Using solar energy is clearly an important part of creating a sustainable future. Thats exactly what the small company Absolicon Solar Collectors placed in Härnösand thinks and carries through. By developing and manufacturing concentrated solarcollectors with a complete runningcentral for producing steam intended for industrial purpose are they pushing the technology and industry forward. They have so far manufactured small volumes of pilot plants but will now have the ability to manufacture larger volumes. To accomplish that they will have to be able to speed up the manufacturing process regarding some of the processes in the manufacturing line. As a part of the first station in the line will they need a method to semi automatically bend the two longest edges of the collector. It is this method this thesis is all about. A functional prototyp is also a part of the desired result. Roll forming became the method of choice. After choosing method was a small research around the subject accomplished containing visits at companies and literature studying. The demands of the curvature of the bends were also more closely investigated to get a better grip of the demands on the roll forming mill. Rollforming is an effective way to change the profile of steel plates and strips. The higher rollspeed the faster rollforming. By calculating tension and elongation of the steel or by testing can the number of passes and the length of the mill be determined. In the part theory of the report is essential theory and rules regarding roll forming compiled for simple calculations and general understanding of some of aspects in roll and mill design. In the part method of the report is the work regarding planning and contructing the two hand made prototypes. Prototype one is manufactured for the purpose of testing stands, shafts and rolls. Derived from the results of testing prototype one is the final prototype constructed and made. The work is resulting in a final prototype containing two passes which is not producing the desired final bend angle but the function of the roll forming as a method can still be validated and presented. The steel strip is easily by hand dragged trough the mill and no defects or other problem were encountered. The final prototype is not fully meeting the demands of the final bend angle due to the short deadline it was made in. Two more passes are still needed do be added for the final angle. As a conclusion is roll forming as a method really suitable for this bending operation because of its simplicity, low cost, small physicall measurments and high forming speed.

På Volvo GTO i Umeå används dagligen ett stort antal lyfthjälpmedel i produktionen. Lyfthjälpmedlen förenklar lyft av stora och tunga detaljer så att produktionen håller ett bra tempo utan att personalens hälsa sätts ur spel. Tillverkningen sker i företagets egen verkstad där personal med lång erfarenhet producerar lyftarna. Konstruktionen och CE-märkningen utförs av Volvos egen personal eller inhyrda konsulter. Idag tar underlaget som Maskindirektivet har som krav för CE-märkningen väldigt mycket resurser. Företaget vill rationalisera den processen utan att lagen bryts. Ofta behövs personal hyras in på grund av att konstruktörerna på Volvo har andra uppgifter som generar stora kostnader. Genom att diskutera med experter på Maskinsäkerhet och CE-märkning i samråd av konstruktörer och annan personal som är inblandade i CE-märkningen har några förslag på förändringar presenterats: Att hållfasthetsberäkningar görs i förväg på delar eller hela produkter som sedan används i nya underlag kan ledtiden förkortas. Att finna samband med tidigare lyfthjälpmedels riskanalyser för att återanvända risker och riskåtgärder. Att undvika att ta fram underlag som inte är ett krav kan hela processen slutföras i ett tidigare skede. / At Volvo GTO in Umeå a large number of lifting tools is used daily in the production. The lifting tools simplify lifting of large and heavy details so the production keeps a good speed without harm the staff’s health. Manufacturing takes place in the company’s own workshop with workers that have long experience in construction of lifts. The construction and the CE-marking are performed by Volvo’s staffs or hired consultants. Today takes the documents that Maskindirektivet has as a requirement for CE-marking a lot of resources. The company wants to rationalize that process without breaking the law. Consultants are often hired which generates huge costs because Volvo’s engineers have other tasks. By discussing with experts on machine safety and CE-marking with consultation of designers and other staffs involved in the CE mark, some suggestions for change have been presented. If strength calculations are made in advance on parts or whole products the lead time can be shortened. One more suggestion is to found connection between previous risk analysis so risk and risk actions that reduce the damage can be reused. By not producing document that are not a requirement, the entire process can be completed at an earlier stage.

Detta examensarbete har utförts på Högskolan i Halmstad. Tillsammans med Swt Development har uppgiften varit att utveckla en prototyp av en tandborste tillverkad i en förnybar biokomposit bestående av polylaktid (PLA) och cellulosafiber. Utgångspunkten var att utveckla en plastprodukt som används inom bland annat vården. Prototypen av tandborsten avgränsades till handtag, hals och huvud. Examensarbetet omfattar hela produktutvecklingsprocessen med dess metoder och verktyg som använts för att ta fram och utveckla koncept till en prototyp. För att generera koncept användes nyhetsundersökning med research och patentdatabassökning samt en negativ idégenerering. Som konceptutvärderingsmetoder användes SWOT-analys, Pugh’s matris samt FMEA-analys. För att dimensionera och analysera koncept användes antropometriska data, hållfasthetsberäkningar, Catia V5, Solidworks samt vatten-och dragprovstester. Det vinnande konceptet var en tandborste tillverkad i 40vikt% fiber med en räfflad del på handtaget för ett bättre grepp. Tandborstens dimensioner utformades i Catia V5 utifrån materialets sträckgräns genom approximativa hållfasthetsberäkningar samt hållfasthetsanalyser i Solidworks. CAD-skissen utvecklades vidare till en färdig prototyp som sedan skrevs ut i 3D-skrivare. Resultatet visar att det är möjligt att tillämpa biokompositmaterial i en produkt som kan ersätta en produkt i konventionell plast. Examensarbetet belyser på så vis möjligheterna hos produkter baserade på förnybara material. Utvecklingen av produkter bestående av förnybara material kan därför bidra till att minska användandet av plastprodukter inom bland annat vården för att på så sätt minska dess negativa inverkan på miljön. / This degree thesis has been carried out at the University of Halmstad. In collaboration with Swt Development, the task has been to develop a prototype of a toothbrush made in a renewable biocomposite consisting of polylactic acid (PLA) and cellulose fibers. The outset was to develop a plastic product used in, among other areas, medical industry and healthcare. The prototype was demarcated to the handle, neck and head of the toothbrush. The degree thesis covers the entire product development process with its methods and tools used to develop and evaluate concepts for a prototype. In order to generate concepts, novelty research was used with literature research, patent database search and a method called negative idea generation. As concept evaluation methods, SWOT-analysis, Pugh's matrix and FMEA-analysis were used. To dimension and analyze concepts the methods used were anthropometric data, calculations, Catia V5, Solidworks, and water resistance test in addition to a tensile test. The winning concept was a toothbrush made in 40wt% fiber with grooves on the handle for a better grip. The toothbrush dimensions were designed in Catia V5 based on the material's tensile strength, through approximate strength calculations and SolidWorks strength analyzes. The CAD model was further developed into a finished prototype, which was then printed in a 3D printer. The result shows that it is possible to apply biocomposites to a product that can replace a product made with conventional plastic. This degree thesis thus illuminates the possibilities of products based on renewable materials. The development of products consisting of renewable materials can therefore contribute to reducing the use of plastic products in, inter alia, healthcare, thereby reducing its negative impact on the environment.

The purpose of the work is to eventually develop a wave power model that will produce electricity at a competitive price. The work is carried out at Invencon AB and is part of the course Degree Project for Bachelor of Science in Mechanical engineering at Karlstad University. The choice of subject is due to the fact that there is currently no commercially viable wave technology that has succeeded in pushing the price of produced electricity so low to compete with other energy sources such as wind power, nuclear power and hydropower. Invencon AB has made a pilot study on a concept which is based on simplicity and is called Waves. Waves should be constructed with cheap, robust and well-proven technology. The aim of this work is to further develop the concept and will be reached by basing the design on wave force theory, weaknesses of other wave power models while remaining within the scope of what Waves patent covers. In addition to the further development of Waves, an appropriate solution to the linear motion of the buoy will be transformed into rotation, which in turn can drive any pump, generator or compressor.  A requirement specification was set up for how the conversion from linear motion to rotation should be done. This was followed by a concept generation in the form of brainstorming with a group consisting of five students, were all participants are classmates. To select the right concept, a concept evaluation is done using an elimination matrix and a relative decision matrix. Then the chosen concept is further developed and the components are dimensioned. Finally, the chosen concept is designed in Creo Parametric 2.0 to visualize the result. The solution is a construction based on two pulleys as a drift line (wire) runs through. The one pulley walks freely through ball bearings. Between the second pulley and wire, the friction is high enough for sliding not to occur, which causes the pulley to rotate. Through splines between the pulley and output shaft, the torque can be propelled and powered by a pump, generator or compressor.  The improvements on Waves are developed during the project. All improvements and dimensions are compiled and called Waves 2.0.

Denna rapport återger det arbete som syftat till att gå igenom och analysera alternativ utrustning till utmatningsskruvar i stål med det primära målet att eliminera risken för metallspånskontaminering. Projektet har utförts som ett examensarbete för högskoleingenjörsprogrammet i maskinteknik vid fakulteten för hälsa, natur- och teknikvetenskap på Karlstads universitet. I dagsläget har HEXPOL TPE AB stora problem med att utmatningsskruvarna kontaminerar deras produkt med mycket små metallspån. Deras produktkatalog består av termoplastiska elastomerer med olika egenskaper som levereras i form av granulat. Utmatningsskruvarnas roll i processen är att transportera det färdigtillverkade materialet till slutförpackningen och ge möjlighet att tillsätta talk- eller silicapulver till materialet och blanda det utförligt för att motverka klumpbildning. Vid drift uppstår slitage mellan skruven och röret. Detta har varit den huvudsakliga orsaken till metallspånen vilket man i framtiden vill undvika genom ett byte av utrustning. För att angripa detta problem inleddes arbetet med en förstudie. Här studerades material relevanta för processen samt även hur tillverkningsprocessen fungerar. Därefter gjordes en nulägesanalys för att skapa en bättre förståelse för omständigheterna kring problemet, hur den nuvarande utrustningen fungerar samt vilka omständigheter den nya utrustningen kommer utsättas för. Därpå ställdes alla krav och önskemål upp som företaget har på den nya utrustningen i en kravspecifikation. Sedan påbörjades sökarbetet efter nya utrustningar i form av koncept under konceptgenereringsfasen. De koncept som togs fram här gallrades sedan genom en elimineringsmatris under den sista projektfasen konceptutvärdering. Den bästa lösningen som hittades under projektet bygger på en modifikation av den nuvarande utmatningsskruven. Lösningen består av att den roterande stålskruven inuti stålröret ersätts med en modulär skruv i plast. Denna skruv är uppbyggd av en hexagonformad stålaxel som driver och håller modulerna i plast som träs på axeln vid montering. Resultatet av denna modifikation blir att metall mot metall slitage mellan skruven och röret förebyggs. Detta gör att den identifierade orsaken till metallspån elimineras utan att andra viktiga aspekter påverkas i teorin. För att driva projektet vidare inom den nuvarande riktningen blir ett lämpligt nästa steg att testa den nya sortens skruv med de olika materialen som ska transporteras, i form av ett pilotprojekt. / This report covers a process that has aimed to review and analyze alternate equipment to steel screw feeders with the primary goal to eliminate the risk of metal contamination. The project has been carried out as a Bachelor thesis for the program in mechanical engineering at the faculty of health, science and technology at Karlstad University. At present, HEXPOL TPE AB has major issues with the current screw feeders contaminating their product with small metal chips. Their product catalog consist of thermoplastic elastomers with different properties and they are delivered in the form of granules. The screw feeder's purpose in the process is to transport the finished material to the final packaging and provide the opportunity to add talc or silica powder to the material and mix it extensively to prevent lump formation. During operation, wear and tear between the screw and the pipe has been the main reason for the metal chips. In the future HEXPOL TPE AB want to avoid this issue by replacing the current screw feeders. In order to address this issue, work began with preliminary studies of materials relevant to the process and of how the manufacturing process worked. Then a situation analysis was made to create a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding the issue, how the current equipment works and the circumstances in which the new equipment will be exposed. Thereupon, all requirements and request HEXPOL TPE AB has were compiled in to a requirement specification. Then, the search for concepts that solve the issue began. All the concepts presented in the project were then thinned out through an elimination matrix during the final phase of the project. The best solution found during the project is based on a modification of the current screw feeder. The solution consists of replacing the rotating steel screw inside the steel tube with a modular plastic screw. This screw is made of a hexagonal steel shaft that drives and holds the plastic modules that are threaded on the shaft during assembly. The result of this modification is that metal to metal wear between the screw and the tube is prevented. This eliminates the identified cause of metal chips without affecting other important aspects in theory. In order to drive the project further within the current direction, a suitable next step will be to test the new type of screw with the various materials to be transported, in the form of a pilot project.

This paper presents the technical specification of a laser welding machine, which main purpose is the weld of thin aluminium sheets. With the application of laser machines in automotive, aerospace, and other industries, it has become of crucial importance for a company working in those fields to keep updated with the technological progress. In this thesis, a deep research in laser machines and its applications has been done. The primary objective of this thesis is to gather knowledge about laser machines to help our client to find the machines they need. Among the several types of machines, the difference in the choice relied on which main type of industrial laser should be used: carbon dioxide (CO2) or neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd: YAG). The second objective of this thesis is to find the best way to demand those machines to the procurers: to give detailed specifications to the procurers, or to give them just guidelines on what the machine must have and should have. The key results obtained from the research were that laser source to use is the Nd: YAG and that the most appropriate shielding gas is Argon. Therefore, in conclusion, the specifications stated in the table will help our client to acquire the laser machine they demand; as well as spending the money efficiently.

Keywords: Material management, load carrier, product development process, CAD, CAE, CAM In this master thesis a foldable load carrier was developed as part of improved material management at AQ Components in Västerås. One of their product lines involves service hatches for trains that are transported within the facility throughout the manufacturing process. Currently, a custom-built load carrier is used to transport the hatches between assembling and painting stations. Unfortunately, the carrier has design and systematic flaws that needs to be resolved. The current carrier is not very protective and occupies a lot of space. The hatches also return from the painting station in an unpredictable order. Before investing in solutions, the subject of material management was studied further. This is a branch within logistics that focus on the internal material flow within industries. Companies that wish to stay competitive continuously invest in improved material management to achieve more profitable material flow, increased capacity, increased regularity and availability, better ergonomics and goods protection. The thesis work followed a classic product development process with focus on a synthesis-analysis loop. After establishing a project plan, the current solution was investigated where the customer need was identified in a product specification. Five concepts were generated and screened, where the most objectively advantageous concept was developed. The new carrier was designed using CAD, in parallel to structural analysis using both CAE and theoretical calculations. The manufacturing process utilizes the sheet metal specialization of AQ Components, where the components were tactically nested using CAM for material efficient laser cutting. Prototyping was carried out before hand over, to ensure the carrier works as well in practise as in theory. The developed load carrier is designed with an outer protective frame, with scratch resistant arms for inserting the service hatches. The frame is foldable with two lockable positions for in and out of use. Once folded, the width is reduced to 1/3rd of the original width. With further safety analysis the carrier can then also be hanged away (with forklift) so that it practically occupies no space at all. The carrier can be transported by forklift in pairs or more, with a total capacity of at least 20 service hatches. The carrier is equipped with an intuitive tracking system, where the carriers and slots are marked. This allows the hatches to return in the order they were sent. The carrier and solution deliver not only on the product specification, but also on the key objectives of improved material management.

Agile methods have been proven successful for handling the increased needs for embracing change and reducing time-to-market in order for companies to stay competitive. But, the use of an agile approach might also result in new challenges and problems when the new approach is implemented. A common challenge to handle is that the traditional project roles and responsibilities change. One of the project roles which change and who’s responsibilities becomes unclear when adopting agile is the project manager. Extensive research has been conducted on using an agile approach but a topic that lacks research is how the project manager fits into an agile environment and it can hence be argued that there is a need for more research that focus on the project manager role when using an agile approach. This thesis work studies the project manager role in an agile environment and has the purpose to clarify the role of the project manager when using an agile approach. The main research questions for the thesis work are: How does the role of the project manager change when a project adopts agile methods? and How can the project manager contribute to a successful use of an agile approach? The research questions have been answered by combining a literature review and a case study consisting of interviews, observations and a workshop. The case study has been conducted at a project office at the truck, buss and engine developer and manufacturer Scania CV in Södertälje. The study focuses on the project managers at the specific project office and the operations development projects these project managers manage. The study has identified changes occurring to the traditional project manager when an agile approach is adopted. The study has also identified responsibilities of an agile project manager. Further the study identifies critical aspects, problems or challenges and success factors of using an agile approach. Lastly, the study relates the critical aspects identified to the project manager and from these results suggests how the project manager can contribute to a successful use of an agile approach. The general conclusions that can be drawn from this study are that several benefits have been obtained by using an agile approach, but many problems have also arisen. Further that the role of the project manager has changed and that it remains to some extent unclear. The project manager was considered related to some of the challenges or problems reported and the conclusion is hence drawn that the project manager can contribute to a successful use of an agile approach by resolving these problems or challenges. Lastly can the conclusion be drawn that that there is a need for studying more projects, preferably at more departments, to be able to draw more reliable conclusions and to get a better understanding of the current situation at company.

Today the automotive industry is going through big changes and facing many new challenges due to the transformation to a sustainable transport solution in combination with tougher legal demands. Gears have been around for a long time and it is one of the most efficient ways of transferring rotary motion from one shaft to another. Transmissions is a key factor in order to transfer the rotary motion from the engine to the wheels. Both traditional combustion engines and electric powered vehicles needs a transmission with gears. The continuously increasing demands on efficiency, noise and durability requires increased knowledge about gears, especially about gear dynamics and how vibrations are excited and transferred to the gearbox for different mesh frequencies. In this report, a theoretical background about gears is presented as well as the mechanisms behind the excitation of vibrations. The goal with this master thesis has been to create a validated model of a gear test rig. For the static validation, two types of gears have been used in the test gearbox. The gears in question are FZG standardized type-A gears and type-C gears. The model includes gears, shafts, bearings and housings. This model has been used for simulating static torque fluctuations as well as dynamic excitation of vibrations that is transferred to the housings, both at constant speed and with continuously increasing speed. In the dynamic analysis, only type-C gears have been used. To validate the model, vibrations have been measured on a FZG gear test rig using accelerometers and tachometer. For the static validation, torque has been measured while running the test rig at 5 rpm. The results show that it is possible to get the load clutch in the model to behave as in the test rig. It also shows that the model can register the static torque fluctuations similar to the fluctuations in the test rig. The type-C gears are better suited for the simulations and gives a better result than the type-A gears. For the type-A gears there are some numerical problems related to tip contact during meshing. The investigation of the tooth contact pressure pattern shows a good correlation between the simulations and the used type-C gear. The patterns have the same shape on the tooth flank which indicates that the contact between the teeth behave similar in the model and the test rig. For the validation of the dynamic behaviour, the gear mesh overtones have been investigated, both at constant velocity and with continuously increasing velocity. For the simulations, there are some issues related to the FEprobes placed on the gearboxes so instead the data from the inner bearings in the model have been used for the validation. The analysis of the dynamic simulations shows that it is possible to identify the tooth mesh overtones but the resonance peaks are less amplified compared to the measurements from the test rig. For the simulations with constant velocity the overtone trend correlates well with the experimental data at high speeds but at lower speed there is an amplitude peak for the firstovertone that doesn’t correlates with the measurements. As a conclusion, the model has beenstatically validated with good results while for the dynamic validation, there is still some aspects that need to be improved in order to get a good correlation between the simulations and the measurements from the test rig. Improvements suggested is to run the simulation with continuously increasing speed using more time steps in order to get more data points for the rpm spectra. It is also suggested to perform an impact hammer modal testing on the test rig in order to get a better understanding of the damping in the system. / Idag genomgår fordonsindustrin stora förändringar och står inför många nya utmaningar på grund av omställningen till en hållbar transportlösning i kombination med hårdare lagkrav. Kugghjul har funnits under en lång tid och är ett av de mest effektiva sätten att överföra rotationsrörelse från en axel till en annan. Transmissioner är en nyckelfaktor för att kunna överföra rotationsrörelse från motorn till hjulen. Både traditionella förbränningsmotorer och eldrivna fordon behöver en transmission med kugghjul. De ökande kraven gällande verkningsgrad, ljud och hållbarhet kräver mer kunskap om kugghjul, speciellt gällande kugghjulsdynamik och hur vibrationer exciteras och förs över till växellådshuset för olika kuggingreppsfrekvenser. I den här rapporten presenteras en teoretisk bakgrund om kugghjul och mekanismer som orsakar excitation av vibrationer. Målet med det här examensarbetet har varit att skapa en validerad modell av en testrigg för kugghjul. För den statiska valideringen har två typer av kugghjul använts i testväxellådan. Kugghjulen i fråga är FZG standardiserade typ-A och typ-C kugghjul. Modellen består av kugghjul, axlar, rullager och växellådshus. Modellen har använts för att simulera statiska vridmomentsfluktuationer och dynamisk excitation av vibrationer som överförs till växellådshusen, både vid konstant hastighet och för kontinuerligt ökande hastighet. I den dynamiska analysen har enbart typ-C kugghul använts. För att validera modellen har vibrationer mätts i en FZG testrigg för kugghjul genom att använda accelerometrar och takometer. För den statiska valideringen har vridmomentet mätts medans testriggen kördes med en hastighet av 5 rpm. Resultatet visar att det är möjligt att få lastkopplingen i modellen att bete sig som i testriggen. De visar också att modellen kan registrera statiska vridmomentsfluktuationer på ett liknande sätt som i testriggen. Typ-C kugghjulen är bättre lämpade för simuleringarna och ger ett bättre resultat än typ-A kugghjulen. För typ-A kugghjulen är det numeriska problem som är relaterade till toppkontakt under kuggingrepp. Undersökningen av tandkontaktsmönstret visar på god överensstämmelse mellan simulering och det använda typ-C kugghjulet. Kontaktmönstret har samma form på kuggflanken vilket indikerar att kontakten mellan tänderna sker på samma sätt i modellen som det gör i testriggen. För valideringen av det dynamiska beteendet har övertonerna för kuggingrepp undersökts, både vid konstant hastighet och för kontinuerligt ökande hastighet. För simuleringarna är det vissa problem relaterade till FEprobes som är placerade på växellådshusen så istället har data från de inre rullagren använts för validering. Analysen av de dynamiska simuleringarna visar att det är möjligt att identifiera kuggingreppsövertonerna men resonanspikarna är mindre förstärkta jämfört med mätdata från testriggen. För simuleringarna med konstant hastighet överensstämmer trenden för övertonerna väl med experimentella data vid höga hastigheter men vid lägre hastigheter är det en amplitudspik för den första övertonen som inte överensstämmer med mätningarna. Som slutsats så är modellen statiskt validerad med goda resultat medans för den dynamiska valideringen är det fortfarande vissa aspekter som behöver förbättras för att få en bättre överensstämmelse mellan simuleringar och mätningar från testriggen. Föreslagna förbättringar är att köra simuleringarna med kontinuerligt ökande hastighet med fler tidssteg för att få fler datapunkter för varvtalsspektrumet. Det föreslås också att genomföra ett knacktest på testriggen för att få en ökad förståelse om dämpningen i systemet.

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