The Yarn Bully Transport Cart

1
The Yarn Bully Transport Cart

• Modified Yarn Transport System
• with Shaw Industries
• Richard Trotta
• Kwaku Boateng
• James Beahn

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Shaw Industries

• The worlds largest carpet manufacturer!
• Over 4 billion in sales last year
• Local plants located nearby in Georgia and Alabama

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Description of Problem

• In Shaw factories carts and buggies are used to
  transport large spools of yarn through their
  factory
• Due to their environment, these carts quickly
  become difficult to operate due to contaminated
  wheel assemblies

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Scope

• Goal of project is to design or modify the yarn
  transportation system, i.e. buggies and carts, at
  Shaw Industries carpet manufacturing plants in
  Bainbridge, Ga. and Andelousia, Al.

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Problem Self Propulsion

• Propel carts throughout factory
• 1000 pound carts are hard to start moving
• Easy to operate once in motion
• Inertia!

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Needs

• Single operator or automated
• Be safe for indoor use
• Be compatible with current factory layout
• Comply with any company standards

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Specifications

• Must haves
• Maximum load 1000 lbs 16 spools (for peg
  cart)
• Plus weight of propulsion mechanism
• Cart protects product
• Cart easy to operate
• Little or no training necessary

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Specifications

• Desirables
• Effortless operation
• Assisted steering
• Increased capacity
• High operating speed
• Low maintenance

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Propulsion - Possible Solutions
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Decisions

• Use compressed air
• New Cart design
• As opposed to retrofitting
• Include emergency cut-off brake
• Inertial Design
• Overcomes inertia as opposed to constantly driven
  (i.e. motor)
• Needs connections specific to duties in factory

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The Solution
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Solution

• Custom fabricated push-cart
• Pneumatically powered cart utilizing existing
  source of compressed air at factory
• Powerful
• More useful source of stored energy than
  electricity
• Cheaper than retrofitting all carts
• Can afford to spend more per cart

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Push-cart design

• Tubular steel frame
• Front-wheel drive
• 3-wheeled design
• Wheelbarrow design for cart coupling
• Pneumatic cylinder for powerhouse

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Push-cart design

• Gearing system
• Ratchet gear
• 111 Gear box
• Bicycle-like sprocket gearing
• Covering to protect from contamination
• User interface
• Handle
• Regulator/Power knob
• Always-on brake

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Push Cart Powertrain

• Pneumatic cylinder pushes and rotates ratchet
• Turns a gear box and subsequent sprocket gear
  pair
• Chain turns axle

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Push-Cart Pneumatic Cylinder

• Creates linear force using compressed air
• Efficient means of converting energy
• Necessitates an onboard air tank
• Easier and faster to refill as compared to an
  electric battery

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Push-Cart User Interface

• Lawn mower-like activation handle
• Bicycle-style brakes
• Activated off instead of on, creates safety
• Steel-braided cable, possibly hydraulic
• Regulator Valve access for increased or decreased
  power
• Regulator High Pressure gauge acts as tank level
  indicator

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The Prototype
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Prototype - the Yarn Bully

• Prototype not identical to final design
• Prototype made slightly larger/stronger than
  necessary
• Many conclusions drawn from prototype

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Prototype - the Yarn Bully

• Prototype a Yarn Bully PX Model
• Features a Peg-cart connection
• An experimental model which does not have reverse
  gearing

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Prototype - Conclusions

• Changes made
• Clutch bearings added to wheels
• Brake mounting
• Gear plate dimensions

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Acknowledgements

• We would like to thank
• Dr. C. Luongo
• ME Senior Design professor
• Kenya Roberts
• MDTC coordinator
• Marten Hutchison
• Shaw Industries liaison
• Dr. P. Hollis
• Faculty advisor

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Questions?