AUTOMATED COLLET HANDLER - GE AVIATION TEAM MEMBERS: Dylan Connell Andrew Nixon Evan Palatinus Robert Schafer
The rotating electrode EDM process is currently utilized by GE Aviation to drill holes in high pressure turbine blades to provide boundary layer cooling. Cooling performance and structural stability is increased through use of smaller holes. This requires smaller diameter electrode wires to be used, which require more frequent replacement by workers, as they are consumed during the machining process. The collet handler will automatically unload collets from an EDM drilling machine’s carousel and replace the spent brass tube electrodes with fresh ones, then returning the collet to the EDM. For smaller diameter holes, where electrode consumption is higher, the labor cost reduction could exceed $2.5M per year through the use of automated loading and handling.
BUILDING A ROBOLYMPIAN TEAM MEMBERS: Stephen Ampleman Adam O’Neill Michael Sullivan Andrew Zeiss
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers hosts numerous competitions and conferences each year. In the spirit of the Olympic games last summer, the year-long 2017 Student Design Competition challenges teams to create a remotely controlled device that competes in five events; these events are lift, sprint, throw, hit, and climb. In the lift event, the device must lift a chosen weight as high as possible. However, focusing only on strength will diminish performance in the sprint event, where the device must travel down and back a straight lane. The throw event involves a tennis ball that must be hurled as far as possible, while a golf ball must be struck the furthest distance possible in the hit event. Finally, the device must traverse obstacles of varying height in the climb event. Teams of up to four students compete to win prizes, awards, and regional and national championship titles. 29
SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology