B&G Fixtures

Purpose

• A flanged bolt required grade 4 surface finish and nylon pellet insert. The goal was to design a non-scratch fixture to level and correctly orient the flanged bolt for the inserting process.

Process

• I designed V blocks in Solidworks from part drawings and measurements. I then 3D printed them using PLA to prevent contact damage with metal.

Product

• The fixtures were made in less than a day and handed to the operator. It achieved its initial goal, and the manufacturing process proceeded smoothly.

Purpose

• The test samples needed to thread into the machine with exactly 6 threads remaining. The goal was to design a fixture to verify such setup.

Process

• I created a small pitch gauge by manually CADing the threads in Solidworks and 3D printing it out of PLA.

Product

• This simple fixture was useful and facilitated tensile tests for 2000+ bolts. 

Purpose

• Operators needed to thread studs into the existing EDM fixture and ensure perfect leveling, but excessive threading lifted the fixture from the magnetic table. The goal was to design a fixture to ensure a flush setup.

Process

• I proposed a simple solution of a flat steel plate bolted onto the bottom surface of the existing fixture. I created a Solidworks drawing and machined the fixture plate on a manual mill.

Product

• Reduced setup time from 1 hour to 20 minutes and improved machining accuracy.

Purpose

• Operators were stamping tensile test specimens free-handedly. The goal was to design a fixture that aligns the stamp with the specimen.

Process

• Because the job was urgent, I quickly measured the V block dimensions, CAD the fixture in Solidworks, and 3D printed it. The fixture was bolted to the V block and provided a flat surface concentric to parts. The fixture was later machined out of steel.

Product

• Improved the process speed and accuracy. Operators were happy.

Purpose

• Due to retrofitting, old setup blocks were used on the new machine. The goal was to condense the 3 setup blocks into 2 by combining geometry.

Process

• The old setup block dimensions were not documented in the central database, and it was especially hard to size the block's curvature. I used a caliper, micrometer, and optical comparator to find the geometry. Then, I CAD them in Solidworks and sent them for in-house machining.

Product

• Simplified setup steps and tool storage.

Purpose

• Due to an electronics update, the goal was to create a new panel board to house a LCD display and 2 diodes for the honing machine.

Process

• I measured the original board size and hole locations with a caliper and iterated it to fit the components. Then, I CAD the new board and 3D printed it using PLA. Lastly, I modified the existing aluminum panel on the mill to fit the new board.

Product

• Ensured the functionality of an updated system.

Purpose

• A CNC lathe randomly stopped once and bearing heating was suspected to be the cause. The goal was to design a device to sense bearing temperature and output data through Bluetooth to a captive portal.

Process

• I employed an ESP32 & temperature probe and coded the device in Arduino. After initial testing, I soldered the components onto a perf board. Lastly, I designed and 3D printed housing for the device.

Product

• The device was simple to use. Operators only needed to open their phone and connect to the ESP32 Bluetooth to see the bearing temperature. After a week of testing, the bearing temperature was concluded to be normal.