Senior Projects in Engineering Technology

By Elaine Cope

Each Senior in the College of Applied Science and Technology is required to participate in a senior project. Some of the senior projects this semester were Panic Breaker,Welder Bender,Rampage, and Smokers Anonymous.

Panic Breaker

The Panic Breaker Senior project was a training facility that will enable Northern Utah firefighters to overcome situations that they may encounter in the field rescuing civilians in a burning or otherwise compromised structure in confined spaces with all of their gear on including oxygen masks. The Panic Breaker was designed to allow instructors to change obstacles and pathways, this will allow the trainees to keep an alert mind and exercise their ability to adjust their thought process when presented with unexpected obstacles. The prop is designed to have an innumerable amount of scenarios that firefighters cannot memorize or grow bored of training in. The Panic Breaker consists of off kilter floors which move accordingly with a person’s weight and their position, sections where entanglements drop down which will catch on their gear to slow or frustrate their progress, stairs and other transitions between floors to allow access from one floor to the next, as well as constrictors that will require them to remove their air packs to squeeze through. One of the main concepts South Davis Metro Fire Department Captain, Paul George, wanted the Panic Breaker to have was to allow no light whatsoever on the inside of the maze to simulate conditions inside of a burning building filled with smoke. Paul also wanted to be able to restrict entryways and make the maze as confined as possible. Other training obstacles include; A roof assembly that allows firefighters to train on how to ventilate a roof by cutting through the rafters or trusses with a replaceable section for quick and easy setup for future training cycles, a vertical rescue area to train firefighters using that type of gear as well as a replaceable wall to train how to break through sheetrock walls were all included in the facility.

Welder Bender

Weld bend testers are used to assure that welders can produce sound welds before they are allowed to weld on critical welded parts (buildings, bridges, amusement rides, etc.) These machines are typically very expensive, out of the price range for most high schools. These test machines are very useful because they allow students to practice these tests at school. Students from Manufacturing and Welding Engineering Technology, along with Design Engineering Tech, designed and built affordable testers for local high schools.
 

Rampage

The goal of this senior project was to design a passenger-boarding ramp for small, commuter airplanes. The design was to be lightweight and easy to use, move and store. To move the ramp from place to place, there will be a tow bar, which will connect to existing tow tractors, currently being used for towing baggage trailers. The ramp can be raised and lowered with a hydraulic system, and will service a variety of different planes with door sill heights ranging from 7 to 8 feet.
 

Smokers Anonymous

The Smokers Anonymous senior project group designed and built two pellet-fed meat smokers with a concept unique to anything in current industry. The functional design choice was reverse flow, something not traditionally used with pellet-fed smokers. This particular method requires the smoke to fully circulate through the chamber before exiting out the chimney. This in turn requires a good seal on the door for optimal functionality. Probably the most unique feature was the chosen location for the hopper, the part where pellets are stored then fed into the auger and the burn box. This was mounted directly in front of the chamber, rather than the side, to allow a shelf to be mounted directly in front of the chamber making use more ergonomically appealing. The finishing touches put on the smokers included an LCD touch screen, a flat black paint job, and a water-jet cut front plate showing off our logo and those in the industry that assisted us along the way (Camp Chef & Richards Sheet Metal). A stainless steel plate was then placed behind the cut plate in order to show off the logos and add to the visual appeal. The senior project Rampage was to design a passenger-boarding ramp for small, commuter airplane. The plan is to be lightweight and easy to use, move and store . to move the ramp, there will be a tow bar to connect to existing tow tractors which are already used to tow baggage trailers. The ramp will be raised and lowered with hydraulic system and will service a variety of different planes with door sill heights ranging from 7 to 8 feet.