The document summarizes several projects completed by the Carlstar Group engineering department to address safety issues and process improvements. Projects included designing guards to contain welding slag, kickers to remove stuck wheels from rolling lines, optimizing die rack layout, converting a press to hydraulic power, and developing a positive stop system for center presses to reduce wheel runout and eliminate an alignment step. For each project, the problem was described, design requirements were outlined addressing safety, fit, functionality and process needs, and the designed solution was summarized.

1. The Carlstar Group, LLC
Human Resources Deparment
To: Johanna Kempski Date: 4-15-16
From: Michael Coulombe
Subject: Project Accomplishments
Project: West Trimmer Guard
Issue: Safety
Problem:
 Welding slag is not contained, workers are subject to being hit by red hot welding slag.
Design Requirements:
 Orientation of trimmer dictates multi-axis movement of guard
o Solution- create guard that moves down then follows trimmer out to collect slag
o Linear bearings used on either side to accommodate this motion, as well as
support weight of guard
o Lifting frame was designed to be sturdy, built with two bearing supports to
counter moment created by own weight
 Sourced parts, specified springs, communicated with all involved parties
 Given minimal time as it was a safety issue
o Given Friday, it was modeled by Monday
o Worked with the machine shop until completion
 Fixed safety issue of having red hot welding slag projected about the work space
Project: Line 3 Kicker
Issue: Safety
Problem:
 Operator was using broom to eject stuck rim band in roll 2 when the broom got wedge
and hit the operator in the face.
 Operator sustained only minor injuries, but it could cause much more serious injuries.
Design Requirements:
 Must guide wheel out of rolls once open so the rim does not fall and get stuck

2.  Kickers exist on rolls 1 of both line 1 and line 2, line 3 has a much smaller width then
lines 1 and 2.
o Design must fit within the envelope of roll 2 of line 3
o Limits materials to use
 Hot rolled bar was used, material on hand
 Extensive measurements were taken
o Needs to accommodate from a 4” to 6” width and 10” to 16” diameter.
o All applicable rims were measured, and attachments were made for each rim
 Design is fully functioning, and alleviated operator from using a broom handle to
dislodge stuck wheels.
Project: Line 1, Roll 2 Kicker
Issue: Safety
Problem:
 Operator uses broom handle to eject stuck wheels, operators previously injured from
doing this
Design Requirements:
 Since a kicker is on roll 1, the design was based around that
 After measuring, it was found that the line tapers, getting narrower with each roll
o Every component must be changed to reflect this
o The design needs to incorporate as many off the shelf components as possible
 Design process was carried out in solid works where interactions/fitments can be seen
o A bell crank system was designed to allow necessary articulation of the kicker
arm to work with all diameters of rims ran on the line
o A new mounting system was configured after talking with maintenance, this
allowed them to take out the air cylinder without having to take the whole
mechanism out.
 Design is fully functioning, and eliminated necessity for operator to remove stuck rims.
Project: Die Rack Move
Issue: Future State
Problem:
 Die racks were all over stamping building, needed to be condensed and arranged to
accept future state layout
Design Requirements:
 Used AutoCad/Solidworks to optimize layout
o Forklift access had to be accounted for
o Maximum shelf space was thought of to ensure all dies had shelf space

3.  Since die racks were against a wall shared with the office, safety needed to be
addressed
o Die racks had steel tube welded to the back, and tops to prevent dies from being
pushed through
 Bending calculations were carried out to size tubing appropriately
 Length of material was calculated so appropriate amount of material was
ordered
Project: Valve Hole Pierce Machine
Issue: Existing Equipment Failure
Problem:
 Existing clutch/flywheel style press had broken beyond repair
Design Requirements:
 Air was initially to be used instead of hydraulic power
o Force calculations were prepared to redesign top arm, as well as size air cylinder
 It was found that too big of an air cylinder was needed, and our existing
air compressors would not support this
 All Existing drawings were compiled; it was determined what was missing
o Measured or created drawings of missing components
 Calculations were carried out for force required of worst case (biggest valve hole,
thickest material)
o A hydraulic cylinder was sized, worked with Bernell to get correct cylinder
o Also worked with Bernell to size an appropriate hydraulic power unit, added
chiller to prolong life of equipment and reduce operating temperatures.
 After safety check was done, unit was put into production
Project: Center Press
Issue: No Positive Stop
Problem:
 Aligning adds and extra step to the assembly process
o Requires extra FTE, and adds extra time to the assembly process
Design Requirements:
 Data from Aiken shows that a having a positive stop reduces run out
o Need to incorporate positive stop in current presses to eliminate aligners
 Each of the 5 lines has a different press
o System needs to be able to be used on every line for every assembled wheel
 Identified shut heights for each press

4. o Identified and specified all parameters necessary for new press concept
 Modeled initial design so Engineering department had a visual idea
o Moved forward with concept
 Concentric ring fixtures were design to fit all rims, and be easily removable by operator
for ease of change over
o Centers were grouped in families so upper and lower tooling could be made
 Elevator system designed to allow the widest wheel to fit on smallest shut height
o Acme threaded rods were used, torque calculations were carried out to ensure
an appropriate sized motor was used to power the threaded rods
 A chain drive system was developed in order to power and sync both rods
 Required angular contact ball bearings to account for axial loads in both
up and down directions.
 Ratchet system was developed to work in positive stop system
o This allows the wheel to be taken in and out with no obstruction from the lower
die
 Necessary for small shut heights
 Test runs conclude that consistent run out can be had with positive stop system
o Ongoing project, further development to take place