastinate sometimes. We were able to finish lots of parts a few days ahead of time, which was good. Our design turned out to look even better than our final sketch, thanks to the help of my dad, and luckily we didn't run in to any major problems during the construction phase. It was a great project to showcase many of the skills that we had learned last year in Digital Electronics, and it was fun to work with my best friend on an interesting project. I don't have many future recommendations, other than maybe grade the brochure before the "dry-run" or provide the rubric (I don't think that it was provided) so that students can make those changes before the day prior to the final presentation. I think that it would also be beneficial to increase the amount of time given for the final presentation, because it was almost impossible for us to get our presentation under ten minutes, and we were talking as fast as we could while still maintaining a conversational tone.
I'm comfortable with the outcome of our product, although I feel as if it is very simple and perhaps we could have made some more improvements to our design. Thinking about it now, it seems pretty feasible to make automatically locking doors, if we found the right kind of switch or some sort of button that could stick out behind each sliding door, holding it in place when needed. We had good time management, and pretty good communication. Josh and I worked well as a team for the most part, but I prefer to be in control and get tasks done thoroughly and ahead of time, while Josh likes to procrastinate sometimes. We were able to finish lots of parts a few days ahead of time, which was good. Our design turned out to look even better than our final sketch, thanks to the help of my dad, and luckily we didn't run in to any major problems during the construction phase. It was a great project to showcase many of the skills that we had learned last year in Digital Electronics, and it was fun to work with my best friend on an interesting project. I don't have many future recommendations, other than maybe grade the brochure before the "dry-run" or provide the rubric (I don't think that it was provided) so that students can make those changes before the day prior to the final presentation. I think that it would also be beneficial to increase the amount of time given for the final presentation, because it was almost impossible for us to get our presentation under ten minutes, and we were talking as fast as we could while still maintaining a conversational tone.