Publication Date

5-1-2018

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Sciammarella, Federico||Shelton, John

Degree Name

B.S. (Bachelor of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

To help promote the growth in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) careers, ComEd created the Icebox Derby STEM cup challenge. The Icebox Derby is a challenge that encourages young women to engage in hands on challenges involving innovations. The challenges revolve around building a derby car out of recycled refrigerators. The whole process takes place over four build days and is used to further encourage STEM. In previous years, a homemade jack was used to lift the kart frame high enough for the students to work on the car. However, lifting the frame did not involve the students, and when the frame was on the jack, it was unstable and ultimately deemed unsafe. The goal was to design a lift that the participants can operate safely. The lift operates using hydraulics to raise and lower to ideal working heights, operating on a simple scissor design. The lift ensures the girls have access to all aspects of the frame, yet not have to work on the floor or have the frame be unstable. The final product includes a locking mechanism for additional safety at maximum height and locking casters for ease of mobility. The final product can also be marketed for other small vehicles, not just go-karts. The team's mission was to provide a safe, hands on lift that the students will be able to operate when completing challenges involving the Icebox Derby car frame.

Extent

71 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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