Shigley Hauler

So I currently have a Mechanical Design class.  Our final project consists of creating a "Shigley Hauler", where Shigley is the author of our textbook. It's gunna be great! (Our team's goal is to haul at least 4 textbooks, each about 4.5 lbs per each).

The first day of class, our professor (who is absolutely crazy and awesome) gave us some materials.  Shall I introduce them? Of course!


I shall first introduce the MOTOR.  This little motor is supposed to be able to output a ton of torque with 2 AA batteries! Now we'll see about that :-/

The next component: gears! We have 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 tooth gears.  These should enable our team to take all the speed from the motor to carry a couple books up a ramp.  It's also great to note that these are made in CANADA :-)

 Okay background: our group is made up of 3 our of the 6 girls in our class (okay, there may be 7...I didn't quite count).  When we got the gears, Leann pointed out "Oh! Look at the Baby Gear!" ...Only the girls would say this, hehehe. However, I would argue that it IS small...

I'll be sure to update when we create our gear box....I'm so excited! Did I mention that we have to also write poems for this project? Talk about being well-rounded :-)

Testing (Serena's) Strength

In the Material Performance Laboratory, I had the opportunity to use the Tensile Tester.  Most of the time, I just call it the "Instron."

You basically put a material in the machine, and push or pull until it breaks.  It's actually pretty cool. 

One day, we were having problems with the material breaking in the wrong spot.  So the research committee decided that we need to turn the bolts to 200 ft-lbs.  One day, the graduate student was out and asked me to change the sample.  Think about it: If your lever arm is 1ft long, then you need 200 lbs of force to turn it to the correct amount.  The graduate student lifted weights and played football as a linebacker in high school.  I, on the other hand, ride my bike around Davis and occasionally prance around during my ballet class. What did I do?

To un-do the bolts, I would hang on the torque wrench until I got the torque wrench to read 200 ft-lbs.  I don't advise this for anyone.  This is one time I've felt like a complete girl.  However, it made for a funny story afterward. :-D

EDM stands for Evil Demon Magic

During my materials research time, I had the opportunity to work on the EDM, or electrical discharge machine. Seen here:

I know, it's a beast.


Basically, the graduate student I was working under said, "Read the operating manual." So I did!
The first words that the manual said, "'You may think that EDM stands for 'Evil Demon Magic.'  But it actually stands for 'Electrical discharge machine.'" I thought this way really funny and credited the Japanese company, Sodick, for having a sense of humor in its technical manuals.

This is how an EDM works:

• A wire (for this "wire EDM") is strung in water. Don't worry, the water is de-ionized so it doesn't conduct electricity.
• A large current is passed through the wire.
• The wire, basically, melts everything in it's path (as long as it's metal)
• The water washes the melted material away.

Once a grad student told me he stuck his hand in the water to take a picture of the process... I wouldn't recommend this action, but he was living proof that the water doesn't conduct electricity.

Funny story: Once I opened to front door to the EDM while the basin was filled with water.  You know what happened...

Water spilled everywhere! Afterward, my adviser laughed and said that he could never get the door closed after he opened it. I didn't feel so stupid afterward.