Manufacturing
The elevator prototypes were manufactured in the laboratory workshop at the University of Oviedo. The group conducted themselves in a safe manner ensuring all potential risks were addressed prior to work commencing.
The group utilised the 3D-printing capabilities at the host University, creating a range of components from pulleys to a fully operational gearbox. Components were created in Solidworks and after final agreement with the project supervisor the parts were printed. The 3D printer allowed for highly accurate parts to be created exactly to our specifications.
The printer used ABS plastic which was a strong plastic with an allowable working stress of 22MPa. As the printer builds up the part a layer at a time, the strength was not consistent through the model with the parts being stronger along the layers as opposed to perpendicular to the layers. This was taken into consideration when orientating the parts for printing to ensure the stress was taken along the layers as opposed to across.
The group utilised the 3D-printing capabilities at the host University, creating a range of components from pulleys to a fully operational gearbox. Components were created in Solidworks and after final agreement with the project supervisor the parts were printed. The 3D printer allowed for highly accurate parts to be created exactly to our specifications.
The printer used ABS plastic which was a strong plastic with an allowable working stress of 22MPa. As the printer builds up the part a layer at a time, the strength was not consistent through the model with the parts being stronger along the layers as opposed to perpendicular to the layers. This was taken into consideration when orientating the parts for printing to ensure the stress was taken along the layers as opposed to across.
Laser Cutter
The group was fortunate in that the Universidad de Oviedo was able to offer access to a laser cutter. This allowed complex shapes to be accurately cut from sheets of material using dxf files created in Solidworks. The laser cutter was able to cut the required parts from steel, aluminium and Perspex. The laser cutter was operated by a qualified technician in the University and not by the students.
General Workshop Manufacturing
The group utilised the general workshop tools available within the host university. As previously stated, all EH&S considerations were made prior to commencing work within the workshop.