Design of Station for Calculating Centre of Gravity of Truck Cabin : A Product Design Project

Abstract: As a part of Linköping University’s master program course curriculum, current thesis is performed at Tools and fixtures department (MPCT) of Scania, Oskarshamn. The aim of this master thesis project is to develop a complete construction of the station in CAD which calculates the weight and center of gravity of all the different cabs produced in Scania CV AB. To accomplish this project a generic product development process described in product development textbook by Ulrich and Eppinger (2012), fifth edition and The mechanical design by David G Ullman, fourth edition were extensively used. The whole function from a black box is decomposed into several sub functions and different solutions were identified for these individual functions. By using morphology matrix and proper combinations from these solutions five different concepts were developed and presented to Scania CV AB. The team along with technical design experts in the MPCT department evaluated all the concepts and one concept was chosen for further development. Protecting the weighing scales during loading of cab from forklift onto the station and safety for the cab during tilting are the two main challenges faced during detail design phase. We were able to achieve these operations by incorporating a lifting table into the station design. Thanks to the custom made multi-tasking lift table which is manufactured and supplied by HYMO. With the help of sensors, speed of the lifting table can be controlled with two operating speeds-High & Low. Lifting table moves in its lowest speed whenever it approaches the weighing scales. Incorporation of Jacob safety into the lifting table allows the table to always operate in low speed when the lift link is in action. These sensors ensure high safety for the cab and weighing scales. Apart from this, an emergency stop has been provided to stop the entire operation in case of emergencies. In this proposed design, the center of gravity values will be determined in two stages and the weight readings are recorded in computer during these stages. For determining the longitudinal and transverse distances of CG, weight readings from all the weighing scales is essential once the cab is loaded on the station from the forklift. For determining the vertical distance of CG, two weight readings and measured tilt angle is required. A calculation module will allow the user to enter these values and obtain the result in no time. This developed 3-D CAD model with 2-D drawings are presented to Scania and the obtained results of this work fulfilled the set of requirements set for this master thesis.