System Level Design Review P16420: Lip Balm and Hand Salve Process Improvement
Agenda Team Introduction Problem Definition Review Benchmarking Functional Decomposition Product Architecture Concept Generation Feasibility Analysis Pugh Analysis Risk Managements Identified Issues Project Plan Next Steps
Team Members
Problem Statement Rochester Roots is a non-profit organization with a focus on increasing the sustainability and fairness of the local food system. One of its projects is to manufacture lip balm and hand salve products through an assembly process that was designed by a previous RIT MSD Team (P15420). The system should be sustainable with reusable parts and require little maintenance. It should also be able to be used easily and safely by students 8 years old and up. The current design does not meet all customer requirements. It does not maintain heat properly, does not dispense product into containers accurately, and has a less than optimal capping mechanism, mixing arm, and motor. It also has several issues with the hose, as well as some safety concerns. The goals of this project are to develop an improved design that emphasizes safety, maintains heat throughout the correct steps in the process, and allows for easier cleaning of the equipment. It should also allow for adjustability, have a decreased cycle time, and have a longer life span. The system must be safe for students to operate, fit on a desk or counter, be within the budget, and be easily broken down to be stored. Lastly the assembly system should promote STEM learning for the students.
P15420 P15420 was tasked to create an automated system to assist in the manufacturing process. While they were successful at improving the process, the customer was not able to fully utilize their system for a variety of reasons: The dispensing hose leaked and was not cleanable The capping device was too slow and difficult to use The variance in dispensing amount was greater than desired The Plexiglas safety structure broke on delivery rendering it unusable. For these reasons, the customer was never able to use this system, and has asked MSD 16420 to improve the production process.
Project Goals Provide the customer with a safe and working hot wax dispenser Device will allow students to: a. Place a variety of oils and waxes into the chamber b. Heat them to the desired temperature c. Dispense the mixture into at least two different containers Our goals for this project are: a. Design a suitable dispensing system that is easy to use, clean, and is safe for children to operate b. Design a capping unit. Depending on the design progress, the capping unit may begin development concurrently with the dispensing unit.
Customer Requirements
Engineering Requirements
House of Quality
Constraints Primary Constraints Safety 1. Maximum temperature any users are exposed to: 100 F 2. Maximum acceptable number of product spills that occur during a cycle: 2 incidents Dispensing time 1. By hand is currently clocked at 30 seconds per container 2. Goal is under 20 seconds Overall cost 1. Finished system under $500.00 2. However, the customer has suggested that if the team needs more funding to provide a faster, safer, more durable unit, she will provide additional funding, within reason. Secondary Constraints Footprint: Ideal 6 ft²; Maximum 8 ft² Portability: 30 lbs / 13.6 kg MAX Disassemble-ability to facilitate easier movement. Faster Cycle Time: Easy to clean (under 20 minutes) Long Lasting: Simple Design & Easily Replaceable Parts
Work Breakdown Structure
Use Cases
Preliminary Testing Temperature Tests: Hotplate optimal temperature: 160F Time for material to reach 75% Hotplate Temperature: 6 minutes Melting Point: roughly 150F Time to Solidify when exposed to room temperature(for small amounts of product): 5-7 seconds Product viscosity at 160F: very low (like rubbing alcohol) Product viscosity at 67F: moderate (like candle wax) 2 minutes 15 minutes 6 minutes 25 minutes
Functional Decomposition
Morphological Table
Heating Methods Double Boiler Hot Plate Coffee Urn
Dispensing Methods Infusion Pump Portion Pump Metal Spigot
Packaging Mount Pouring Trays Sliding Rows
System Architecture
Feasibility Analysis How long will it take to fill up the entire tray of lip balm/hand salve containers individually? What is the maximum allowable temperature the students should have access to? Assumptions: Hand Salve Volume: 1.85 oz Lip Balm Volume:.2 oz Commercially available wax melting/pouring machine maximum: 1 gallon/min = 2.13 oz/sec System will be able to melt at 20% of commercial maximum =.426 oz/sec Setup for each dispensing = 10 sec Total Volume Needed: 250 Lip Balm containers: 50 oz 50 Hand Salve containers: 92.5 oz Answered via benchmarking. According to ASTM standards, 120 F after contact for 5+mins would cause 1st-2nd degree burns. Allowing for fluctuations in surface temperature, and taking into consideration the age of students, a 15% error is applied. 120 F x (0.85) = 102 F According to pamphlet by American Burn Association, 100 F is allowable temperature for bathing children of all ages. Total Time: Lip Balm: 43 minutes Conclusion: Max allowable accessible temp is 100 F, anything between 100 F and 120 F should have a barrier and a visible warning, anything above 120 F should not be accessible by students. Hand Salve: 11.95 minutes Conclusions: Dispensing time is a large source of time and opportunity to quicken process is possible
Feasibility Analysis Is a Hot Fudge dispenser a viable option? Assumptions: Device operates on Double-boiler principle (Impossible to burn or scald product). Max Temp 210 F, adjustable via knob with accuracy of 5 F. Device is insulated, no safety concerns. Portion pump dispenses same amount each time (approx. 1 oz, adjustable with 1/8 oz increments). Hot wax/oil maintains consistency and temperature during dispensing. Hot Wax container can hold approx. 102 oz of product. Total volume needed: 250 Lip Balm containers: 50 oz. 50 hand salve containers: 92.5 oz. Conclusions: Hot Fudge dispenser can easily dispense two batches of lip balm containers (2% leftover) or one batch of hand salve (9.3% leftover). How can we make sure our system does not clog? What does it mean for a system to clog? Product does not flow freely out of dispenser How did the last team fail in terms of clogging? Focused on this idea of bringing the heated and mixed ingredient to the packaging station through a tube and into the containers. Caused the tube to clog from the cooled material left over in tube after dispensing. The users had to change out the tube or clean it (which is hard to do) to use it again. What were the engineering requirements related to this issue, and how can we improve upon it? Minimize the surface area that comes in contact with the heated ingredients Minimize the path of heated ingredient from the heating vessel to the packaging. Directly dispensing from heating vessel to the container - No intermediate steps. Making it impossible to clog.
Feasibility Analysis How can the hot-plate / soup-pot solution P15420 started become a feasible solution? Best answered via: Prototyping Assumptions: Product material is consistent. Hotplate set to 160F. Actual material temp 150F < X < 170F. Soup pot dimensions same as P15420 s. Hot-plate Specs same as P15420 s. Tools to Solve Problem: Fix dispensing process: Keep Material from cooling Conductive Material 2nd Heat Source Decrease channel dispense length Increase Dispense velocity Increase the channel dispense diameter Increase dispense pressure Lower dispenser position Manually pump material out of heating chamber Add an actual dispenser Drill, thread, install, and MIG weld a metal spigot Conclusion: It s probably feasible with the tools above. What s the minimum temperature needed for the lip balm to flow? Best answered via: Testing with lip balm (product) in MOTION Assumptions: Product material is consistent. Constant material temperature and properties throughout the volume Pure Liquid State, not Semi-liquid Steps to Solve Problem: Test on a Sloped surface to observe flow and note product consistency Test with tubes of varying materials (plastics, metals, etc.) and varying diameters and lengths Vary the temperature around the expected melting point Note thermal resistance for each tube, test flow rates through the tubes Expectations: Product will flow around 160F. Testing will commence once testing pipes are purchased.
Design A Coffee Urn (with spigot) (128-384 oz.) Custom stirring fan Silicon Lip Balm tray Manual capping
Design B Hot Fudge Design w/ double boiler Helical Stirring Adjustable Portion Pump Sliding Row Dispenser Trays Manual Capping
Design C Industrial Coffee Container Industrial Coffee Heater Motor Stirring Gravity Fed Metal Spigot Sliding Row Package Mounts Manual Capping
Design D Hot Plate & Soup Pot Helical Stirring Adjustable Portion Pump Silicon Lip Balm Tray Manual Capping
Pugh Analysis - First Iteration Identified key elements in each design Safety was overlooked From the four original concepts, eliminated two concepts, and identified Design A and Hybrid B Completed second iteration of the Pugh
Design A Coffee Urn (with spigot) (128384 oz.) Custom stirring fan Silicon Lip Balm tray Manual capping
Hybrid Design B Container: Soup pot Heater: Hotplate Stirring: Motor Stirring Dispense: Portion Pump Package Mount: Sliding Rows Capping Package: Manual Capping
Pugh Analysis - Second Iteration
Pugh Analysis - Second Iteration Pugh Conclusion Design A and Hybrid B are better than current Hybrid B currently outperforms Design A Need to collect more data on main assumptions Eliminates nonsensical solutions
Risk Management
Design Concept Potential Issues Gel-like consistency of product when cooled, making pouring tray solution possibly problematic System Integration Optimal Combination of Subsystems Determining Testing Budget
Project Plan
Next Steps Enhance System Integration Develop Test Plans Obtain benchmarking data on current system Develop Budget Generate inventory of current materials/equipment Develop cleaning procedures Identifying SME / Faculty to assist in project
Questions?