DRI: Aidan Lehal Salman Rasheed
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Project Requirements
There exists a need to design a base that supports the aluminum sheet metal mold and it’s ribs.
Criteria:
Base needs to be sturdy
Ribs need to be (perfectly) parallel to each other, and perpendicular to the base in order to ensure curvature accuracy
Limit cost/try to use material already in the bay
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Ribs are being made out of metal
Design Iterations
Aluminum Pipes Base (First Design)
Base Cad: Using pipes already in the bay, a simple frame to support and hold the ribs was crafted. The tubes are 1.25” in diameter and aluminum.
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The tubes (grey circular) will be welded together using a jig, and the ribs (Orange) will be welded with the same jig.
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Welding Jig
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Welding jig supporting horizontal pipe while aligning rib at designated location.
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Welding Jig supporting two tubes to create a T joint or corner once welded
MDF Mold:
Made out of MDF, slots for ribs to be placed, with hardstops at the front and back to prevent movement.
MDF does not require welding
MDF base can be reused by removing the ribs from the slots and replacing them with new ones (that fit a different panel)
MDF will have to be purchased
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Sturdy and one shape use, very durable
Requires welding (will need to see what aluminum tubes can withstand) or adhesive
MDF Base (Second Design)
After review of the potential options, an MDF base was cadded. The ability to replace ribs for a different mold was an advantage we wanted to utilize. We also did not require any welding or glue of any sort. We would use cutouts in the MDF to position the planks and wood screws to solidify their position.
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8 Rib Planks (cut to length with slots)
2 Side Planks
2 Hard-stop Planks
20 Aluminum Brackets (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-2-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Double-Wide-Corner-Brace-8-Pack-12434/315016358 )
>150 3/4” Wood Screws
Impact Drill/Drill/Screwdriver
90degree Clamp/Blocks
Shims the same height as the clamp/blocks
Aluminum Extrusions Base (Current Design: 2021-06-30)
Based on MDF’s properties, the team was unsure if tolerances between the rib slots and alignment features would be to tight or too loose. Additionally, without a clearly defined way to secure the ribs in place while ensuring all ribs remained parallel to each other, MDF seemed like it would be less precise than required for this application. Moving back to aluminum but opting for an aluminum extrusion base would be ideal because the channels in the extrusions would act as linear slides for the ribs to be aligned correctly, reducing the amount of in house machining we have to do.
Aluminum Extrusion Pros:
Reusable for any base/project after (no permanent deformations to the tubes)
Durable
Little machining required
Easily adjustable
Welding Welded or fastened L brackets to the ribs, ensures stiffness , and perpendicularity for the ribs
An aluminum extrusion base will be held together by the concealed corner brackets.
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The ribs would be welded to brackets, which Aluminum Extrusion Cons:
More expensive than MDF
The brackets are set to the desired location beforehand and tightened in place on the extrusions. Then the ribs would be either welded or fastened to the brackets.
Note: The ribs can be welded at multiple bracket brackets come with the hardware to attach to both the rib and the extrusion if needed.
The ribs can attached to brackets at multiple points, each colour represents another racket welded colored “X” represents a different row pattern of brackets to be to the aluminum extrusions below. Depending on the amount of welded brackets, aluminum extrusion crossmembers can be added or removed as needed. (e.g. the blue row indicates that each rib has 6 contact points (including ends), and the red row indicates 3 contact points (including ends), etc.).
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