Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Date of Degree Completion

Spring 2016

Department

Mechanical Engineering Technology

Committee Chair

Charles Pringle

Second Committee Member

Roger Beardsley

Third Committee Member

Dr. Craig Johnson

Abstract

A local orchardist was experiencing a problem that was being caused by their lack of apple picking bin moving equipment. The orchardist needed a well-engineered solution to this lack of equipment. The solution arrived at was a five bin trailer. There were multiple design requirements for this trailer, including the device needing to be able to interface with an ATV, be able to be loaded by hand, be able to carry five bins, and not exceed a budget of $750. While perfecting the design of the trailer, a number of different disciplines were utilized, which included dynamics, kinematics, static loading analysis, and material strength analysis. Different technologies were used to create a final design, including CAD modeling using Solidworks modeling software, MDSolids for maximum material stress predictions, and spreadsheet optimization of material cross sections using Microsoft Excel. The manufacture and assembly of the trailer device made use of different fabrication techniques, including welded and bolted joints. The results of the performance of this trailer were measured with multiple instruments, including a spring scale for measuring how the weight of the trailer hitch deviated from the calculated value. Also measured experimentally was the trailers ability to resist deformation occurring from a full load being dropped six inches onto the trailer rails.

Comments

Project web site: http://leitzneil.wix.com/leitzneil

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