Material Processing Machine

Project Summary

Northrop Grumman and the St. Thomas design team partnered together to design and build a material processing machine for use at Northrop Grumman’s facility. This material processing machine will allow Northrop Grumman to produce the material at specific density ranges, without having to order it from an outside source. The machine will provide consistent and customized results for a wide variety of uses at the Northrop Grumman facility. The material processing machine will be accompanied by a density measuring device and support materials, such as operating manuals and troubleshooting guides. This material processing machine will
incorporate some system of controls for an operator to easily use this machine for manufacturing specifications. This Graphical User Interface (GUI) uses a program called LabVIEW to create and run all the code necessary for the heater and airflow operations.

Design Goal

The goal of this material processing machine is to alter the physical characteristics of the material by using controlled heat transfer to allow NGC a more efficient and sustainable manufacturing process for Northrop Grumman’s facilities.

Design Constraints

• The density measuring device shall operate with the use of a 15-amp 240-V AC standard outlet power.
• The material processing machine shall process 2 kg of the material at a specified density per 8 hours.
• The assembled machine shall fit within a 5-foot by 5-foot floor space with a 5-foot height restriction.
• The material processing machine shall be fully serviceable with no critical areas being inaccessible.
• The user manual and troubleshooting guide for the material processing machine shall be clear and concise.
• Any exposed machine surface shall not exceed 120℉.
• The heat and flow settings shall be controllable through a GUI.