Blog #3 : Current Progress Update

   Our team has changed projects a few times, but we're finally settled and approved for our latest: a multi-spindle that you can use for removing and installing lug nuts! Since our progress report presentation, we've finalized the vehicle we're going to model the deign off. This is the most important step, primarily because of how many unique factors the vehicle demands. Specific spindle arrangements, differing depths, manufacturer keys, housing size and geometry, and simple availability have enormous impacts on the specifications the multi-spindle would have. From this, we've created a CAD of initial designs that we want to iterate upon as we explore options regarding the torque issue. One design was a single-driver gear and the other was a drive shaft with multiple driver gears. Each design is still in its preliminary phases, but we are continuously working on refining them. Currently, we are looking into what gears we can purchase since the machinist cannot manufacture gears for us. This means that in our design we have to accommodate prefabricated gears so we can make the device without needing specific gears that would drive the cost of the device up. 

Figure 1. Initial Preliminary Design Concepts

Figure 2. Alternative design concept of drive shaft with multiple gears

Figure 3. Second alternative design concept using the shaft itself to rotate driven gears

The torque issue: multi-spindle tools exist, but suffer from one particular problem that prevents their use in professional settings. Distribution of torque among the lug nuts is uneven, and we believe we’ve isolated the cause to be tolerance. We intuit that physical gaps in the gears result in something of a kinematic chain, resulting in the ‘first’ gear being prioritized. The priority nut is over tightened, and the rest are loose. We’re investigating ways to circumvent this issue through creative arrangements of the gears. Our initial design concept is based on connecting the gears that turn the nut more directly to the driver shaft, as opposed to typical designs that indirectly affect the nut gears.

   We hope to have a CAD finished, meaning that the gear selection would be complete and the materials we plan to use would be finalized. This is so we can create a prototype to check alignment and any unforeseeable design kinks we have to work out. From the CAD drawings, we also need to purchase the potentiometers and attempt to create the testing apparatus to get some metrics on performance that we can use to indicate improvement.

   We see finalizing the CAD as an obstacle, but the biggest obstacle we currently face is the upcoming workload. We are all busy with finals, projects, organizations, and capstone. Some team members are also taking 6 courses this semester, each of which is currently a buzz as the semester approaches a close. Our time is being stretched thin, and it is up to us to prioritize our time wisely to maintain consistency in progress. We have set aside time each week where we will meet and work together to help manage our time better. Also, we are transparent with each other about what we have worked on and what other things we have to do, so we can understand what is reasonable for us to work on in the given time.