DesignProposal

GearWall
DiscoverySpaceMuseumExhibit TeamH
TeamMembers NathanielMiller SaulGonzales StevenHysick EdwardDiCosmo February22,2012

ExecutiveSummary

Americaisfallingbehindmanyothercountriesinoureducationofscientificandtechnical subjects.TheDiscoverySpacechildrensmuseumisworkingtostimulateinterestinscience amongchildren.OurteamwillbedesigningandbuildinganewexhibitfortheDiscoverySpace thatwillhelpthemachievethisgoal.Weinterviewedmuseumstaffandobservedchildrenin themuseuminordertodevelopcriterianeededtoevaluateconcepts.Afterevaluatingmany ideasfortheexhibitanddiscussingtheseideaswiththeDiscoverySpacestaff,wedecidedto buildtheGearWall.TheGearWallwillbeaboardwithpegsinit.Therewillbeahandcrank ononesideandageneratorontheotherside.Thekidswillbeabletouseanassortmentof loosegearstoconnectthecranktothegenerator.Differentgeardesignswillaffecttheamount ofelectricityproducedandtheeffortrequiredtoturnthecrank.Thisdesignwillmeetallthe criteriaforthemuseumandtheclass.

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TableofContents 1. Introduction
1.1 ProblemStatement _____________________ 1.2 Backgroundinformation_____________________ 1.3ProjectPlanning _____________________

3 3 3 4 4 5 5 7 7 8 9 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

2. CustomerNeedsandSpecifications:
2.1IdentificationofCustomerNeeds_______________ 2.2DesignSpecifications _______________

3. ConceptDevelopment
3.1ExternalSearch 3.2DesignConcepts 3.3ConceptCombination 3.4ConceptSelection _____________________ _____________________ _____________________ _____________________

4. SystemLevelDesign
4.1OverallDescription _____________________ 4.2PossibleVariations _____________________ 4.3Preliminaryeconomicanalysis____________

5. Conclusion _____________________ 6. References _____________________ AppendixAGanttChart _______________ AppendixBMetricWeightingMatrix(AHSMethod) AppendixCConceptScreeningMatrix_________ AppendixDConceptScoringMatrix___________

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1.Introduction
1.1ProblemStatement
AmericaisfallingbehindothercountriesinthenumberofSTEM(Science,Technology, Engineering,andMathematics)fieldgraduatesitproduces.AccordingtoaYaleprofessor,this problemstartswellbeforethecollegelevel[1].MuchofourscienceeducationintheUnited Statesisfocusedonmemorizingfactsandformulasratherthanstimulatingcreativethinking. Forthisreason,manystudentsarediscouragedfrompursuingcareersinSTEMfields. DiscoverySpaceofCentralPennsylvaniaisachildrensmuseumthatisseekingtoexcitekids aboutscientificandtechnicaltopics.Theyareinneedofnewexhibitsthatwillhelpthem continuetoaccomplishthisgoal.Eachexhibitshoulddemonstratesomescientificprincipleand allowthekidstointeractwithitinsomeway.Thistypeofexhibithelpschildrentorelate scientifictheoriestoreallifeproblems.Whenkidscanexperiencethisatayoungage,itcan helpleadthemintoalifelongloveofscienceandpossiblyacareerinscienceorengineering. Ourteamhasbeengiventhetaskofdesigningandbuildinganewexhibitforthemuseumas ourdesignprojectfortheclassME340atPennState.Themuseumrequirementsfortheexhibit arethatitmustbesafe,durable,selfexplanatory,interactiveandteachsomescientific principle.Theclassrequirementsarethatitmustincludepropersignage,containatleastone fabricatedcomponent,andcostunder$100.

1.2Backgroundinformation
Ourteamhasauniqueblendofskillsthatwillallowustodesignandbuildanexhibitthatwill meetalltherequirementsandbeavaluableadditiontotheDiscoverySpacemuseum.Two membersofourteamhaveworkedasmechanicsandhavealotofexperienceworkinginthe machineshop.WealsohaveteammemberswhoareexperiencedusingSolidWorks.Oneof ourteammembershasfivekidsunderage8whoarewillingtohelptestourdesigns.Wehave thenecessaryengineeringabilitiestodesignafunctionalandattractivedisplayandthe mechanicalskillstocompletetheconstruction.

1.3ProjectPlanning
WehaveassembledaGanttchart(AppendixA),whichvisuallyorganizesthetasksrequiredto completetheproject.TheGanttchartprovidesaclearandconcisewaytomonitortheprogress oftheproject.Itisorganizedbyprojecttaskanddate.Eachtaskisassignedabluebarthat extendsfromthestartdatetotheenddate.Themajortasksthatconsistofsmallertaskswill begivenalongblackbartobracketalltheminortaskstogether.Astasksarecompleted,ablack

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barinthemiddleofeachtaskwillbegintoextendouttowardsthedateofcompletion.When themiddlebarreachesthefulllengthofthetaskbar,thetaskhasthenbeencompleted.

2.CustomerNeedsandSpecifications
2.1IdentificationofCustomerNeeds
Thefirststepinthisdesignprojectistoestablishthecustomerneeds.Thecustomersforthis particularprojectarethechildrenwhoaregoingtobeusingtheexhibiteverydayandthe DiscoverySpacestaffwhowillberesponsibleforrunningandmaintainingit.Theexhibitmust alsosatisfytherequirementssetbyourinstructor,Dr.Lamancusa. Inordertoestablishwhatthecustomerneedsareforthisproject,wemetwithMichelleCrowl andotherDiscoverySpaceMuseumstafftodiscusstheirexpectationsfortheexhibit.From theiryearsofexperienceworkingwiththemuseum,theywereabletodescribesomeofthe characteristicsthatmakeasuccessfulexhibit.Wealsospentseveralhoursobservingchildren playingwiththecurrentexhibitsandmakingobservations.Theresultsfromthisresearchwere compiledandcondensedintosevenessentialqualitieswhichtheexhibitmustsatisfy.Safety, durability,andexhibitsizeareallnecessarycriteriathatmakeitpossibletousetheexhibit. Nothingthatdoesnotmeetthesecriteriawouldbeofanyusetothemuseum.Theeducational valueandtheageappropriatenessoftheexhibitwillaffecthowmuchkidswilllearnfromusing theexhibit.Ageappropriatenessincludeshowattractiveandinterestingtheexhibitwillbeto kids.Thecostandconstructionsimplicityarefactorsthatwillaffectourabilitytoactuallybuild theexhibitwell.

2.2DesignSpecifications
Todeterminethelevelofimportanceofeachmetric,the NEEDS WEIGHTS analyticalhierarchyprocess(AHS)wasused.Allthe metricsarelistedin(Table1)withtheirassigned Safety 30% weights.SeeAppendixBforthemetricscoringmatrix.In EducationalValue 20% ourprocessofselectingdesignconceptsitwasdifficult Durability 15% toassignspecificmetricstoeachofthesecustomer AgeAppropriateness 15% needsbecausemanyofthedesignconceptsthatwe ConstructionSimplicity 10% wereconsideringwerenotverywelldeveloped.Since Cost 5% wedidnothaveenoughinformationtoaccuratelyassess ExhibitAreaSize 5% howwelleachoftheconceptswouldmeetthecustomer Total 100% needs,wecomparedtheconceptsrelativetoeachother Table1WeightedCustomerNeeds ratherthantosetmetrics.Weeachscoredtheconcepts separatelyandaveragedtheresults.Aswedecideonthespecificsforhowwewillbuildthe

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gearwall,wewillbeusingthesecriteriaagainandwillbebetterabletoassignspecificmetrics toeachofthepossiblevariations.

3.ConceptDevelopment
3.1ExternalSearch
Afterthecustomerneedsandspecificationswereobtainedandweighted,alotoftimewasput intoresearchingideasfortheexhibit.Theteamlookedatotherchildrensmuseumsaroundthe worldtoseewhatexhibitstheyhadandwhatmadethemsuccessful.Blogs,websites,books, includingTheExploratoriumcookbook[2],Instructables[3],Exhibitricks[4],TurnerExhibits[5], andChildrensMuseumofManhattan[6],werealsousedforideas. Theideasthatweconsideredfromourexternalresearcharelistedhere. GreenSteamEngine HandCrankedClock CustomizableGearBox AvalancheSimulator ObjectsFallinginaVacuum SmallEngine FloatingMagnet DistilledLight LightwithColoredLenses BernoulliBlower BicyclePoweredBernoulliBlower Pendulum Somethingdesignedtobreakandbefixed AfterdecidingtobuildtheGearWall,existingexhibitsandsimilarproductswereresearchedin ordertobenchmarkourproductbutnosimilarexhibitorproductwerefound.Nopatentsare alsocurrentlyfiledthatresembleourproduct.Anumberofexhibitsandproductsusedgearsin onewayortheotherbutnonehadadesignsimilartoours.

3.2DesignConcepts
Afterbringingtogetheralloftheconceptsthatwefoundfromourresearch,weusedmulti votingtoshortenthelist.Thenweusedtheconceptscreeningmatrix(appendixC)tochoose whichthreeconceptstopursue.Eachofusgavetheconcepts+,,or0foreachofthecriteria. Thefinalscoresshownonthechartarethesumofallofourindividualscores.Threeofour

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conceptsscoredmuchhigherthantherest:Thehandcrankedclock,theBernoulliblower,and thecustomizablegearbox.Theseconceptsaredescribedinmoredetailbelow.

MechanicalClock
TheMechanicalClock(Figure1)woulduseaclockto demonstratehowgearscanbeusedtomakethehands moveatdifferentspeeds.Thegearswouldbelargeand easilyvisible.Theywouldbelabeledsothatitcouldbe easilyseenwhichonesweregoingtoeachhand.Theclock wouldbeoperatedusingahandcrankandwouldincludea mechanismsimilartoacoocooclockthatwouldmake somethinghappeneverytimethehourhandmadea completerevolution.
Figure1:MechanicalClock

BernoulliBlower
TheBernoulliblower(Figure2)isaveryfamousexhibit.Itis anairblowerconnectedtomovingheadsallowingthekidsto movetheairflowindifferentdirections.Thekidscanput differentshapedobjectsintheairflowtoseehowtheshapes affectitsmotion.Thisexhibitdemonstratestheconceptsof dragaswellasthepressurechangescausedbymovingair.
Figure2:BernoulliBlower

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GearWall
TheGearWall(Figure3)isaboardmounted onaframe.Pegsareattachedtotheboard. Gearsareprovidedandkidscanplacethemon theboardhowevertheywant.Thereisa crankononesideandageneratoronthe otherside.Thekidswillusegearstoconnect thecrankandthegenerator.Thisdisplaywill allowkidstoexperimentwithdesignand understandhowgearswork.
Figure3:GearWall

3.3ConceptCombination
Thegearwallandtheclockbotharemeanttodemonstratehowgearswork.Theyeachhave theirownstrengthsandweakness.Thegearwallismuchmoreinteractiveandallowsthekids toworkonbuildingtheirowndesigns.Themaindrawbacktothisconceptwasthatnomatter howthekidsputittogether,theywouldnotseeanydifferenceinhowharditwastoturnthe crank.Kidscouldseegearsmovingbutitwouldnothelpthemunderstandthetrueusefulness ofgearsorhowtheyareactuallyused.Theclockwouldmakeiteasiertoshowhowgearsare actuallyusedbecausethegearswouldbeputtogetherinaproductivewayandthespacing betweenthegearswouldbemoreflexible.Weareconsideringwaystocombinethestrengths ofthesetwodesignsbygivingthekidsmorewaystocombinethegears.Theotheradvantage theclockhadoverthegearwallwasthatitwouldbesaferbecauseitisenclosed.Wewillnot beabletoencloseourgearwallandstillhavekidschangingthegearsbutwewillbelooking closelyatotherwaystoinsurethattheGearWallisassafeaspossible.Duringtheconcept generationprocessweconsideredseveralbicyclepoweredmechanisms.Wereallylikedthe ideaofkidsdoingworkandseeingresults.Thegearwallideaincudestheseconceptsintothe designaswell.Ourfinalideacombinesthestrengthsofmanyofthemajorconceptsthatwe haveconsideredthroughouttheconceptselectionprocess.

3.4ConceptSelection
Thethreeideaswiththehighestscorewerethenplacedinaconceptscoringmatrix(Appendix D).TheBernoulliBlowerwastheconceptthathadthehighestscore.Theclockandgearwall hadalmostidenticalscoresthatweremuchlower.Aftergettingfeedbackfromthemuseum

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staffwedecidedtomakeagearwallsinceanotherteamwasselectedtomakeaBernoulli blower.Themuseumstafflikedhowthegearwallwasveryinteractiveandmadeseveral suggestionsforimprovingtheconcept.Wewillalsobeincorporatingsomeofthestrengthsof theclockideaintoourconceptasdiscussedabove.Afterselectingthisconceptwelookedback atourconceptscoringmatrixtoseewhythisconceptreceivedthelowestscoreofthethree concepts.Thegearwallscoredverywellinallthecriticalcriteriafortheexhibitexceptsafety. Weareconcernedaboutkidspinchingtheirfingersbetweenthegearsanddroppingthegears ontheirfeet.Wefeelconfidentthatwewillbeabletoadequatelyaddresstheseconcernsin ourfinaldesign.Ifweareabletomakethisgearwallsafe,itwillmeetthecustomerneedsvery wellandwillbeaverypopularandeducationalexhibit.

4.SystemLevelDesign
4.1OverallDescription
TheGearWall(Figure4)consistsofaboardmountedawoodenframe.Pegsareplacedinthe boardsothatgearscanbeplacedbythekids.Therewillbeacrankononesideandagenerator ontheotherside.Thekidswillhavetousegearstoconnectthecrankandthegenerator.This displaywillallowkidstoexperimentwithdesignandunderstandhowgearsworkbetter.Itwill alsoencouragecreativityandinnovation.Afterthegearsareinplace,kidswillbeabletosee howtheworkthattheyaredoingturningthecrankmovesthroughthegearstomakeelectricity ontheotherend.

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Figure4:GearWall

4.2PossibleVariations
Therearemanyvariationstothisconceptthatwehavenotyetdecidedon.Ourmain constraintsareourbudgetandtime.Aswecontinuerefiningourconceptwewillbedeciding whichofthefollowingvariationstoincludeinthefinishedproduct. Havepegsonbothsidesoftheboardsothattwokidscouldplayatthesametime.The kidscouldeithercompeteorworktogether. Pinscouldbelongenoughtoputonseverallayersofgearsandsomeofthegearscould befastenedtogethertoallowthekidstoseethecumulativeadvantagedonebythe gears. Theboardcouldbeclear. Usetwoboardsatanangletoeachother. Theboardwouldnothavetobesolidbutcouldbejustapathforthegears. Insteadofageneratorweareconsideringhavingthegearsgotosomeother mechanicalsystemthatwouldpullbackaspringtomakesomethinghappenaftera certainnumberofturns(similartoajackinthebox).

4.3Preliminaryeconomicanalysis
Around40gearsrangingfrom210inches.(Wemaymaketheseoutofwoodorbuyplastic gearsdependingonwhatisavailableandthecost.)(20$40$) 20gearaxles.(10$20$) Handcrank(5$10$) generatororothermechanism(15$50$) framewithsupportingbase(Couldbeasolidpieceofwoodorjustthinpathwiththegears stickingout)(10$20$)

Totalcost60$140$
Ourgoalistospendascloseto$100aspossible.Thebasicdesignwilleasilybeunderbudget. Wewillmakemoreorlessgearsandadjustthecomplexityoftheendmechanismtoreachour targetedbudget.

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5.Conclusion
AftergainingagoodunderstandingofthecustomerneedsattheDiscoverySpaceChildrens Museum,webelievethegearwallwillbeaverygoodfitthere.Theycurrentlyhaveexhibits thatfeaturegearsbuttheyhavelimitedvarietyingearsizesandnocleargoalforturningthem. Ourexhibitwillfeatureamuchlargerrangeofgearsizesaswellasmoreoptionsforcombining them.Wewillalsoshowhowthegearscanbeusedtodoworkwhichwilladdtoitsinterest andeducationalvalue.Thegearwallwilllikelyretainchildrensattentionforlongperiodsof timebecausetherearesomanyinterestingwaysthatitcanbeputtogether.Understanding theeffectofdifferentgearratiosisapplicabletomanykindsofmechanicalsystems.This exhibitwillbedesignedtohelpkidsstartthinkinglikeengineersandinventorswhentheywork toimprovetheirdesigns.TheGearWallcanbemadewithinourbudgetand,wehavethe technicalskillsandtheresourcesneededtomakeitahighqualityexhibit.

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6.References
NorthJersey [1]Natarajan,Priya."Howtobringstudentsbacktoscience,mathNorthJersey.com."NorthJersey.com. N.p.,n.d.Web.16Feb.2012.<http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/science_021012.html>. ExploratoriumCookbook [2]Bruman,Raymond.Exploratoriumcookbook.SanFrancisco:TheExploratorium,1996.Print. Instructables [3]"InstructablesMake,HowTo,andDIY."InstructablesMake,HowTo,andDIY.N.p.,n.d.Web.19 Feb.2012.<http://www.instructables.com/>. Exhibitricks [4]Orselli,Paul."ExhibiTricks:AMuseum/Exhibit/DesignBlog:gears."ExhibiTricks:A Museum/Exhibit/DesignBlog.N.p.,n.d.Web.19Feb.2012.<http://blog.orselli.net/search/label/gears>. TurnerExhibits [5]"TurnerExhibitsServingarchitects,industrialdesignersandexhibitsdesignerssince1987."Turner ExhibitsServingarchitects,industrialdesignersandexhibitsdesignerssince1987.N.p.,n.d.Web.19 Feb.2012.<http://www.turnerexhibits.com/portfolio.php>.

ChildrensMuseumofManhattan [6]"Exhibits|Children'sMuseumofManhattan."Children'sMuseumofManhattan.N.p.,n.d. Web.19Feb.2012.<http://www.cmom.org/explore/exhibits>.

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AppendixAGanttChart
1. TaskinProgress CompletedTask MinorTaskBar MajorTaskBar

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AppendixBMetricWeightingMatrix(AHSMethod)

AppendixCConceptScreeningMatrix

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AppendixDConceptScoringMatrix