Gate 3 - Product Analysis (Group 18)

Gate 3: Product Analysis

Purpose

In Gate 2, the RC Helicopter was disassembled to its basic components. In Gate 3, we can now produce a detailed analysis of each individual component. This gate contains all the information gathered from the examination of components at the subsystem level.

This gate consists of the Project Management: Coordination Review - Cause for Corrective Action and the Product Archaeology: Product Evaluation - Component Summary, Product Analysis, Solid Modeled Assembly, Engineering Analysis and Design Revisions

Project Management: Coordination Review

Cause for Corrective Action

Overall, our group members work well together. Our time spent in and out of class or labs has made us closer friends. Our main channel of communication though is through Facebook, mainly because we can quickly share information with one another or set up meetings. Besides Facebook, we also keep contact with each other through text messages and emails.

During the course of this gate however, all of our group members had several mid-term examinations in other subjects. This prevented us from meeting up according to plan, and thus we had to produce this gate in a short period of time.

We realize that we had overlooked this problem in our initial stages of planning, and therefore will take extra precaution in the future.

As for the future, we might potentially face another time shortage to complete Gate 4. However, we will be making more changes to our plan for lab times and meetings as the Thanksgiving break is coming up, leaving us little time to complete Gate 4.

Product Archaeology: Product Evaluation

Component Summary

This section contains details regarding each component of the Syma S033G RC Helicopter which is the number of times the component is used in the product, the material the component is made of, the manufacturing process of the component, and the function of the component in the helicopter.

Part		Number of Times Used	Material	Manufacturing Process(es)	Function	Picture
Main Blade		4	Carbon Fiber	Injection Molding	Each blades on the helicopter rotate to produce lift
Balance Bar		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Stabilizes the helicopter during take-off, flight and landing.
Main Shaft		1	Steel	Forging	Links the blades with the gears and consists a component which connects the grip set and main blades.
Small Shaft		1	Steel	Forging	Inserted through the top part of the main shaft and connects the connect buckles.
Under Grip Set		2	Plastic	Injection Molding	Holds the lower blades and connects them to the main shaft.
Top Grip Set		2	Plastic	Injection Molding	Holds the top blades and connects them to the main shaft.
Connect Buckle		4	Plastic	Injection Molding	Connects the balance bar to the main shaft and also used to connect the under grip set with the limit decoration.
Limit Decoration		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Connected to the under grip set to prevent it from slipping downwards.
Head Cover Buckle		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Connects the head cover with the rest of the helicopter.
Head Cover		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Used as aesthetic and also provides aerodynamics for better flight.	[[File:|200px]]
Tail Decoration		1 (of each)	Plastic	Injection Molding	Used as aesthetic and also provides aerodynamics for better flight.
Tail Decoration Holder		3	Plastic	Injection Molding	Holds the tail decoration onto the tail boom.
Main Boom		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Connects the tail rotor set to the main frame and also carries the wiring for the tail rotor set.
Tail Support		2	Plastic	Injection Molding	Supports the main boom.
Landing Skids		2(of each)	Plastic	Injection Molding	Acts as shock absorbers when the helicopter lands.
LED Light Covers		1 (of each)	Plastic	Injection Molding	Protects the LED light circuits.
LED Light Circuits with Wiring (Middle)		2	Plastic	Soldering, Injection Molding, Drawing	Provides lighting at the middle section of the helicopter. It acts as an aesthetic feature and also enables the user to locate the helicopter in the air at night.
Motor Cooling Set		2	Metal	Rolling	Cools the motors and holds them in place.
Upper Aluminium Body		2	Metal	Die Casting	Protects the inner components and acts as an external body.
Lower Aluminium Body with On/Off Switch		2-1	Metal, Plastic	Drawing, Die Casting, Injection Molding	Protects the inner components and acts as an external body.
Batteries(Each 3.4Li-Poly)		2	Metal	Die Casting	Stores and provides electrical energy to the whole helicopter.
Battery Case		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Stores the batteries.	[[File:|200px]]
Main Frame Decoration		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Acts as decoration but also protects the motor.
Main Frame		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Protects and stores all the components such as gears, motors main shaft and others.	[[File:|200px]]
Motors A and B		1	Metal and Plastic	Die Casting and Injection Molding	Starts the rotation and causes the other gears to rotate leading to flight.	[[File:|200px]]
Lower Blade Gear		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Constantly transfers its rotational energy to other gears.	[[File:|200px]]
Upper Blade Gear		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Constantly transfers its rotational energy to other gears.	[[File:|200px]]
Transition Gears		2	Plastic	Injection Molding	Changes the speed rate of rotation either stepping up or down the speed.	[[File:|200px]]
Die Steel Set Limit		1	Metal	Die Cast	Holds the lower gear and prevents it from coming in contact with the main frame.	[[File:|200px]]
Triangle Tabletting		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Designed to prevent the gears from coming in contact with any part of the frame.	[[File:|200px]]
Front LED Lights and Wiring		1	Plastic, Metal	Injection Molding, Drawing	Provides lights at the front of the helicopter.
Tail Motor and Wiring		1	Plastic and Metal	Die Casting, Drawing, Injection Molding	Causes the tail blades to rotate.
Tail Rotor Set		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	From the rotational energy of the motor, the tail rotor components rotate and cause the tail blades to do the same.
Tail Blades		1	Plastic	Injection Molding	Rotates to achieve balanced flight.
Circuit Board and Wiring		1	Metal, Plastic	Die Casting, Soldering, Injection Molding	Receives radio signals from the remote control to carry out certain functions.
Screw 1		1	Metal	Thread rolling	Assembles and strengthens the parts of the helicopter.
Screw 2		1	Metal	Thread rolling	Assembles and strengthens the parts of the helicopter.
Screw 3		1	Metal	Thread rolling	Assembles and strengthens the parts of the helicopter.
Screw 4		1	Metal	Thread rolling	Assembles and strengthens the parts of the helicopter.
Screw 5		1	Metal	Thread rolling	Assembles and strengthens the parts of the helicopter.
Screw 6		1	Metal	Thread rolling	Assembles and strengthens the parts of the helicopter.

Product Analysis

Solid Modeled Assembly

The components that we chose to represent as 3D models are the balance bar, main shaft, and blades. We chose these components because they physically interact with one another and they play an important role in allowing this helicopter to fly.

To create the 3D models, we used the AutoCAD 2011 version. We used this version because this was the version that we were familiar with as we had used it before in our Engineering Graphics class.

Assembly:

The interaction of the components is as shown.

Engineering Analysis

A key component of the RC helicopter is its blades. The plays the essential role of creating lift for the helicopter to take off.

Problem Statement:

How much lift does the blades of the helicopter produce?

Diagram: The diagram shows the lift produced by the rotation of the blades

Assumptions:

1. The blade stays rigid during flight 2. The mechanical energy transferred from the rotor to the blades if equal during flight. 3. Air friction and drag is negligible. 4. The helicopter is moving at its highest velocity.

Governing Equations:

Lift = A x σ x V

A = Area of blade

σ = Density of air

V = Induced velocity

General Discussion:

When the blade is rotating, the natural movement of air changes around it. This flow of air is called an induced flow. The flow is directed downward, thus creating lift for the helicopter to rise in the air. The induced flow allows the helicopter to hover. When the user uses the remote control to direct the helicopter forward, the flow is directed opposite to the pitch angle, thus propelling it to move forward. under still wind conditions. Because the rotor system circulates the airflow down through the rotor disk, the rotational relative wind is modified by the induced flow.

During testing, the equation above will allow us to calculate the amount of lift produced due to the induced flow for one blade. Since our helicopter has 4 main blades, the total lift would be:

Lift = A x σ x V x 4

Therefore, the total lift produced by the RC helicopter can be calculated.

Design Revisions

A major design revision that can be made is a change in the blade sets. The RC helicopter currently has two sets of blades, the upper blade set and the lower blade set. This is a common characteristic of a helicopter, where the blades are located above the main body of the helicopter. However, with the advancement of technology, a revision can be made where the blade sets are located at the sides of the helicopter instead of on top of it. These blades would be shorter than the current blades used but will rotate much more faster. This change will make the RC helicopter look more modern, and attract the interest of consumers.

From a social factor, the redesign will increase the interest of the consumer to purchase the RC helicopter. The user would also find it more easy to interact with the RC helicopter as the shorter blades will make it safer for the user to handle it when the helicopter is turned off.

From an economic factor, the size of the blades which would be smaller would reduce the cost of making the blades. The maintenance cost of the blades would also therefore be lower.

Another design revision would be increasing the capacity of the batteries of the helicopter. The current batteries need to be charged for 2 hours but it can only be used to fly the helicopter for 20 minutes before it needs to be charged again. This proves to be a problem with users who would like to fly and control the helicopter for a long time. Therefore, larger batteries with higher charge capacities should be used instead.

From a social factor, a positive outcome will result from this change as the user will feel more entertained when they get to fly the helicopter for a longer period of time.

From an environmental factor, a negative outcome may result from this change as more electrical energy will be needed to charge up the battery. Also, the larger batteries contain more chemicals, therefore if not disposed of properly, these chemicals may leak and harm the environment.

Finally, the gears of the helicopter should be redesigned so that more torque is transferred from the motor to the shaft and blades of the helicopter. The current gears work well, however we believe by adding more gears to the system the speed of the upper top blades, lower top blades and tail blades will increase.

From a social factor, this change will allow the user control the helicopter more easily in the air as this redesign would increase the speed and maneuverability of the RC helicopter.