Industrialization of a scale for a high pressure feeder : Concept generation, design and industrialization of a product

Abstract: This master thesis describes a project during which a new product was developed that will measure the wear of a high pressure feeder in the conventional feeding line in a paper mill. The product will also be industrialized so that it can be manufactured in smaller series. previously, wear has been measured with a metal scale where the operator read the values and documented them manually. The goal of this project was to develop the mechanical parts of a product that will automatically measure the wear distance, gather the information and present the data. The project followed the classic product development process that was slightly modified to fit this specific project. A pre-study of the market and the current product gathered the information needed to generate a large number of concepts. The concepts were then eliminated in order to select the final concept that was the best solution for the problem based on the requirements given by the company. Once the concept was chosen it was modelled using a CAD-software (Compute Aided Design). Most of the components are standard components that can be “bought off the shelf”, which means that it should not be too many special parts that will cost a lot of money and time to manufacture. The product is also IP67-classified which means that it can manage the water and white liquor (mainly sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide) that are present in a conventional feeding line in a paper mill. The result consists of a description of the final product. The company have also been provided with CAD-files and a manual on how to build the product. The company have also been provided with a list of all the standard components and where to buy them. During the project, some of the requirements have been changed by the global development team which made the project harder and the final product is different from the initial thought. However, the goal was reached, and the company have information and concept to use as inspiration for the next generation of this product. The final product is a robust box that can easily be mounted onto the high pressure feeder. The lower part of the box consists of the mechanical parts that are linked to the electrical parts which are in the upper part of the box.