Week 5 - Final Week - Final Presentation and Report

This is the last of the Colloborative. We focused on finishing the final presentation and report. The presentation was a condensed version of our report, talking about our results and discussions through the project. The report was done later, filled with more details. In meantime, we finished a few other tasks, like fishing up the showcase models.

Week 4 - Drop Test Testing, Thermal Load Calculations and Showcase Model Manufacturing

This week was to finish up the simulations for the drop test, as well the thermal loads calculations. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the honeycomb structure back into the Solidworks, so the currents shall be used to see how the stress flows through the parts after the impact. For what can be determine, the stress accumulates around the openings of the parts. The stress doesn't go beyond what the ultimate stress of the PLA, so it should break on impact. I also did the calculations to determine the heat load on the full scale cabin, and also determine the cooling load needed maintain the car within comfortable temperatures. We also finished manufacturing the showcase model, though we had to sand down the inserts a bit to fit the furniture together. Lesson learned from this difficulty was that to make sure there was enough tolerances for the part to fit together. We also decided to make another side part with a door on it for the show case model.

On the demonstration model, we also fit in windows to the door made from acrylic. These windows were hand made, so they didn't fit perfectly. We also used superglue to attached them to the parts, though it was a messy process. In the future, it would probably be best for the part to have some kind of ledges for the windows to attached to instead.

Week 3 - Simulations and Showcase Model

This week was focused on making simulations of the test drop on Solidworks and making a showcase model to show to audience. For the test drop simulations, I used the inbuilt Test Drop Simulation function in Solidworks. Fiddling with the mesh parameters and the simulation time allowed me to determined that a 3 feet fall would not break the model. However, the model assumes that the part is solid, whereas the actual part is actually honeycombed with 10% infill when printed on the 3D printer. I am currently trying to figure out how to get the honeycomb structure as made by the 3D printer back into Solidworks.

On the showcase model, it was decided that the middle piece and side would suffice. I put in insert holes on the those pieces to hold in furniture. The final results can be seen below. We finished a few of the parts this week, but the rest shall be built next week.

Week 2 - Manufacturing Testing and Thermal Analysis

This week consists of tweaking the design to allow for faster manufacturing. However, there were problems with the 3D printers, so time was spent on re-calibrating them. We were able to successfully make the parts. However, further manufacturing changes will probably be needed. In the mean time, thermal analysis was conducted on the full scale model, based on the this paper (https://www.sfu.ca/~mbahrami/pdf/2013/Comprehensive%20Modeling%20of%20Vehicle%20Air%20Conditioning%20Loads%20Using%20Heat%20Balance%20Method.pdf). Initial calculations shows that the full scale requires that the climate control system would need to to remove about 12 kW of heat from the interior of the cabin. Further refinement of the calculation will be needed.

Cabin Assembly Design

Week 1 - Brainstorming and Design

This week was spent on brainstorming and designing the cabin. After going through previous designs, it was decided that a more box shaped design was better suited. The idea behind this decision was to maximize interior space, and make it easier to print out. I was tasked to create the CAD model for the design, and I also figured out how to make it modular and re-attachable. We hit a little snagged when we saw that the 3D printer was smaller than we thought, but we were able to finish the design. Next week is to test the manufacturing of the parts to see what needs to be improve for a speedier print.