Product Viability
1.
Loads- There will be metal that need to be mined from the ground that will need to be refined. There will also be cotton that needs to be gathered and refined into canvas. Additionally, we will be needing items made of plastic which is refined from crude oil. Loads on our bench will be dynamic because we will have a part that you can fold and unfold. This will put pressure on its frame and off the bench’s legs. I can calculate this load by figuring out how much pressure is on the legs versus the support pole for the track. Our product will be made out of metal, so it should be able to hold up canvas and plastic.
Materials- We are choosing materials that are durable for the outside life. They will be reinforced with sprays that will make it more durable as well. Since we are using metal, our design will have to be sturdy, but this is doable. The metal might be a little hard to work with because it has to be heated to work with, but our other materials should be very easy to utilize. The dynamic load should not be a problem because the metal is so strong. Metal will also operate in any temperature as long as it is not as hot as its melting point, which is extremely high. Since metal is a very good conductor, it will exaggerate whatever temperature it is outside. For example, if it is really cold outside, the bench will feel even colder. We hope to eliminate this problem with the use of our heating system.
Mechanical Engineering- Our design requires the input of energy and we have figured out a way to use solar panels to make it work. There are moving parts in our design as well, but these will be manually operated. Our project utilizes a dial and a pulley machine. These machines will not interact with each other, so we don’t have to worry about building them around each other. The load from our moving cover should transfer efficiently with the use of a track. The speed at which the parts move is controlled manually.
Energy- Our product requires a source of energy and we are going to use the sun. The solar panels will convert the sun’s rays into useable energy which we will store in a battery which will lead into the heating coils.
Chemical/Bio Engineering- Our design requires the conversion of metal ores into pure metals and then into useable alloys. It also requires the use of cotton which will be gathered, strung, and refined to make canvas. We will also need plastic for some of the components which starts as crude oil that is extracted from the ground and chemically refined into plastic.
Electrical Engineering- Our design will involve electricity to power the heating system. This is not a complicated system and the heat will be turned on by the use of a dial, so we will not be needing complex electronics.
2. Laws, codes, and regulations have already impacted our entire angle for our project. We were originally going to have the bench be for the homeless people, but we met with some people from the government who said that they really don’t want to have something that would “attract” homeless people, so we changed our angle completely. We have been well educated by these people on the regulations and rules that go around designing this bench, so we are prepared to create it.
Product Lifecycle-
Loads- There will be metal that need to be mined from the ground that will need to be refined. There will also be cotton that needs to be gathered and refined into canvas. Additionally, we will be needing items made of plastic which is refined from crude oil. Loads on our bench will be dynamic because we will have a part that you can fold and unfold. This will put pressure on its frame and off the bench’s legs. I can calculate this load by figuring out how much pressure is on the legs versus the support pole for the track. Our product will be made out of metal, so it should be able to hold up canvas and plastic.
Materials- We are choosing materials that are durable for the outside life. They will be reinforced with sprays that will make it more durable as well. Since we are using metal, our design will have to be sturdy, but this is doable. The metal might be a little hard to work with because it has to be heated to work with, but our other materials should be very easy to utilize. The dynamic load should not be a problem because the metal is so strong. Metal will also operate in any temperature as long as it is not as hot as its melting point, which is extremely high. Since metal is a very good conductor, it will exaggerate whatever temperature it is outside. For example, if it is really cold outside, the bench will feel even colder. We hope to eliminate this problem with the use of our heating system.
Mechanical Engineering- Our design requires the input of energy and we have figured out a way to use solar panels to make it work. There are moving parts in our design as well, but these will be manually operated. Our project utilizes a dial and a pulley machine. These machines will not interact with each other, so we don’t have to worry about building them around each other. The load from our moving cover should transfer efficiently with the use of a track. The speed at which the parts move is controlled manually.
Energy- Our product requires a source of energy and we are going to use the sun. The solar panels will convert the sun’s rays into useable energy which we will store in a battery which will lead into the heating coils.
Chemical/Bio Engineering- Our design requires the conversion of metal ores into pure metals and then into useable alloys. It also requires the use of cotton which will be gathered, strung, and refined to make canvas. We will also need plastic for some of the components which starts as crude oil that is extracted from the ground and chemically refined into plastic.
Electrical Engineering- Our design will involve electricity to power the heating system. This is not a complicated system and the heat will be turned on by the use of a dial, so we will not be needing complex electronics.
2. Laws, codes, and regulations have already impacted our entire angle for our project. We were originally going to have the bench be for the homeless people, but we met with some people from the government who said that they really don’t want to have something that would “attract” homeless people, so we changed our angle completely. We have been well educated by these people on the regulations and rules that go around designing this bench, so we are prepared to create it.
Product Lifecycle-
Summary
For this part of the project, we figured out which materials we are going to use and made a product viability and a lifecycle chart based on this information. We used our three main materials which are steel, plastic, and canvas. The product viability sheet really opened my eyes as to what we actually have to do to make this prototype. The lifecycle chart made us aware of the environmental impacts that our product has on the world. At the same time we are doing this step, we are also meeting with advisers about the building process and the needed materials. We have gathered what materials we want to use and we are currently ordering them and gathering some from teachers in the building. When we met with Mr. Stephens, he said that he would order us the metal that we needed to build the frame of the bench. We also met with Mr. Lewis and he said that he has a lot of materials that we can use freely. He also helped us get a better understanding of how heating and insulating components work.