AutoCap

• Ameen Abdallah
• Denisse Manzanilla Reyna
• Nicholas Mikhail
• George Rizk
• Edgard Salgado

Advisor: Jonathan Komperda

Sponsor: Flexco

The AutoCap system is an automated pin-die swaging system that aims to help the belt manufacturing company Flexco finish pins in a safer, more efficient, and lower-cost method. The objective was to create an engineering system that could reduce the need for a floor employee to operate a die swaging machine. The previous method included a floor worker manually applying steel caps to the ends of nylon coated steel wire pins, then standing in front of a large die assembly, and manually inserting the capped pins into the die. The AutoCap system breaks down the task into three main sub-assemblies: the cap applicator, pin swaging, and feeding/translation systems. The cap applicator system will apply caps onto the pins automatically, the design repurposes unused components from Flexco to save on cost. The pin swaging system will insert the capped pins into the swaging die without the need for an employee. The feeding and translation system will begin the process, and allow the pins to move from station to station. In the current design, the only need for human interaction is to load the mechanism with pins. This will increase safety and reduce the cost as less human interaction is needed. Conducting research and defining all variables led to adequate methods of accomplishing the main objectives. From all the possible methods, one was chosen based on financial analysis, time study, efficiency, and quality. The AutoCap design, utilizing the three sub-assemblies, was approved by Flexco. Before developing a prototype, the process was simulated using computer-aided design (CAD) software i.e., SolidWorks. Using this software allowed for any possible complication to be investigated before the actual fabrication.

See supporting documentation in the team’s Box drive.