Our research work involves the use of the use of digital manufacturing tools to develop a novel design alternative to an existing application. An everyday electric drill machine has been considered and had its functionality enhanced by redesigning its body in accordance with the solutions aimed at mitigating a few shortfalls, which primarily involves its safety aspects and ease of use, while also not compromising on its extant operating capacity as well as retaining the ability to be wielded by professionals well-versed in handling the original machine. To that end, we deconstructed the CAD (Computer-Aided Design) model of a conventional drill, and attached an auxiliary (precision) grip through generative design- a superior designing experience that is powered by Alternative Intelligence-by using Autodesk Fusion 360 software. Then, it was converted to an STL file (Standard Tessellation Language), which is a competent file format for subjecting the design to the various pre-processing steps required for creating a physical model of it using additive manufacturing. Firstly, file repair and manipulation tasks were carried out through Autodesk Meshmixer and Netfabb, with the latter also doubling up as the implement used for carrying out the printability analysis, orientation optimization, construction of support structures, and finally, slicing. The finished model was of the dimensions of 165.3820 mm x 204.4808 mm x 76.2340 mm, which indicates that the design alterations did not produce a vastly different version of machine than the original one. However, the output would be considerably efficient since the overall weight is reduced, and the presence of auxiliary handle would bestow more control on the operator. This also renders the body of the electric drill a monolith, which would enable a simpler assembly operation during the manufacturing stage. The material of choice was Orgasol polyamide- a natural polyamide 12 powder possessing the physical and chemical properties suitable for this application. The specific additive manufacturing process to be used was determined to be Selective Laser Sintering, and a printer capable of performing the same was identified as Formlabs Fuse 1. The aforementioned printability analyses were carried out in accordance with these considerations and the model was found to be well in order for the same.
Gas stove is one of the most common and basic domestic appliances found in any home in the subcontinent. It is the foremost article used for cooking at home, and thus necessitates interaction with it by the users in a significant way. Despite the advent of more advanced devices like the microwave oven or the induction cooktop, a traditional gas stove reigns supreme in the lives of homemakers. Therefore, an endeavor was undertaken to design a product that would improve the usage and performance of a gas stove, by way of alleviating the general problems faced by users in its operation. Design thinking strategies had been followed throughout the stages of the product development, beginning with a customer survey to understand the desirable needs, followed by translating them into tangible target specifications for the product to achieve, and finally using the ideation techniques to develop the concepts into feasible product. The morphological method of concept generation yielded possible concepts aimed towards a solution, which were evaluated by following the analysis techniques of Forced Decision (FD) and Decision Alternative Ratio Evaluation (DARE). The filtered concept was then subjected to product architecture design, where it was given an efficient physical form by using the Computer Aided Design (CAD) software SolidWorks, and lastly, the parametric design result was evaluated by means of various Design For Excellence (DFX) guidelines. The product turned out to be an appendage to the existing stove, that would shield the flame and provide efficient operation along with enhanced safety and ease of use, as validated by DFX principles and a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study to gauge its performance in relation to that of a standalone gas stove. This paper comprises of expositions of all the aforementioned processes as carried out, along with the final result, and pertinent analyses.
Disposal of waste is an important issue faced by sanitation agencies, especially in India, where the volume of waste generated has been increasing rapidly over the last few years. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, as of January 2020, 147,613 metric tonnes (MT) of solid waste is generated per day in the country. Part of the waste that is expunged on a daily basis from homes, is food and other kitchen waste, which are biodegradable or compostable. In rural areas, such waste is disposed of in landfills, such that they get decomposed to form compost that is used as manure for crops. But this is not feasible in large cities where empty land, as well as the time required for waste to get converted into compost, is in short supply. Composting is a proven method to reduce the volume of waste, to almost 15-20% of its original amount. Therefore, this work is focused on designing an electric composter that could decompose waste artificially, and is compact, efficient, odourless, and easy to operate. This product can thus manage biodegradable waste at the source of its generation, and effectively supplant the wastebasket in a kitchen by occupying no greater space than the latter. The yield of compost would also provide nutritive natural fertilizer to homes wherein kitchen gardens or terrace farms have been set up, as well as promote the creation of the same wherever space is available. In this paper, the important parameters involved in the design of composter, including geometry parameters and the ones of operational significance such as speed and number of blades of agitator and bin temperature, have been discussed thoroughly, along with providing an understanding of the processes and considerations necessitated.
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