Universal Snowboard Shoe Upgrade
Team Members Heading link
- Joanne Chang
- Wuttikorn Keeratichokchaikun
- Jimit Modi
- Brenno Toffoletto
Project Description Heading link
The purpose for this project is to modify the existing design for a universal snowboard shoe binding. The new design will make it more adjustable as well as durable. The new product, called the universal snowboard shoe binding, provides the user a more adjustable alternative to the traditional snowboarding shoes, and is meant to be a middle option between the two traditional types of snowboard shoes, which are called soft boot and hard boot. The product being developed gives the freedom to the user to use it on both types of snowboards, can be used with any type of regular shoes, and can be adjusted to the preferred user angles. The initial design for the binding provided by the sponsor is a temporary prototype that needs to be improved and make it cost effective. Along with the general goal of standardizing the parts to make them more cost effective, there are some specific design requirements. One of these includes the adjustability of the angle of the arm. These angles are -6 degrees, 0 degrees, 12 degrees, and 16 degrees, which were obtained experimentally. To achieve this the team has come up with several design options and currently in the process of making the CAD for them. Once done, they will be run through ANSYS to find the optimal solution that can withstand the forces and moments caused by snowboarding. Another design requirement is choosing the materials used. This is important because a significant amount of forces will be applied to the design and the material chosen will ultimately decide how durable it is. Currently, through ANSYS, it was discovered that aluminum was a good choice for the material because of its high safety factor. This however is subject to change as more design changes are implemented.