ENSC45 Directional Width Control System
Team Members: Matt Risso, Kevin Featherstone, Taylor Johnson
Faculty Advisor: J.McCall
Sponsor: United Technologies Corporation
Project Overview: The United Technologies Aerospace Systems (UTAS), located in Spokane, Washington, manufactures carbon-carbon composite brake disks for use on commercial and military aircraft. The manufacturing process includes polymeric textile preform fabrication utilizing custom textile processing equipment. As an intermediate stage in preform fabrication, textile ‘Cross-lapped roll-good’ is produced. One roll of Cross-lapped roll-good is created with two rolls of ‘Pre-needled roll-good’ by folding (or overlapping) one layer of Pre-needled roll-good over the other and then needling the two layers together. Pre-needled roll-good is made of Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers which have been loosely needled together forming a felt-like blanket. Currently, the width of the first layer of Pre-needled roll-good as it enters the second needling machine is a manually controlled operation, resulting in a non-uniform and time consuming process.
The purpose of this project will be for the Gonzaga team to design a control system which monitors the Pre-needled roll-good width, overlap and tension and controls these parameters in a closed loop fashion. The design must meet local safety codes and engineering specifications for use in our industrial environment.
Summary State of Project Goal: Design a system to control the width of Pre-needled roll-good as it enters needling.
Project Deliverables:
G.U. team shall develop and deliver a testing unit design that will reliably control the width and tension of pre-needled roll-good as it enters the cross-lapper. Deliverables include but are not limited to:
* Safety concerns (ergonomics, machine guarding, testing operator interface) * Verified consistent width and position control
* Secured mounting * Ease of use and efficiency.
Management & Communication Expectations:
GU team to provide a project plan, schedule weekly updates (meetings and/or email), and mid-year and end of year project status presentations on-site at UTAS. If the GU team rotates team leaders a calendar of the rotation is requested.
KEY: Closed-toe shoes and full-length pants/dresses are required for any on-site visits that include going onto the shop floor area. UTAS will provide safety glasses, ear plugs and other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required.
Research Expectations: GU team will be expected to make multiple on-site visits early in the project to gain an understanding of and baseline the current process.
Students assigned to this team will be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Visitor questionnaire and proof of US citizenship paperwork will be required for any team members or faculty before/during any on-site visits to the shop floor of UTAS facility.