College of Engineering & Science - Louisiana Tech University

2012 Barnwell Senior Design Contest

Joseph H. Barnwell Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Contest

May 4, 2012

The 2012 Barnwell Senior Design Contest for Mechanical Engineering students was held in conjunction with the 2012 COES Senior Design Conference. There were eleven Mechanical Engineering design teams who competed for at total of $2,000 in cash prizes. Here are abstracts of their design presentations.

THIRD PLACE - SECTION A

Wireless Tattoo Machine

Team Name: University Ink Wireless Tattoo Machine
Team Members: Lucas Oakley, Jeb Stefan, Seth Berry, Graham Fuller
Project Sponsor: University Ink
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hisham Hegab
Our project involves developing an idea presented to us by Joey Bagwell, owner of University Ink. As a professional tattoo artist, he felt there was a need for a wireless power supply for any tattoo machine. We have been able to produce a tattoo machine power supply that allows the user to op-erate a tattoo machine wirelessly for approximately 45 minutes on a single battery charge, meeting all of our sponsor's specifications.

FIRST PLACE - SECTION A

Bolt-on Gear Reduction Hub

Team Name: Bolt-on Gear Reduction Hub
Team Members: Sam Ashley, Joshua Bostick, Matthew Gauley, Derek Newman
Project Sponsor: Joel Sistrunk
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Swanbom
Our sponsor has decided to produce a gear reduction hub that will provide an increase in torque to drive larger tires on a Polaris Rzr.
The sponsor requested a gear reduction of 30%-40%. Since this will be an aftermarket product, it was also designed to easily connect to the stock axle. This hub can be used for most any Rzr model because it was designed with the most powerful model, the Rzr XP 900, in mind.

Ramped Up

Team Name: Ramped Up
Team Members: Adam Hollowell, Sean Corso, Jason Tooke
Project Sponsor: C.R.E.S.T., Marvin King
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Hall
We were tasked with designing and building a simulator for C.R.E.S.T. This simulator should be able to model the inside space and the loading motion of a variety of wheel chair accessible vans. This simulator will allow C.R.E.S.T. to help their patients pick a van design that is suitable for each individual before they commit to buying a wheel chair accessible van.

SECOND PLACE - SECTION A

Smoothie King Pitcher Cleaner

Team Name: Smoothie King Pitcher Cleaner
Team Members: Brady Bascle, Jared Salter, Alan Smith and Christopher Tucker
Project Sponsor: Smoothie King of Ruston
Faculty Advisor: Mr. Jeff Pike
The group has been tasked with designing an automated pitcher cleaning system to be used in Smoothie King franchises. Mr. Ronny Walker had the idea for an automated pitcher cleaning system. Employees currently clean pitchers by filling them with water and later rinsing them out by hand. Mr. Walker saw an opportunity to save time and money by creating an automated cleaning system. He designed a rough prototype to see if his idea was possible and found that it was. He then decided to sponsor a project to see his idea through to a marketable product.

Shot Put Spin Tester

Team Name: Shot Put Spin Tester
Team Members: Eli Gunesebakan, Alton Jefferson, Eric Latino, Aaron Ranson
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Henry Cardenas
In the track and field event of shot putting, the difference between first, second, and third place is often times no more than a few centimeters. Therefore, to the highest tier of athlete, the selection of a higher quality shot over a lower quality shot is a highly beneficial one. By placing a shot on two parallel shafts and ramping up the speed of the shafts, the law of conservation of angular momentum dictates that the shot will find its best axis of rotation. On this best axis, the shot will experience minimum wobble. This translates into better performance of the shot, and by association, the athlete using it.

Javelin Launcher

Team Name: Javelin Launcher
Team Members: Seth Cunningham, Tim DeCaire, Ben Kelly, Stephen Lenard
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Henry Cardenas
The purpose of this project is to design a device that will launch a javelin. The javelin must be thrown in such a way that it oscillates about its center of mass. Javelin manufacturers and athletes will be able to use this product in order to determine which types of javelins reduce these oscilla-tions the fastest. This will lead to better javelin design and performance.

FIRST PLACE - SECTION B

The Golf Cart Trimmer

Team Name: GC Trimmers
Team Members: Vincent Chicola, Kyle Davis, Chad Mitchell, Adam Sipes
Project Sponsor: Fairway Carts
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Heath Tims
The Golf Cart Trimmer is a device that attaches to a golf cart and provides the user with a grass-cutting experience which is both fast and safe. It is particularly useful for country clubs or large are-as of grass near bodies of water. The user operates the golf cart while the trimmer, attached to an arm on the driver's side of the cart, cuts the grass. The motor that operates the trimmer is powered by the existing batteries that power the golf cart. Overall, the Golf Cart Trimmer provides the user with a safe and efficient way to cut grass that requires less physical effort than a normal grass-cutting experience.

SECOND PLACE - SECTION B

LaTech Eco-Car Prototype Vehicle Front-mounted Engine Chassis

Team Name: Team ThunderDawg
Team Members: Allie De Leo, Adam Holden, Dela Jakub-Wood, and Cody Parsley
Project Sponsor: LaTech Eco-Car Team
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Swanbom
Team ThunderDawg designed and built a front-mounted engine chassis for the prototype vehicle of the LaTech Eco-Car Team. The prototype car is designed to be an aerodynamic and fuel-efficient vehicle. Rules and regulations are provided for all competitors by the Shell Eco-marathon Americas Competition. Given these constraints and the vehicle design, the dimensions of the en-gine compartment can be no larger than 20x13x22 inches. The weight of the chassis must also not exceed 115% of the previous chassis.

THIRD PLACE - SECTION B

Upgrade to Printing Efficiency

Driver Rehabilitation Program