Senior Design Projects

Students enrolled in School of Technology BSET programs are required to complete a senior project. Showcased here are the most recently completed projects. At the bottom of this page is a link to archived project descriptions. For more information on any particular project, please contact the project advisor.

2005 Michigan Tech Expo Honorary Mention Award Winner Team #227

Team Number

227-MET

Department

Mechanical Engineering Technology

Advisor(s)

 Dr. Mark Johnson

Assistant Professor, MET

Team Members

Ruxton, David A.

Bosk, Greg R.

Brooks, Andrew W.

Project Title

Cleveland Cliffs Hydraulic Liner Handler

Sponsor

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

Project Summary

In September 2004, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. contracted the School of Technology to design and build a device to assist in the removal of shell liners from grinding mills. Current work practices were considered time consuming and dangerous. We designed a small, portable device to be taken inside the mill and use hydraulics to pry the plates out, creating a safer and more efficient work environment.

 

 

Team Number

228-MET

Department

Mechanical Engineering Technology

Advisor(s)

 Dr. Samuel Coates

Associate Professor, MET

Team Members

Gibson, Matt W.

Brochtrup, Mike J.

Simkouski, Stephen E.

Kopke, David A.

Olson, Daniel P.

Project Title

Outoard Motor Propshaft Dynamometer Test Stand

Sponsor

Mercury Marine

Project Summary

The basis of this work began with a project started by Joe Wegleitner who had previously been a masters student at Michigan Technological University (MTU). His project consisted of designing and testing different types of catalysts for use in outboard engines.  In order to test the performance of the different catalyst designs on the engine, the engine would need to be mounted to a dynamometer (dyno). A test stand designed by Mr. Wegleitner used a vertical dyno in order to measure the power of the engine. One problem with this design is that it will only test the power head of the engine; the industry standard is to test the power at the prop shaft. Another problem is that in order to test the engine in this manner, the engineer or technician would need to disassemble the engine to mount the engine to the stand.  Our objective is to design a test stand that will allow a full engine to be tested at the prop shaft. This engine will also run in a tank of water which will allow for a more natural cooling method. When designed the test stand will allow for an outboard motor up to 90 hp to be mounted and tested at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC).

Team Number

229-MET

Department

Mechanical Engineering Technology

Advisor(s)

 Mr. Leroy Oberto

Associate Professor, MET

Team Members

Bekkala, Joel B.

Schnell, Leighton J.

Scholke, Robert A.

Bradt, Matthew C.

Fallon, Peter A.

Glander, Cory M.

Klank, Matthew S.

Quatman, Kiel D.

Project Title

Connecting Rod Free Engine

Sponsor

 

Project Summary

This project is a representation of the work of eight men attempting to design a connecting rod free engine. Their goal was a feasible design concept with the capability of transferring power from the piston of an engine to the driveshaft, without the use of a connecting rod. The advantage of this design is the reduction of weight compared to a normal connecting rod based engine.  Not utilizing a connecting rod eliminates the weight of the connecting rod itself, the heavy balancing weights on the crankshaft, along with extra crank case weight due to a less compact design. This connecting rod free design allows for a shortened deck height which will also be beneficial for weight reduction.

Team Number

230-STN

Department

School of Technology

Advisor(s)

Dr. Samuel Coates

Associate Professor, MET

Team Members

Gilbertson, Peter J.

Splitt, Nathan E.

Project Title

Pettibone Fork Mounted Crane Hook

Sponsor

Pettibone

Project Summary

The objective of our project is to design a fork mounted crane hook that will attach to a Pettibone Extendo Boom Forklift.  The crane hook frame attachment must be able to handle a10,000 lb working load hung from a Crosby swivel hook.  The crane hook frame must also lock onto the fork frame and prevent forward motion and swing out of the fork tines. After researching different fork mounted crane hooks and studying Pettibone’s Extendo Boom Forklift many ideas were thought of to make the fork mounted crane hook frame.  Our design goal was to make our attachment simple and user friendly.  In order to keep material cost and machining cost down we minimized the amount of material needed by making our design as compact as possible.  Several different design ideas were drawn up using AutoCAD and calculations were performed to see how each design would stand up in real life conditions. The crane hook frame needed to have an ultimate strength of 5 times the rated load of 10,000 lbs.  The crane hook frame also needed to stay attached to the implement if the forks were tilted down vertically.  Many designs were tried and geometry adjusted to meet these specifications and we feel we’ve designed one that will meet the criteria set forth by Pettibone Corporation.

Nov 2004 Senior Projects Page

Senior Project Archives - Click Here To Read About Projects From Past Years