In conjunction with the Department of
Mechanical Engineering (DME) UHM, ME 482 Project Design course, the ASME
Francis R. Montgomery Design Competition was held May 9, 2003 in the Kuykendal
Hall auditorium. Four ME student teams competed.
This
design competition was established in 1987 in memory of Francis Rhodes
Montgomery to further the field of Mechanical Engineering. It is aimed at the
student of Mechanical Engineering with the goal of recognizing and rewarding
innovative design efforts, the practicality of the design, and the ability to
present the design in a clear and understandable manner. The design project
presentations are judged on the basis of content, organization, delivery and
effectiveness, and simple prototype.
The judges included Charles Calvet, Ron
Flegal, and James Grogan. Charles Calvet is the Gas Company Manager of
Engineering. He is also a member of the DME UHM, Industry Advisory Board. Ron
Flegal is Associate Professor of Engineering at Leeward Community College. He
has the distinction of being one of the first DME UHM student to compete in the
F. R. Montgomery competition back in 1987. James Grogan is the Hawaii Section
outgoing chairman. He is a retired Field Engineering Manager (Nuclear).
Professor Mehrdad Ghasemi Nejhad is the course instructor and also the ASME
Faculty Advisor.
The awards for this competition increased
substantially from previous years. First place was $1,000, second $400, third
$300, and fourth $200. The $1,000 went to the “ASME Design 1” team of Weston
Fujii, Cory Soon, and Irwine Young.
Following are brief descriptions of the
projects in the order of placement.
The team competed in the ASME Region IX
Design Competition in UC Davis in April 2003 in which a surface mining company
sought the development of a device that can reduce the energy consumption of
material handling equipment used in their mountain mining operation. The device
must be able to lift ore from an open pit mine up to a desired elevation.
The project objective was to design,
analyze, manufacture, and test a prototype system that will use the
gravitational potential energy stored in two liters of water to lift and
deposit simulated ore, long grain rice.
Team members were Luke Beaver, Kurt Boehm,
Raymond Ku, Matt Miyamoto, and Stan Tomimoto. The project objective was to
develop a single-seat off road vehicle capable of maneuvering over rough,
rocky, and wet conditions using a space frame formed out of 1-inch diameter
chromoly steel. A prior year model was analyzed and tested to determine where
improvements were necessary. ANSYS simulations as well as AutoDesk Inventor and
AutoCAD computer Aided Design software were used to model a more compact frame.
Testing has indicated that the new design will improve most aspects of the
prior year model.
HUMAN POWERED
VEHICLE (HPV)
Team
members were Thadd Beltran, Clyde Campos, Shaun Kagawa, Tina Lee, Kevin Murata,
Randy Sakagawa, and Miko Suzuki. The team competed in the 2003 ASME/HPV
competition at UC Davis, April 25-27, 2003. This is an annual competition
sponsored by ASME International throughout its regions. The project objectives
were to design, analyze, construct, and test the HPV with the design objective to
construct an innovative, high strength frame of adequate stability, while
minimizing total weight. The fairing had to be rigid, aerodynamic, strong, and
lightweight. Composite materials, finite element analysis software, and
manufacturing techniques were used to meet the design criteria.
Team members were Alex Niemi, Justin wade,
and Karl Santa. This was the second team competing in the ASME Region IX Design
Competition in UC Davis in April 2003 in which a surface mining company sought
the development of a device that can reduce the energy consumption of material
handling equipment used in their mountain mining operation.
Funding for the Mini Baja and HPV project
came from several Hawaii companies. With the high cost of materials and mainland
travel part of the course includes the techniques and the practicing of
soliciting donations.
Since the beginning the F. R. Montgomery
Fund ASME-HI trustees have been past-chairmen Kent Murata (1983-84), Gary M.
Ishikawa (1986-87), and Robert G.F. Lee (1985-86). They have done an
outstanding job to ensure that the Fund and competition perpetuated. All three
past-chairmen hold important positions in state and federal government. Murata
is the Chief Civilian personnel at Kaneohe Marine Corp Base. Lee was appointed
State Adjutant General, and Ishikawa as deputy Adjutant General by Governor
Lingle last December. ASME-Hawaii is in the process of changing trustees. The
ASME-HI Section trustees will include active members of the ASME-HI Executive
Committee members specifically the immediate past-chairperson, the chairperson,
and the treasurer. Chairman Grogan has guided the process for this change.
The
ASME-HI Senior Section again thanks the DME UHM for letting us be a part of their
program for two times a year. Without their welcome it would be difficult to
perpetuate the ASME Francis Rhodes Montgomery Design Competition.