Subject: Machine Shop Project Suggestions for Students Wanted...

From: [email-masked] (John Chervinsky)
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 1994 21:38:17 GMT

Hi:

    My name is Stan Cotreau and I manage the Harvard University Physics
Dept. Machine Shop. This is a student shop at which we give formal instruction
in Machine Tool Operation.
   I am currently looking for project ideas. The ideal projects are usefull
in day to day life, and cover the basic milling and turning operations in
a machine shop. 
   If any one has an idea, or a blueprint, they can e-mail me at
[email-masked] or feel free to call me at the shop.
 (617)495-4483

         Thank You,
      Stan Cotreau

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From: [email-masked] (Bill Gribble)
Date: 29 Mar 1994 03:03:28 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
>in day to day life, and cover the basic milling and turning operations in

As an engineering major at Harvey Mudd College I had to complete a project
like you describe.  The (in)famous E-54 shop project is in three parts:
make a hammer, make a screwdriver, make a tool tray.  The hammer has a wood
handle which has to be cut/lathed/sanded to spec, a steel head (mallet-type,
not claw) which has to be turned to size and finished on each end, then
milled flat on the sides and have an oblong thru hole for the handle. The
hammer also has a hard face which has to be turned and heat-treated to 
specified hardness (also a sample of the treated metal has to be 
mounted, photomicrographed, and turned in with an analysis of the steel 
composition) and a soft face of nylon rod.  

The screwdriver has a steel blade (also has to be heat treated) and a lucite
handle which has to be lathed to give it a neck and then have six flutes
put along it with the mill.  It has to be drilled out to fit the blade 
and have a small hole for a pin which secures the blade once it's inserted.

The tool tray is a simple sheet-metal affair which requires cutting, 
using the break, and spot welding to fasten the pieces together.

It's a pretty time-consuming project, especially considering that there
are usually about 65 students in the class and the shop has three
Bridgeport mills and three lathes of various manufacture, of which 
there was typically one of each out of service due to student stupidity.

Of course, everythng has to meet spec (if I remember, tolerance was 
something like +/- 10 mils on most dimensions -- pretty relaxed, but we're
talking about people who have never seen a metal shop before).  It's a 
spring-semester tradition at Harvey Mudd for all the sophomore 
engineers to be seen carrying their little red My Buddy toolboxes with
them everywhere they go, walking to class sanding hammer handles, etc.  
Boy, it sure seems romantic now that it's been some years ago!

Bill Gribble

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From: [email-masked] (Bart Smaalders)
Date: 29 Mar 1994 01:42:15 GMT

I would think that having the students build a small oscillating
air or steam engine, and tying it back into their thermodynamics
coursework would be interesting.

One could include a bake-off at the end of the course, where the winner
runs the longest or produces the most power from a fixed amount of
compressed air.  As far as being useful, the small engine I made while
an undergrad @ UC Davis is real popular with visitors to my office...

Some of the small oscillating engines have three moving parts, so
one can keep things pretty simple.

- Bart Smaalders

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From: [email-masked] (Andy Dingley)
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 1994 02:32:17 +0000

> coursework would be interesting.

Sounds like a nice idea - but how about a hot-air engine instead ?
That way you don't need an external boiler or compressor, you just apply
heat.

-- 
Andy Dingley   Codesmiths of Newcastle   [email-masked]

Klein bottle for rent.     Apply within.

---

From: G. Phil Poirier <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 94 23:24:50 -0500

In your quest for ideas for students, my favorite would have to be a clock

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From: [email-masked] (David Jenkins)
Date: 31 Mar 1994 07:11:12 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
[email-masked] (Andy Dingley) writes:
|> In article <[email-masked]>
|>            [email-masked] "Bart Smaalders" writes:
|> 
|> > I would think that having the students build a small oscillating
|> > air or steam engine, and tying it back into their thermodynamics
|> > coursework would be interesting.
|> 
|> Sounds like a nice idea - but how about a hot-air engine instead ?
|> That way you don't need an external boiler or compressor, you just
|> apply
|> heat.
|> 

The trouble with hot-air engines is that they require a fair degree of
skill to get a good fit between parts - without that good fit, it just
won't run.

A steam engine can tolerate quite poor fits and still run, after a
fashion... look at the last examples of BR steam for instance!

;-)
 
-- 

David Jenkins

* I'd rather be steaming... *

---

From: [email-masked] (David Jenkins)
Date: 31 Mar 1994 12:29:19 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]
(Bart Smaalders) writes:
|> 
|> I would think that having the students build a small oscillating
|> air or steam engine, and tying it back into their thermodynamics
|> coursework would be interesting.
|> 

If you have access to past Model Engineer magazines (Published in UK)
then you'll find an article about a teacher training college project
to make a small oscillating steam engine with boiler.  The students
each made one of these during a short course (2 weeks?), spending only
a few hours per day.

The boiler was a modest pot boiler without tubes, fired by camping
stove tablets ("Meta" fuel - don't know what's in them, but apparently
it's the same as slug pellets).  Pressure was about 15psi, with all
the necessary safety valves, etc. to ensure safe operation.

I think these articles were about 12 - 18 months ago.

-- 

David Jenkins

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From: [email-masked] (John Kopf, X6305)
Date: 1 Apr 94 01:05:57 GMT

In article [email-masked], [email-masked] (David Jenkins) writes:
> <stuff deleted> 

"meta" is essentially the same as "heat tabs" or "sterno".

JK