WARN INDUSTRIES, INC.

Internship Report

September 3, 2013

Intern: Trent Smith

1st internship

Mechanical Engineer

Mentor: Adam Reiner

ReinerA@WARN.com

(503) 794-3438 ext. 3289

Contents Executive Summary: ...................................................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction: .................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Project list: ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Universal plow mount................................................................................................................................................ 3

Albright contactor changeover................................................................................................................................... 5

Yaneng contactor update ........................................................................................................................................... 5

Vantage carrier test fixture ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Vantage 4000 Brake spring investigation .................................................................................................................. 6

Vantage motor/gear train performance ...................................................................................................................... 6

Vantage 2000 cost down ............................................................................................................................................ 7

Vantage 2000 housing failure .................................................................................................................................... 7

Vantage 3/4000 housing failure ................................................................................................................................. 7

Vantage drum support update .................................................................................................................................... 7

OEM support ............................................................................................................................................................. 7

Series 18 refresh ........................................................................................................................................................ 7

Drill winch ................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Acronyms: ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Executive Summary:

During my time at Warn, I have worked on several projects pertaining to an array of different

products. This has provided invaluable knowledge and experience which I would not have

otherwise gained from school alone.

The biggest project and accomplishment during my time has been the design and release of a

universal plow mounting system for all terrain vehicles (ATV’s). The engineering portion of this

project was headed by myself and involved everything from design and analysis, to specific

vehicle fit-up, testing, and product release. The project schedule required tight deadlines in order

for this new product to be implemented from inception to production in less than 6 months.

Another main project involved design of a planetary gear carrier test fixture, which will be used

to verify good gear sets are being used inside all of Warn’s Vantage winch line. Since no such

method was previously used to verify whether or not the gear sets were built correctly, this

fixture and process will help prevent major issues that should have been avoided.

My contributions to Warn helped save over $400,000 as well as provide a profit of almost

$175,000 during a 3-5 year product cycle for the Universal Plow Mount.

Introduction:

Warn Industries was founded in 1948 by Arthur Warn who revolutionized the automotive

industry with wheel locking hubs. Since then the company has grown to design, manufacture and

market a full line of off-road equipment and accessories that enhance the performance of four-

wheel-drive vehicles, ATV’s and utility vehicles. The company markets electric and hydraulic

winches and hoists to commercial, industrial and severe duty customers, as well as a line of

utility winches and hoists designed for professionals and DIY enthusiasts.

The majority of my internship has focused around power-sports products, including small

winches (2000-4500 lb winches designed for ATV’s and side-by-sides), plow systems, and

accessories (including plow mounting kits). I worked with two other engineers in the ‘new

product introduction’ (NPI-green) team under the division of ‘product/design, engineering and

launch’. My supervisor and team leader of NPI-green was Adam Reiner.

Project list:

Universal plow mount

The most time consuming project I worked on was the universal plow mount. Until now, Warn

has designed and manufactured vehicle specific plow mounts for ATV’s. This requires tedious

design updates for new vehicle models, large inventory upkeep for dealers, and a confusing

selection process for the end user. The universal mount, however, would fit a majority of

vehicles. This guarantees that the user can successfully attach his plow system to his ATV.

I was tasked with heading the design, development, testing, release (and much more) of this

product, and work began as soon as I arrived at Warn. This was the perfect project for me to gain

experience in the total design and product implementation process. Beginning with concept

brainstorming and competitive benchmarking, a design concept was selected. During this

process, I worked with the product manager to determine a set of specific product requirements.

Additionally, a design failure modes and effects analysis (DFMEA) was performed with quality.

From the DFMEA, a design validation plan and report (DVP&R) was created, which determines

what testing needs to be performed. With these documents in place, I had much more direction

and was able to select the best concept that fit all requirements.

Before modeling was done, I visited a number of dealerships to take measurements and get a

better idea of how exactly the mounting device would work. With a range of dimensions and a

design concept in place, models were created with computer aided design (CAD) software, while

stress analysis was performed on paper. Finally, drawings were made to match each component

of the mounting system. After drawing reviews were conducted with fabrication engineers, a

prototype was ready to be made and requests for testing (RFT) were submitted.

The design process went through the following cycle: Concept, analysis, prototype, testing,

repeat. With each prototype came a new problem or issue which had to be corrected. The cycle

iterated multiple times and many changes were made before a final design was selected.

Throughout the process I worked on cost reduction, finite element analysis (FEA), vehicle fit-

ups, drawings, quote requests, and testing.

Aside from successfully fitting the first prototype on its first vehicle, the most rewarding

experience from this project was after testing completed. There were various considerations that

went into designing the mount for strength and durability. After reluctantly choosing a thinner

material (10 GA steel, 29% thinner than Warn’s other mounts), I was much less confident that

the mount would withstand the required testing. First, to simulate a winch powered plow

assembly accidently lifting against the frame of the vehicle, a 500 lb down-pull test was

implemented. Next, the mount had to withstand a 3000 lb horizontal load centered on the plow

blade, and a 1000 lb load on the edge of the plow blade. Finally, the mount had to withstand 6

impacts at 5-8 mph (maximum plow operating speed). After successfully completing all strength

testing, I was much more confident in the product I had designed.

Even after the design and testing process, there was still a lot I had to do. This included

completing a make vs. buy decision, creating/approving/translating instructions, box selection

and artwork creation, customer reviews, bill of material (BOM) creation, and tolerance stack-up

analysis. All of this proved to be valuable experience. For example, the installation instructions

process showed me which parts of the product were confusing or difficult to work with, they also

helped me perfect the installation process. Similarly, tolerance stack-up analysis showed that

literally all of the parts could have been made so that they do not fit together, even if original

drawing tolerances were followed. Fortunately, these issues were caught and tolerances were

adjusted accordingly. There are many steps and actions that must be taken in order to ensure the

smooth release of a product, and it is very important that companies take all actions possible in

order to prevent any issues.

If everything goes well, the Universal Plow Mount will be released by the time I leave Warn.

Even in the last weeks of my internship I have learned a lot about how different divisions of the

company work together to ensure smooth operation. Throughout the process of an engineering

change notice (ECN), I worked with people from almost every department in the company. This

includes finance, corporate purchasing, fabrication, manufacturing, quality, marketing, and

distribution.

Albright contactor changeover

Due to dwindling part availability, great efforts have been taken to smoothly transition several

winch kits to new contactors. This included both original equipment (OE) and aftermarket kits,

and required the approval of several large ATV manufacturers. My role in this change included

new contactor drawing updates and release, RFT submission and supervision, and ECN

implementation. With this, dozens of top level winch kits and contactor kits had to be updated

with current parts, including drawing updates and reviews.

Yaneng contactor update

After seeing improvements in small winch Albright contactors, Yaneng was asked to make

sealing improvements to their contactors. I was in charge of communicating with sales reps from

Yaneng while supervising Warn testing. After initial testing showed contactors failing several

tests, I researched and compared previous contactors with the newly supplied ones. Finally, I

communicated failures with Yaneng directly, who worked to improve the product and send Warn

new samples to test.

Vantage carrier test fixture

Until now, small winch engineers have had no way to tell whether or not Vantage line planetary

gear carriers have been manufactured correctly. While engineering drawings specify a test

procedure to verify the correct manufacturing of these parts, the test procedure was never

created. I was handed this project and told to design tooling and fixtures to accurately access the

manufacturing process of these carriers. Specifically, the staking process – high pressure

squishing of planetary pins so that the carrier set is held together – was verified. I was also given

the opportunity to refine outlines of a testing procedure to ensure that the current staking

pressure is adequate.

I started the process by looking at similar previous designs and improving them. The fixture was

designed to emulate the gear housing of a winch, the difference being that two outputs are fixed

and one is driven. This differs from an ordinary planetary gear assembly in that usually only one

output is fixed out of a sun gear, ring gear, and carrier combination. In this case, fixing all

outputs was necessary so that the strength of the carrier set can be assessed. With this system, a

technician can insert the carrier set into the fixture and apply torque to the input (a sun gear),

after the specified torque has been reached, overall deflection of the carrier set is measured and

assessed.

One cool aspect of the design is that all of the parts are easily interchangeable. This means that

all carrier sets (7 total) from each Vantage winch can be tested. Once the correct staking pressure

is verified, this fixture will be used about once a month to ensure that the strength and

manufacturing process of each carrier set is adequate, and matches performance of previous sets.

This will help prevent large variation in the manufacturing of each gear set, and ultimately in

each Vantage winch.

Just like the Universal Plow Mount project, I was able to interact with various groups outside of

my team while working on this fixture. First, it was important that quality and manufacturing

engineers were on board with the design and process. For this, meetings were held for drawing

and process reviews. After the design was finished, it had to be built. For this, I submitted a

request to Warn’s tool and die makers (TDM). I communicated frequently with them to convey

the design intent and perfect the fixture. I found TDM workers to be extremely helpful as well,

as they suggested improvements and better material call-outs. Finally, I learned a valuable lesson

while ordering wave springs through one of Warn’s corporate purchasers. Somehow the springs

got lost after being delivered because I forgot to pick them up. Fortunately, several employees

joined in a manhunt and the parts were found.

Vantage 4000 Brake spring investigation

I helped brainstorm and explore various solutions to a reoccurring problem of Vantage 4000

brake spring failure. After determining that excess drive shaft vibration was a likely cause of the

spring failure, several ideas were considered. Ultimately, my idea of using a bushing to constrain

axial vibration was realized and tested.

Vantage motor/gear train performance

After multiple Vantage winches have had problems being over powered, I worked with my team

to determine exactly how our motors and gear trains were performing. Previously, data from

motor suppliers was inconsistent with test results, and no current process was in place to measure

gear train efficiency and variation. Our team worked together to design a test that would

accurately assess both motor and gear train efficiency, while I worked with past data to design

models that would convert standard catalog data to motor torque and speed.

Vantage 2000 cost down

I worked with my team to explore various cost down opportunities that would not sacrifice

performance of the Vantage 2000 winch. This project included testing a ring gear material

change, designing a less costly integrated fairlead, and ultimately implementing a steel hawse

fairlead that already was being used on utility winches. Additionally, I worked on a design and

communicated with suppliers to allow the drum to be molded from plastic.

Vantage 2000 housing failure

After several Vantage 2000 winches had reports of cracked housings, several solutions were

explored. It turned out that the plastic gear housings were cracking after the winch had stalled.

While finding a solution, I personally conducted several tests to determine the best solution.

Ultimately, the solution involved calling out small radii in the housing drawing and reducing

efficiency of the winch by removing bushings from planet gears. I also implemented all changes

through the ECN process and created the necessary parts to make the change.

Vantage 3/4000 housing failure

Similar to the Vantage 2000 failures, the 3000 and 4000 winches were failing because of too

much power. Once again, several solutions were explored. These included 3rd

stage sun gear

material changes and stress analysis, where I was able to learn more FEA techniques. I also

supported multiple tests with different solutions, and implemented changes that ultimately

prevented failure from occurring.

Vantage drum support update

I worked to update all vantage winches with a new drum support that more effectively

transferred torque from the gear train to the gear housing and bolt pattern.

OEM support

After reports of over powered Pro Vantage winches from OEM customers, I supported testing

and investigation of powering down the Pro Vantage 3500 winch.

Series 18 refresh

In order to accurately assess the cost of a Series 18 winch for industrial use, a costed BOM had

to be made. I worked with my team to build multiple BOM’s from various already existing

winches. I also helped my mentor with a thermal analysis problem involving the roller clutch

brake to determine heat build-up during braking.

Drill winch

I continued to apply knowledge from school while creating a house of quality for a new winch

product. This involved determining and relating customer and engineering requirements. Next,

more in-depth requirements were set for each module of the winch. I also helped brainstorm

design concepts and worked to model various ideas.

Conclusion

My experience at Warn has given me much more than I could have ever imagined. I improved

my skills and knowledge in every way possible. While successfully applying my knowledge

from class, I was able to positively contribute to my team and the company. At the same time, I

acquired first-hand experience and knowledge of the manufacturing process, Industry standards,

company interactions, culture and processes, and much more. I was able to drastically improve

my drafting abilities, as well as gain valuable CAD modeling experience. Not only did I embrace

creativity in designing an entirely new product from scratch, I also learned communication skills

and how companies interact externally and internally. I am extremely grateful to have had this

experience, as I know that I would never be able to gain this knowledge from classes alone. I

truly believe that I am a better engineer and more knowledgeable person because of my time at

Warn.

Aside from this experience benefitting me, I have made a positive contribution to Warn. The

Universal Plow Mount that I designed is expected to generate approximately $500,000 in gross

revenue in a typical 3-5 year product cycle. This provides Warn with a bottom line profit of close

to $175,000 over the same time period. Additionally, post-release Vantage line issues caused

losses of over $300,000 per month to Warn. Fortunately, these were resolved as quickly as

possible with my help. V2000 cost down efforts that I assisted lead to a $10 decrease in cost per

winch, this saves Warn over $100,000 per year while maintaining the same profit.

Acronyms:

ATV – all terrain vehicle

BOM – bill of materials

CAD – computer aided design

CAR – corrective action report

DFMEA – design failure mode and effects analysis

DVP&R – design verification & validation plan & report

ECN – engineering change notice

FEA – finite element analysis

NPI – new product introduction

OEM – original equipment manufacturer

RDW – request for deviation/waiver

RFEA – request for engineering analysis

RFT – request for test

TDM – tool & die maker