Automatic Can Crusher

Group

Mike Morena

Eric Miller

Brian Peters

Problem Statement and Concept

Our project for the semester consists of creating an automated can crushing machine. The purpose of the machine would be to easily load and crush a standard size aluminum beverage can. If possible we would like to be able to load and crush multiple cans in succession.

In order to automate this process many machine elements will be included:

1. Electric Motor
2. Quick Return Mechanism
3. Gearing\gear reductions
4. Linkages
5. Flywheel
6. Mechanical advantage parts
7. Bearings

Customer Requirements and Engineering Specifications

Number	Customer Requirements	Engineering Specifications	Target(units)	Verification/Validation	Why?	Customer Satisfaction Level
1	Easily mountable	Time to mount(min)	15 min	Estimate the time to mount based on the geometry/complexity and number of parts	Basic
2	Be able to crush cans quickly	Cans per minute	12 cans/min	Using Working Model, it will be possible to simulate the can crusher and time how many cans it can crush in one minute	Performance
3	Standard aluminum cans. ie. Beer, Soda, Juice	Dimensions and Material Properties (inches,aluminum)	Aluminum Can (4.8in tall, 2.5in Diameter)	Measure actual cans and verify aluminum	Basic
4	Minimal jamming	Rate (jams/1000) crushes	10 Jams per 1000 crushes	Estimate how many jams the can crusher will have based on the geometry/complexity of the can	Basic
5	Crush cans to a certain thickness	Average thickness of crushed can (cm)	3/4 inch	Set the can crusher to a certain displacement when crushing a can, guaranteeing the can will be of a certain thickness when it is crushed	Performance
6	Not very loud	Decibels (dB)	20 dB	Do a sound test while crushing a can under similar circumstances as the automatic can crusher	Basic
7	Reasonable size	Dimensions/Volume (cm/cm^3)	2ft tall x 2ft deep x 10in wide	Measure dimensions in Working Model	Basic
8	Reasonable cost	Dollars ($)	$50	Estimate cost based on physical parameters of can crusher	Performance
9	Aesthetics	Customer satisfaction survey (%)	65%	Conduct a survey on people based on what the design concept of the can crusher looks like	Performance
10	Durable	Number of crushes until failure (#)	100,000 crushes	Estimate the durability of the can crusher based on physical parameters of the machine	Performance
11	Safe (Child Proof)	No. of sharp edges, finger size openings (#)(cm)	0 edges/openings	Ensure that all edges are rounded and all openings fit within a tolerance smaller than that of a child's finger	Basic

Automatic Can Crusher