Gate 4 Content
Contents |
Purpose
In this stage of the project we will be reasembling our Toro Snow blower. Then we will be making detailed conclusions about our product.
Project Management: Critical Project Review
Product Management
Now entering the final gate, our group problems have started to straighten themselves out. With exam week being a week away, and many other assignments due, the group has completed our project a week in advance to prepare for these upcoming events that leave most engineering students in very stressful situations. We planned ahead to avoid all nighters in the library collecting material from all the members, to date this is the most productive of gates we have had yet. We feel as a group we have made great strides to becoming engineers due to the advance we were able to acquire information from all parties, and reassemble the snowblower.
Our group is now electing about an hour a day to look over a certain gate to make the proper corrections for the final grading, as well as working on the presentation for the class. We are again trying to be adequately prepared so we don’t run into tight deadlines, or not being able to have the proper documentation for the required fields on the final gate, and presentation.
As with any group project, either in school or in the work force, communication is always key. This has not been a problem between us. Our main source for formal communication was email. Using this to send each other our information or imagery we have found in our sections along with any question. But as this project progressed and we became more familiar with each other, our main source switched to phone. We found this method to be faster and easier to make sure the other person got our message.
Reasembly Struggles
The reassembly was not as easy as we had anticipated, many of the components in the motor did not like to be put back together without the fluids that were originally housed in them, such as the piston lacking the oil for smooth motion. If we had to repeat the disassembly we would have labeled the parts with a system allowing for proper orientation, without having to notice later on that the assembly was upside down or backwards, which then required a partial disassembly before we could move on. These are the reasons you cant teach experience. In the real world you are only as good as the information presented to you, and the experiences you have seen or mistakes you have learned from. In our young engineering careers it is an experience we need to be able to reinterpret and take and morph into other aspects of our futures.
Difficulty for the following steps are rated on a 1 to 5 scale. WIth 1 being easy and 5 being the most difficult. The rating system is only comparing the difficulty compared to other assembly steps. These ratings were coculated with taking into acount the time it took to assemble the part, the number of tools used, the force needed to put back together part and the amount thought needed.
| Level of Difficulty | Explanation of Level |
|---|---|
| 1-Minimal | No Tools Required |
| 2-Easy | Single Tool Used |
| 3-Moderate | Two tools used, i.e. socket with wrench on nut |
| 4-Some level of difficulty | Two tools, with minimal work space to perform task |
| 5-Not meant to be taken off | Was unable to dissect without significant effort and elaborate means of craftsmanship |
Reasembly
| Step # | Picture (if applicable) | Instructions of Reasemlby | Level of Difficulty | Tools used (size and quantity) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Insert the (8) 7/16" bolts, (4) washers, and (8) locknuts that connect the rotor to the rotor shaft assembly | 4, the bolts were very difficult to get to | 7/16" socket set, and 7/16" wrench |
| Step # | Picture (if applicable) | Instructions of Reasembly | Level of Difficulty | Tools used (size and quantity) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  |
Using a hammer use appropriate force to force the piston out of bottom dead center of the piston | 2 | Hammer |
| 3 | |
By using a 4.5mm socket secure the two screws to tighten the shaft bearing | 3 | 4.5mm Socket |
| 4 |  |
Use a 6.5mm socket to secure the (2) screws holding the magneto retainer wheel to the engine mount | 2 | 6.5mm socket |
| 5 |  |
Insert the (5) Torx key socket to adhere the cylinder head chamber | 3 | Torx Key |
| 6 |  |
To secure the throttle housing, fasten the (2) 7/64" Allen key bolts | 2 | 7/64" Allen Key |
| 7 |  |
Use a 6.5mm socket to set the (2) screws holding the magneto retainer wheel to the engine mount | 2 | 6.5mm socket |
| 8 |  |
To intall the piston, anchor the (4) 7/64" Allen key bolts | 2 | 7/64" Allen Key |
| 9 |  |
screw in the (2) 7/16" bolts which is holding the exhaust to the engine | 3 | 7/16" Socket wrench |
| 10 |  |
Set the (4) 3/8" self tapping mounting screws from the engine shell | 3 | 3/8" wrench |
| 11 | Using two 1/2" sockets to create a coupled moment secure the two bolts to secure the crank shaft bolts on both sides of engine housing | 5 | 1/2" socket and 1/2" wrench | |
| 12 | Using a 5/8" open end wrench and 1/2" socket fasten the shoulder bolt, and nut from the retaining idler assembly to the left side of the plate | 3 | 1/2" & 5/8" socket set and 1/2" & 5/8" wrench | |
| 13 | With needle nose pliers clamp the idler spring to the idler arm | 1 | Needle nose pliers | |
| 14 |  |
Hook the primer line to the engine cavity | 1 | none |
| 15 | Fix the two hex head capscrews holding the lower shroud to the handles | 2 | 3/8" socket set and 3/8" wrench | |
| 16 |  |
Set the gas tank in shroud cavity to the two corresponding push pin locations | 1 | Flat head screw driver |
| 17 | Inset the engine to the stabilizing bars, and align to engine mount holes of upper shroud | 1 | None | |
| 18 | Install the self-retaining screws that hold the vane control rod, and secondly adhere the muffler mounting nuts | 2 | Had to use a flat head screw drive to pry the screws in | |
| 19 |  |
Install mounting bracket from engine compartment, this is done by the two 3/8" screws | 2 | Basic #2 screwdriver |
| 20 |  |
Reinstall the left side shroud, (our snowthrower had this component being held on by zip ties) | 1 | None |
| 21 |  |
Set the rope assembly to the top of motor by (4) #4 allen keys | 2 | None |
| 22 |  |
Connect the spark plug , using a spark plug adapter from the socket set. | 2 | Spark plug socket adapter |
| 23 |  |
Install the (4) 3/8" hexhead mounting screws | 3 | 3/8" socket set and 3/8" wrench |
| Step # | Picture (if applicable) | Instructions of Reasembly | Level of Difficulty | Tools used (size and quantity) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Reset the throttle cable from its housing on the pulley | 1 | ||
| 25 | Set the chute seal ontop of the chute retainer | 1 | ||
| 26 | |
Screw on the gas cap, and lower shroud straight down | 1 | Might need to wiggle the assembly down into position |
| 27 | Screw the (3) #2 screws that hold the faceplate to the control panel | 2 | ||
| 28 |  |
Reset the upper shroud by the (2) 7/16" bolts and locknuts in the front corners of the shroud | 3 | 7/16" socket set and 7/16" wrench |
| 29 |  |
Secure the (2) 7/16" bolts and nuts that hold the chute crank rod bracket to the lower handle and draw the rod into the upper shroud | 3 | 7/16" socket set and 7/16" wrench |
| 30 | Fasten the (2) 3/8" bolts that hold the Bail to the Handle assembly | 3 | 3/8" socket set and 3/8" wrench | |
| 31 | Adhere the (3) 7/16" carriage head bolts and locknuts at the base of the chute and set in the chute assembly | 3 | 7/16" socket set and 7/16" wrench |
| Step # | Picture (if applicable) | Instructions of Reasembly | Level of Difficulty | Tools used (size and quantity) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 |  |
Your snow thrower should now look like this | ||
| 33 |  |
Chute retainer, screw the (2) 7/16" carraige botls, and fix chute detent spring to the assembly | 3 | 7/16" socket set and 7/16" wrench |
| 34 |  |
Adhere the chute handle from the chute assembly | 1 | No Tools Required |
| 35 | |
Connect the Chute deflector to the discharge chute, replace the (2)-7/16" carraige bolts | 3 | 7/16" socket set and 7/16" wrench |
| 36 | |
Install chute housing, using the (4)-9/16" carriage bolts that attach the chute to the outer shroud of the snowthrower | 3 | 9/16" socket set, and 9/16" wrench |
Our product used the same tools to reassemble that it did to take a part, These being :
Sockets used:
- 7/16"
- 1/2"
- 5/8"
- 3/8"
- 9/16
- 4.5 mm
- 6.5 mm
- Spark plug adapter
Wrenches used:
- 7/16"
- 1/2"
- 5/8"
- 3/8"
- 9/16"
Other:
- Hammer
- Torx Key
- Flat head screw driver
- needle nose pliers
- 7/64" Allen key
Design Revisions
Rotary system for chute
• Currently: To direct the snow's propulsion the user must reach forward over the handle turn the chute with a small handle attached to the back of the chute assembly.
• Revision: A more ideal way to direct the chute would be to use a gear system. The system would have a crank handle which extends up to the main handle where it could be easily accessed. The crank handle would direct the chute using simple mechanical leverage
• This could have societal concerns:
-Not all people are tall enough to reach over the handle to turn the chute.
-It is dangerous to to have the operator reaching in an awkward position while standing on what is most likely a slippery surface
With this revision the price of manufacturing would go up slightly but this would not impact the economic factor greatly. TORO might actually save money with this revision because it might eliminate some lawsuits from injury occurring while adjusting the chute with the users hand.
Uniform fasteners throughout
• Currently: It takes an excess of 14 different tools to disassemble this machine, and the average consumer household hoes not have a large array of tools at their disposal. Most of the standard disassembly took a 7/16" wrench, but two bolts needed a 9/16" wrench and this makes for the maintenance to be more complicated and a need for more tools. it seems unnecessary for those two bolts to be a different size than the rest of the main body. Also the use of thorax and alien keys means that the manufacturer didn’t want the average consumer to be able to perform their own maintenance on theses components.
• this causes an economic concern: Many people who are on a budget do not want to take their machine into a shop every time they need something taken care of, nor do they want to go out and buy a new kind of tool. Sets of tools are rather expensive and it isn’t sensible to go out and purchase a new tool set for one project.
• Revision: This is why the fasteners should be made constant throughout the machine. So that it can be taken apart and have maintenance done on it with the use of minimal tools that the standard home would have in it.
Mobility of the chute head
• Currently: The head of the chute which directs the angle of the snows projection is positioned by hand, reaching over the machine and move it.
• Revision: The chute head shout be spring loaded. Using a torsion spring at the hinge point holding the head angle open, and a cable similar to that of a bicycle brake will be attached to the side of the head to draw it shut. This will allow for the change of angle with a convenient adjustable handle up by the main machine handle.
•This will have a soceital impact. Hopefully with this revision less people will get injured while useing our snow thrower. All the number is very low of people who get injured by our machine it can never be low enough. And again this could save or company money with lawsuits with out greatly raising the cost of our product.
