parker-hannifin ball bearing assembly
TRANSCRIPT
Nicholas Van Watermeulen
Manufacturing Engineer
Milayna Beadell
Procurement
Colin Brown
Design Engineer
Miguel Elizondo
Project Manager
Parker-Hannifin Ball Bearing Assembly
Current State:The method shown requires the operatorto dip the ring into a container of bearings,balance them, place it over the coupler,and spin the ring untilball bearings are inplace. This requires agreat deal of refills andinconveniences theoperators with spillages.
Mission Statement: Merit Engineering will work with Parker-Hannifin to simplify the current ball bearinginstallation procedure for their ¼” 60-seriesquick-connect hydraulic couplings by designingand installing a standardized semi-automatedfixture to increase parts per hour, eliminatespilling, and reduce assembly complexity.
Design Constraints:(1) There are two different types of ballbearings. (2) Current quality control methodsmust be integrated. (3) Must be a safe, reliable,and fail-proof design. (4) Ergonomics must befactored into design. (5) Needs to handle over100 parts per hour, and (6) Budget of $5,000.
Solution: Gravity Feeder The gravity feeder holds,contains, and dispenses ballbearings.
Zero Gravity Arm The Zero Gravity Arm aids the rising and loweringaction of the Gravity Feeder in its holder. It is anergonomic way to lift the gravity feeder when it isfull of ball bearings.
Refill Station A refill station was created to simplifygravity feeder usage. The innovativedesign makes it easier for operators toquickly and consistently refill the gravityfeeder without spilling ball bearings.
Conclusion: The three components that have beenimplemented to the ¼” cell include: twoGravity Feeders, one Zero Gravity Arm,and two Refill Stations. All of the addedcomponents to the ¼” assembly cellhelp reduce the number of ball bearingsspilled at the workstation and mostimportantly prevents the incorrect ballbearing types to be assembled in theincorrect coupler, while only spending$900 of the budget.