<p>This report is the result of a master thesis at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Division of Industrial and Economical Development, at Linköping University of Technology. The project was carried out on behalf of Fanerami AB, Mjölby and includes 20 weeks of full time schedule work.</p><p>Cabinets with vertical mounted roller shutters all share the same problem, namely weight balancing. A roller shutter has an equilibrium area where the sum of the different forces acting on the shutter equals zero. As the shutter leaves that area it will pick up speed as it falls towards the bottom. When the shutter hits the bottom of the cabinet there is a potential risk of getting fingers caught and in this project a solution to prevent this from happening was to be presented.</p><p>In this project, three concepts have been generated with the following different purposes:</p><p>•In concept 1 the risk of getting any fingers caught when the shutter closes was to be eliminated in an efficient and inexpensive way.</p><p>•In concept 2 the roller shutter had to be balanced at all time providing the possibility to keep the cabinet open in any position.</p><p>•The last and most challenging task was to create a remote controlled TV cabinet. The shutters were mounted horizontally and were to be opened simply by pushing the bottom either on the remote transmitter unit or the cabinet.</p><p>The first concept uses a small oil damper, often seen in kitchen cabinets and drawers. The roller shutter applies pressure on the damper via a lever that transforms the shutter motion along a certain path to a smaller motion in the direction of the damper. By doing so, a smaller damper with higher pressure can be used. Dampers are available with several different pressures and can be mounted in five different positions; therefore the concept can be adjusted to fit almost any cabinet.</p><p>Concept 2 consists of a thin cord winded around a wheel. The wheel is equipped with a spring that tightens when the cord is pulled in. The spring produces an equal and opposite force that holds the shutter in balance. As the wheel is mounted in the upper front of the cabinet, underneath the shutter, it will almost be invisible. The concept is easy to adjust to most cabinets by simply attach the shutter at different levels. In that way the spring will be tightened to equal the weight of the shutter.</p><p>The design of the TV cabinet has been a working progress throughout the whole project. A couple of prototypes were produced before the final concept. The mechanical solution is based on two pinion rackets placed one on each side of a rotating pinion powered by a motor through a planetary gearbox. To control the cabinet Electronic Solutions AB developed an electronic system that made it possible to open and close the shutters with a remote control or a switch on the cabinet.</p>

This report is the result of a master thesis at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Division of Industrial and Economical Development, at Linköping University of Technology. The project was carried out on behalf of Fanerami AB, Mjölby and includes 20 weeks of full time schedule work. Cabinets with vertical mounted roller shutters all share the same problem, namely weight balancing. A roller shutter has an equilibrium area where the sum of the different forces acting on the shutter equals zero. As the shutter leaves that area it will pick up speed as it falls towards the bottom. When the shutter hits the bottom of the cabinet there is a potential risk of getting fingers caught and in this project a solution to prevent this from happening was to be presented. In this project, three concepts have been generated with the following different purposes: •In concept 1 the risk of getting any fingers caught when the shutter closes was to be eliminated in an efficient and inexpensive way. •In concept 2 the roller shutter had to be balanced at all time providing the possibility to keep the cabinet open in any position. •The last and most challenging task was to create a remote controlled TV cabinet. The shutters were mounted horizontally and were to be opened simply by pushing the bottom either on the remote transmitter unit or the cabinet. The first concept uses a small oil damper, often seen in kitchen cabinets and drawers. The roller shutter applies pressure on the damper via a lever that transforms the shutter motion along a certain path to a smaller motion in the direction of the damper. By doing so, a smaller damper with higher pressure can be used. Dampers are available with several different pressures and can be mounted in five different positions; therefore the concept can be adjusted to fit almost any cabinet. Concept 2 consists of a thin cord winded around a wheel. The wheel is equipped with a spring that tightens when the cord is pulled in. The spring produces an equal and opposite force that holds the shutter in balance. As the wheel is mounted in the upper front of the cabinet, underneath the shutter, it will almost be invisible. The concept is easy to adjust to most cabinets by simply attach the shutter at different levels. In that way the spring will be tightened to equal the weight of the shutter. The design of the TV cabinet has been a working progress throughout the whole project. A couple of prototypes were produced before the final concept. The mechanical solution is based on two pinion rackets placed one on each side of a rotating pinion powered by a motor through a planetary gearbox. To control the cabinet Electronic Solutions AB developed an electronic system that made it possible to open and close the shutters with a remote control or a switch on the cabinet.

This thesis is dedicated to a study of manufacturing of aluminum parts at Alfa company. A complete analysis of the company's main product which are roller doors for commercial vehicles is elaborated. The thesis is based on a existing operation of the company and tries to find the optimal solution for the future. The result is the definition of a new solution and determination it’s operating costs, economic impacts and suggestions for improvement. Key words roller door, aluminum profiles, slat, roller shutter, manufacturing of aluminum parts.