Mechanical engineering students created a 3D printed excavator cab for automotive manufacturing use.
The new age of manufacturing automobiles has dawned upon us. During the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), there was a 3D-printed car made by Local Motors, Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL), and other companies. Now ORNL wants to take it further with construction equipment, and plans to 3D print an excavator at next year’s CONEXPO CON/AGG. What they will produce right at the show is a boom with built-in hydraulics, which will be built in just one print.
On the other hand, mechanical engineering senior students at the University of Illinois have their own take on additive manufacturing of construction equipment – that is through their design of a cab of an excavator, which was a nationwide design contest. The conventional cab has panels for vibration and sound dampening, which the team has strengthened with air pockets into their 3D printed model, while allowing efficient use of structural supports.
Mechanical engineering students (Source: Andy Peterman)
The students involved were seniors Naomi Audet, Jowon Kim, Luke Meyer, Andrew Peterman, and Sharon Tsubaki. Their Senior Design faculty advisor was Assistant Professor Sam Tawfick.
Student engineering teams from across the country submitted their designs for a futuristic excavator cab and human machine interface. A panel of industry experts judged the competition; members of the MechSE team will receive a $2,000 cash prize, donated by the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA), and will have the opportunity to travel to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee to observe the printing of their design.
“Additive manufacturing will revolutionize the way things are designed and produced in the not-so-distant future,” said Mike Gust, industrial liaison officer at the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP). “This contest helped to raise awareness of advancements in technology to the next generation of engineers and we’re excited that future engineers are bringing this newly designed machine to life.”
CCEFP is working with research teams from Georgia Tech and The University of Minnesota to convert the current excavator design to one that is conducive to and takes full advantage of 3D manufacturing. Graduate engineering students at Georgia Tech will create a boom and bucket featuring integrated hydraulics with the goal of decreasing the weight, materials cost and maintenance, while students at the University of Minnesota are designing a hydraulic oil reservoir/heat exchanger and cooling system that reduces the size and weight and increase the efficiency of the machine.
