Day: June 3, 2019

Week 2 – 4 – 23 May – 3 Jun: First Flex

Lifting ArmLeave a Comment on Week 2 – 4 – 23 May – 3 Jun: First Flex

Based on the requirements and space restrictions presented by LTA and SMRT during the first depot visit, we went through a few iterations of possible crane design (as will be detailed in another post – insert hyperlink). As of 3 Jun, we sketched out our best conceived design on paper, detailed some of the parts necessary to built this model and thought through its working mechanism, pictured below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We created this prototype model on SolidWorks too so we can use it to conduct motion studies in the future when we acquire more specific and precise dimensions, pictured below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This prototype model features:

  1. Between the lifting arm and the clamp system, there will be a ball-socket joint between lifting arm and clamp system. This ball joint will be rotatable by 360 degrees to allow for free rotation and minor adjustments. These minor adjustments will be especially useful when angling the lifting arm to pick up the unit and when installing the unit into the working space behind the LED screen. This ball joint should also be lockable so that the orientation of the pneumatic unit can be safely locked during the sliding motion installation. Then, the technicians do not have to be concerned about holding the pneumatic unit up – they simply have to provide the slight jerk/push for the sliding in motion.
  2. Lifting arm will be a retractable single arm so that the length of arm is adjustable.
  3. Between the support tower and the lifting arm, there will be a worm gear (able to support the torque due to arm and clamping system) which can move the arm up and down. This will allow our future prototype to be fully adjustable and pick up units located almost anywhere on the base platform.
  4. Two support prongs to guide the technicians to slide our lifting unit into the train. We envision the support prongs to be flush against the sides of the door and the floor of the train.

 

Hopeful we can one shot one kill with this design! 😀

 

Edit: Famous last words… :”

Week 4 – 3 Jun: New Problem with Pneumatic Unit

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We were in talks with the LTA engineers to get a pneumatic unit to work with in lab. After a few days of waiting, they informed us that there was a pneumatic unit in the SMRT-NTU Smart Urban Rail Corporate Lab and linked us up with a researcher working in that lab! Finally, we could get our hands on the pneumatic unit and start visualizing and materializing our solution. 🙂

 

We went over to the SMRT-NTU Corp Lab with a trolley and brought the unit to the Making and Tinkering Lab. However, we soon realized that this pneumatic unit (which was on display in the SMRT-NTU Corp Lab) is not the same as the unit currently used in the trains. The pneumatic unit we got from SMRT-NTU Corp Lab is pictured below on the left and the pneumatic unit used for repair and replacement works in Tuas Depot is pictured on the right.

 

 

We won’t be able to get the actual unit anytime soon too.

 

This meant that we would be working with different dimensions and different attachments on the metal base of the pneumatic unit whilst brainstorming and creating our clamp system. Our crafted clamp system had to be adjustable to allow for these tweaks in dimension and attachments. Also, this probably meant that we will not be able to custom-build a grip that can hold onto any of the attachments.

 

We had to think of a way to work around this… Thinking caps on!

 

Also, since we will visit the Tuas Depot again tomorrow, we brainstormed some of the train and depot measurements to take:

  1. Height between train floor and top of door
  2. Height between depot floor and train floor
  3. Distance between pneumatic unit and LED screen cover
  4. Height between bottom of pneumatic unit and top of LED screen cover (this area will be known as the Working Space)
  5. Angle of pneumatic unit with respect to normal from ground
  6. Length by which to slide pneumatic unit sideways
  7. Distance between two doors in one car
  8. Distance between the door edge and vertical grab bar (if present)
  9. Distance between the glass barrier beside the seats on both sides of the door
  10. Maximum height of the train car
  11. Length, breadth and height of pneumatic unit

 

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