UCONN Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Job Ticket
Sponsoring Company: Associated Spring
Project Title: Stacking Device for Spring Handling
Prime Contacts: Jason Sicotte,
860-582-9581 ext 355
The Engineering Challenge: Associated Spring, founded in 1857 and a member company of the Barnes Group, is a world leader in the manufacture of precision springs for a variety of industries. In the automotive world, Associated produces a wide range of products from custom valve springs for top fuel dragster engines to internal springs used in the multispeed automatic transmissions for GM, Ford and FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automotive).
Transmission springs are used to control the engagement of internal clutches. These springs are metal stampings and are generally of the wave washer or conical (Bellville) washer design (see figure 1). The spring rate of these washers needs to be consistent and critically controlled as it directly affects transmission performance.
The manufacturing process includes stamping, tumbling (to remove sharp edges), forming, heat treat and finally verification of the spring rate (load vs deflection). Currently the springs are manually loaded into each process step, which is labor intensive and increases process cycle time. The parts are then moved by a robot through each step.
Description of Problem/Project: The objective of this project is to investigate, design and fabricate a holding or positioning device in which the springs are loaded as they complete each process step. The objective would be to have a single device for each spring design type that the robot can then pick.
Attach photos/slides:
Figure 1 Transmission Washers
Expected Deliverables:
Research on part handling methods.
Alternate designs that can gather and stack the parts and present them to a robot.
Quantitative assessment to down select the most feasible candidate design.
Design and fabrication of prototype parts to demonstrate performance.
Design and fabrication a prototype” device that can be demonstrated at Associated Spring.
Documentation and all CAD models, blueprints etc..
· Is there a specific software package required for the projects? Y ___ N _X__
Which package (name/version) ______________________
· U.S. Citizen/Person (green card) Required? Y____ N _X___
· Will Export Controlled data be used in project (EAR/ITAR) Y _____N_X_
· NDA/IP Agreements required? Y _X__ N __
· Other considerations:
Springs have a range of sizes (diameter) and design. The intent is to define a design approach that can work for all designs. Demonstration will be limitied to 1 or 2 designs.