Gate 1 - Project Planning (Group 24)
Group 24 - Cyclo HBB Parallel Shaft Helical Gearbox with Cyclo Reducer Input
Contents |
Introduction
During gate one we chose a product and began to plan for the project ahead of us. The goals were to prepare for the upcoming product dissection, to set up a management structure for the course of the semester, to carry out initial research, and to preform an initial analysis.
Work Proposal
Product Dissection
We are expecting the dissection process of the Cyclo HBB to be much more challenging than its assembly because we are unfamiliar with it and none of us have very much experience dissecting machinery. Also, during the disassembly, we want to take special care to prevent damage to any of the internal components within the system and to the tools themselves. We will be very careful about using the correct tools in the appropriate situations.
Furthermore, during the dissection of the Cyclo HBB we will be indexing the locations and the specifications of each part that we remove. Each part will be classified and stored separately to ensure organization and prevent the loss of parts. We also plan to document the dissection process using photos so that we can provide a step by step walk through of the entire process. This dissection walkthrough will prove useful during the reassembly of the gearbox.
We are expecting the inside of the gear box to be filled with oil, grease, and other lubricants. We are planning to spend time cleaning each of the components once we remove them. This will help ensure a cleaner, safer, and better work environment for the remainder of the project.
We expect to spend 6 hours on the dissection of our product.
Product Assembly
We are expecting the assembly of the product to be much easier than the dissection. Seeing as though the assembly is the reverse of the dissection we will be able to use our step by step dissection tutorial as reference. We should have no problems locating and identifying the components within our product because they will each be labeled and stored separately in different plastic bags. We hope to completely reassemble the product; we don’t anticipate breaking anything during the dissection.
We expect to spend 4 hours on the reassembly of our product.
| Required Tools |
|---|
| 4ft x 6 ft Work Table |
| Phillips Head Screw Driver |
| Slot Head Screw Driver |
| Cross Head Screw Driver |
| Hex Head Screw Driver |
| 1/4" Socket Wrench |
| 1/2" Socket Wrench |
| Size 10 Pipe Wrench |
| Size 14 Pipe Wrench |
| Stud Removal Tool |
| Rubber Mallet |
| Vice Grips |
| Pliers |
| Oil Pan |
| WD-40 |
| Gloves |
| Rags |
| Safety Glasses |
Management Proposal
In order to successfully complete the project, we created a management structure to work more efficiently. The positions are listed in the strengths and weaknesses table below.
We will have weekly meetings on Saturday from 4:00PM to 5:00PM. These meetings have been discussed and previously agreed upon by every member in the group. All members of the group will be expected to attend each of these meetings. If a member must miss a meeting it is his responsibility to notify one of the other members. The Jason Feuer, the communication liaison, will notify the missing member of the group on missed material. In the event that Jason Feuer is missing, Patrick Joy, the Project Manager, will absorb his responsibilities.
The purpose of these meetings will be to keep everyone up-to-date. In each of these meetings, a more specific weekly meeting plan will be created. This weekly meeting plan will vary depending on the current progress, the given requirements, and any foreseeable setbacks that could restrict progress. If questions or problems arise, the communication liaison can be contacted to answer them and inform the group.
Group Member Profiles
| Group Member | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Joy | Project Manager |
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| Yuri Marsan | Lab Manager |
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| Jason Feuer | Communication Liaison |
|
| Hao Kiat Tan | Technical Expert |
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| Jason D Souza | Technical Expert |
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We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. Luckily, one person's weakness is covered by another person's strength. Our strengths and weaknesses are as follows:
| Name | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Joy
Project Manager |
|
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| Jason Feuer
Communication Liaison |
|
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| Jason D Souza
Technical Expert |
|
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| Hao Kiat Tan
Technical Expert |
|
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| Yuri Marsan
Lab Manager |
|
|
Personal Development Plan
Our group is very balanced and if we work together, we can complete the project successfully. However, there are areas that each of us will focus on developing throughout the semester.
Patrick Joy:
Patrick Joy, the Project Manager, is going to work on his communication skills throughout the semester by focusing on making expectations clear, discussing meeting times to make sure they are viable for everybody, announcing planned meetings early, and just by frequently making contact with group members so that everybody stays in touch.
Secondly, he is going to use this project as an opportunity to develop patience. It is a difficult task to organize and motivate a large group of members. He is looking forward to the challenge and is focused on personal development in order to better facilitate progress without alienating anyone.
Jason Feuer:
Jason is going to work on developing his time management skills by prioritizing, by avoiding procrastination, by taking initiative, and by becoming an integral member of the team. Jason is planning to create a daily schedule so that he can more easily manage his workload over the course of the semester.
Jason is also going to make sure that he does not allow himself to get distracted. He is planning on working with the group in order to stay focused. He will use of a daily schedule will encourage him to stay on schedule throughout the project.
Jason D Souza:
Jason D Souza will make it a point to make it to each of the meetings on time. He is going to do his best to plan accordingly so that he is never late. He planning to arrive to group meetings early to insure that he is on time. Also, he is going to make note, in his calendar, of each meeting throughout the semester, this way he will not forget any of the meetings.
Jason is also going work on his technical writing skills throughout the semester. His plan is to write a portion of this project, inviting constructive criticism from the group and from the professors.
Hao Kiat Tan:
Hao’s goal throughout the semester is to work on his organization skills. He wants to make sure to keep his work organized so that it will take less time to finalize and complete any steps in the project. He is planning to work with Yuri, the lab manager, to organize and document each step in the process during this project.
Yuri Marsan:
Yuri is also taking a head first approach to improving his organizational skills. As lab manager he is making it his goal and his responsibility to maintain order during the dissection. He is going to be responsible for documenting, tagging, and organizing each of the parts removed by the rest of the group. This responsibility will give him the energy that he needs to develop his organization skills.
Conflict Resolution
If for some reason a conflict arises about how the project should be carried out we will resolve it through discussion and compromise. If these techniques don’t work the group will look towards Patrick, the Project Manager, for an executive decision. In that way, in the event of an otherwise insurmountable conflict of opinion, we will have an agreed upon method to make a decision and continue making progress. The last thing our group wants is to get stuck in analysis paralysis. We want to make quick and effective decisions that get results.
In the event that a group member stops participating we will continually inform them of group meetings, the Project Manager will reach out to him specifically with concerns, and we will encourage him to get more involved as a group. Beyond that we realize that there is not much else that we can do. We will continue moving forward as a group, making sure to continually communicate with the missing group member. We will do this to avoid isolating and abandoning anyone in the group. We understand that each of us has very unique personal lives and we respect that. We will not shut the door on them and we will continually offer future involvement in the project. However, during the peer review at the end of the semester these concerns will be expressed.
Contact Information
To reach our group with questions or concerns please contact the Communication Liaison or the Project Manager
| Title | Group Member | |
|---|---|---|
| Project Manager | Patrick Joy | pdjoy@buffalo.edu |
| Communication Liaison | Jason Feuer | jasonfeu@buffalo.edu |
Product Archaeology
Development Profile
The key economic design concerns were focused around efficiency of the product, the ease of use of the product, and the durability of the product. It is clear that Sumitomo Drive Technologies put a lot of thought into the design in order to maximize profit for the customer over the long run. From the universal patented keyless, steel Taper-Grip bushing to the patented universal housing design it is obvious that Sumitomo made no sacrifices when it comes to quality. The product was designed to withstand rugged use over long periods of time while reducing the cost of repair, installation, and maintenance.
This product was designed for use in the bottling, baking, water treatment, material handling, manufacturing, shipping, and steel industries. It was also designed for easy application to custom projects and is actually being used, currently, to help retract the 13,000-ton roof on Seattle’s Safeco Field (Cyclo HBB Catalog). The product brochure expands on this list including conveyors, baggage and handling, shredders, belt filter press, mixers and blenders, rolling mill table, screw conveyors, elevators, hoist drives, climber screens, and food processing. This product was developed for a wide range of industries and has a seemingly limitless amount of applications (Cyclo HBB Brochure).
The Cyclo HBB was designed to increase productivity while maintaining reliability during its life cycle. It was designed for easy use, helping to minimizing the costs of installation, removal, maintenance, and repairs. It can withstand 300% momentary shock loads and is rated at 10 hour daily service time under conditions of uniform loads (Cyclo HBB Catalog).
Energy Profile
The Cyclo HBB uses the rotational kinetic energy from a motor, and converts the rpm’s in order to increases the output torque. Basically the reducer decreases the rotational speed, without slowing down the motor, increasing the output force generated. This allows the system to produce more work than the motor could have done alone.
In general, the energy of a reducer is imported through the rotations per minute of a motor. Then, using series gears, the reducer’s converts the rpm’s into torque by slowing down the rotation. In theory the idea of a reducer is very simple, but in practice it can be more complicated. The Cyclo HBB reducer uses a series of gears, bearing, pins, and other parts, all connected in a complex way, in order to achieve a higher level of torque in the output. The interaction between each component is pretty simple, but the sheer number of components used makes the system very complex.
Complexity Profile
At first glance we could tell that our product was going to be complex. We determined, arbitrarily, that if the product is composed of more than 30 pieces it it will have a high complexity. Before opening the Cyclo HBB we can tell that there are a lot of components that interact with one and other. We imagine that once we begin dissection there will be many pieces ranging from seals to bolts, to screws, and to gears.
After some initial research we were able to find the official parts list from Sumitomo [Referenced in our bibliography]. The official parts list, released by Sumitomo, claims that there are 41 components inside the reducer input alone (Parts List). The individual components in this product are fairly simple mechanical devices ranging from gears, screws, bolts, bearings, discs, spacers, washers, sap rings, to pins. However, all of these simple components interact in a very intricate and complicated way in order to reduce rpm’s into torque. It is obvious from the documentation that this is not a simple process. Thus, because of the complex interaction between components, we've determined that the reducer is a fairly complex component. At this stage of the project we are unfamiliar with the internal workings of the component.
The gear box, on the other hand, is comprised of 32 internal pieces (Parts List). However, most of these are seals, bearings, and clips. As far as the complexity of the component interactions is concerned, the gear box seems pretty simple. There are three main interactions taking place: a transfer of rotation from the reducer to the pinion, a transfer of rotation from the pinion to the gear, and a transfer of rotation from the gear to the main shaft.
Material Profile
The Cyclo HBB features a rugged cast iron housing, steel internal components, and Nitrile material seals. (Cyclo HBB Catalog) The material list alone shows that it was definitely built with the longevity in mind.
Usage Profile
User Interface
The Cyclo HBB was designed for professional use on an industrial level. Engineers and mechanics are the primary users of this product. The user would interact with this product only for instillation, removal, maintenance, and repairs.
The interface of the product is not entirely intuitive. The user would need to be an engineer, a mechanic, or somebody with plenty of mechanical experience. It is clear that it was not designed for the average layman. At first glance it is hard to tell the purpose the device actually serves. Without any further information it would take investigation and dissection to fully understand its purpose.
Ease of Use
The Cyclo HBB was built with a patented universal housing design for relatively easy instillation (Cyclo HBB Catalog). However, due to the nature of the product, it is large and unwieldy and would still be difficult to install. It features a patented keyless, steel Taper-Grip bushing that allows for “quick and easy mounting and removal” (Cyclo HBB Catalog) demonstrating that the product is also designed for easy use once it is installed. Furthermore, the Cyclo HBB uses modular design to promote “interchangeable cast iron housings in foot, flanged or face mount configurations” (Cyclo HBB Catalog) for easy customization and flexibility.
Finally, the catalog boasts that the patented keyless, steel Taper-Grip bushing provides these benefits (Cyclo HBB Catalog):
- 1) Easy mounting and removal of the unit to and from the driven shaft.
- 2) Standard bore sizes require no shaft preparation such as a keyway, undercut, or keeper plate.
- 3) Backlash free torque transmission.
- 4) Works with standard shafting, no special tolerances required.
- 5) Automatic shaft center alignment.
- 6) Multiple stock bore sizes for quick delivery.
- 7) Multiple stock bore sizes for quick delivery.
As you can see, a lot of thought went into this product in order to make sure that it was easy to use in respect to the entire system in which it was designed to operate.
Maintenance and Repair
The Cyclo HBB is designed to minimize the level of maintenance needed during its operating life cycle, but it is shipped without lubricant, thus before running the reducer the appropriate lubricant must be added in accordance with the chart provided in the product manual. During the product lifecycle, if a component were to fail, replacement components can be ordered. The Cyclo HBB was designed to be dismantled and reassembled. Sumitomo Drive Technologies stresses the importance of preventing dirt from entering the bearings while it’s dissembled. Also, they stress not to damage the seals during the dismantling process. (Installation Guide)
The general maintenance of the product is easy. Proper maintenance only requires that the oil levels be checked on a systematic basis. Sumitomo suggests oil changes after every 5000 hours of operation or after two years of operation, whichever comes first. (Installation Guide). It is important to note that the product has two sections that each need to be oiled separately.
If a component of the product were to fail the product was designed to be taken apart and to be repaired relatively easily. However, the Cyclo HBB is fairly complex and would require a skilled mechanic or engineer to repair it. (Installation Guide)
