Innovation Project Design Package

ENGR 1201 - 010

December 03, 2015

Jennifer Adams
Luke Frazier
Garrett Williams
Richard Wilsey

I have neither given nor received any unauthorized help on this assignment, nor witnessed any violation
of the UNC Charlotte Code of Academic Integrity.

12-03-15
I have neither given nor received any unauthorized help on this assignment, nor witnessed any violation
of the UNC Charlotte Code of Academic Integrity.

12-03-2015
I have neither given nor received any unauthorized help on this assignment, nor witnessed any violation
of the UNC Charlotte Code of Academic Integrity.

12-03-2015

12-032015
Problem Statement
The team must design, construct, and operate a cargo transporter that complies with assigned general
design criteria, specifications, and requirements. The cargo transporter can only be built using materials,
supplies, and tools from an assigned Discovery Box.
The following are the design requirements, performance specifications, constraints, and assumptions as
listed on the Moodle assignment page:
1. The overall dimensions of the transporter shall not exceed 16L x 5H x 8W, as determined by
measuring the vehicle in the start position.
2. The vehicle must be designed to carry five 1-14 inch diameter stacked (not glued) ping pong balls. The
ping pong balls must be arranged by putting one ball on top of four and are held in place with only a 14
inch high fence. This ping pong ball cargo will represent fragile, lightweight, oversized aircraft
components.
3. The cargo load must be transported to a point target area specified by the client.
4. The transportation route will be across a tiled floor. The travel distance will be anywhere from 16-22
feet and not known until just prior to testing, therefore your design must be capable of either quick
mechanical or programming changes to meet the distance requirement. The vehicle must stay on the road
at all times. The road is 6 wide, 3 on each side of the road centerline. Traveling off the road will result in
a score of zero for that run.
5. The vehicle must travel and stop under its own power. Human power or assistance in starting or
stopping is prohibited.
6. The total cost of the parts (materials and supplies) used to construct the vehicle must not exceed
$15.00. Material costs are shown in the appendix. If the cost exceeds $15 the vehicle is considered too
expensive and will not be tested.
8. Each team will be allowed two attempts to transport the load. The final score will be the better of those
two attempts. Changes may be made to the design of the vehicle between runs if necessary.

Scoring will be based on the successful transportation of the load from the aircraft companys subcontractors facility (starting line) to the final assembly facility (point target). When the transporter comes
to rest, five (5) points will be deducted for every foot distance measured from the point target to the center
of the load distribution in/on the vehicle, not the vehicle itself. The starting score is 100. The scoring for
the testing will be the better of two trials in the test (ENGR 1201 2015).

Research
Aircraft wings are transported by land, sea, and air. When transported by land, one wing is placed parallel
above the tractor trailer on a truss style structure. This allows the wings aerodynamics to help with wind
during transportation. The wing is placed so its mass is dispersed evenly with the transporter. When
transported by water, the parts can be put on a barge for large river transport, or on cargo ships for sea
transport.
In 2014, the plane manufacturer AirBus manufactured a cargo plane that can carry aircraft wings in a
unique cargo area that is located on top of the AirBus (UK 2014).This allows for quicker delivery time
with less chance of the parts being damaged.
The types of containers used to transport these large, fragile parts are mostly customizable. Custom crates,
skids, and hybrid boxes are used when the size of parts allow it (FCA 2015)
Foam, carpet, styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap, and customizable dividers are used to customize and
secure different shipping containers to ensure safe transport of goods (Specialty Crate Factory 2015)
The cargo transporter prototype could be powered by a multitude of ways. It could be powered by a
mousetrap, DC motor, or servo motor. The mousetrap was rulled out due to lack of accuracy when it came
to configuring it for varying lengths. A pulley motor car is an electric car using pulleys to transfer the
mechanical energy from the DC motor to the wheels (Mini Science 2015) The transporters power can be
controlled by a programmable circuit board.
Another way to construct and control a transporter is with a servo motor. A servo motor is an actuator that
allows for precise control of angular or linear position, velocity and acceleration. Using the arduino kit,
which includes a servo motor, a circuit board can be programmed to control the motors action. The circuit
board tells tells the motor which direction to spin and for how long. Arduino is an open-source
prototyping platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards are able to read inputs
and turn it into an output. You can tell the circuit board what to do by sending a set of instructions to the
microcontroller on the board (ARDUINO USA 2015)

Computer Render of Vehicle

Calculations
Run

Distance (ft)

Time (seconds)

10

9.75

10

9.82

10

9.60

10

9.80

Time 1+Time 2+Time 3+Time 4

=average time(sec)
4
speed =

distance ( ft)
10 ft
=
=1.026 ft / s
average time(sec) 9.7425 sec

This speed was used to program the arduino to allow for different distances to be traveled.

Drivetrain Decision Matrix

Mousetrap

DC Motor

Servo Motor

Weight

Cost

.15

Accuracy

.5

Consistency

.35

Total

3.15

3.35

4.7

The design matrix above was used when attempting to determine the equipment that would be used to
power the car. The column titled Weight in the matrix describes the importance of each criterion, and it
is used to calculate the total score for each option. For example, the mousetrap was given a score of 3 in
the accuracy category; this score was multiplied by its respective weight, .5. This number was then added
to the rest of the weighted scores for the mousetrap to determine its total score. Based on the results
calculated in the decision matrix we decided to build our car around the servo motor with the arduino
board. While it was slightly more expensive than the other options, the accuracy and consistency of the
motor proved it to be the best option for our needs.

Bill of Materials
Item

Amount

Cost

Foamcore Board

3.00

CD

.80

CD Converter Hub

.50

Plastic Wheel

1.50

Plastic Tie

.10

Wooden Skewer

.25

Balloon

.50

Metal Rod

.25

Drinking Straw

.10

30 Tooth Gear

1.20

10 Tooth Gear

1.00

60 Tooth Gear

.60

Petri Dish

.50

Duct Tape

8 inches

.24

Sparkfun Red Board

1.50

Jumper Wires

.30

Micro Horn

.05

Servo Motor

1.50

9V Battery

.50

9V Battery Snap Connector

.25

Small Screw

.05
Total: 14.69

https://moodle2.uncc.edu/pluginfile.php/1452915/course/section/413870/Discovery%20Box
%20Materials%20Price%20List%20F15.pdf (ENGR1201 2015)

https://moodle2.uncc.edu/pluginfile.php/1452915/course/section/413870/Arduino%20Project%20Cost
%20Sheet.pdf (ENGR1201 2015)

Works Cited
ARDUINO USA. Arduino Introduction. NA NA, 2015. https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Introduction
(accessed December 03, 2015).
ENGR 1201. Innovation Project Description. May 20, 2015.
https://moodle2.uncc.edu/pluginfile.php/1452915/course/section/413870/Innovation%20Project
%20Description.pdf (accessed November 03, 2015).
ENGR1201. ARDUINO Price List. NA NA, 2015.
https://moodle2.uncc.edu/pluginfile.php/1452915/course/section/413870/Arduino%20Project%20Cost
%20Sheet.pdf (accessed December 03, 2015).
ENGR1201. Discovery Box Materials Price List. NA NA, 2015.
https://moodle2.uncc.edu/pluginfile.php/1452915/course/section/413870/Discovery%20Box
%20Materials%20Price%20List%20F15.pdf (accessed December 03, 2015).
FCA. Aerospace and Defense Packaging. NA NA, 2015.
http://www.fcapackaging.com/solutions/product_offering/aerospace_and_defense_packaging/ (accessed
December 03, 2015).
Mini Science. Pully Motor Car. NA NA, 2015. http://www.kidslovekits.com/projects/carpulley/ (accessed
December 03, 2015).
Specialty Crate Factory. Aviation. NA NA, 2015. http://www.specialtycrate.com/Aviation.html (accessed
December 03, 2015).
UK, BBC. BBC NEWS. July 16, 2014. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-28330762 (accessed
December 03, 2015).