Argand Co-operative Soap Project

ME 415.1 Capstone Design Class, Spring 2007
Date: Spring 2007
Team Members: Zachary Newman, Christian Cancino, Justin Prosser, Matthew Kiminski, Jeff Slade.
Faculty Coach: Dr. Richard Schuhmann, Assistant Professor
Sponsor: Sarah Chayes, Arghand Co-Operative (Kandahar Valley, Afghanistan)
Executive Summary: The Arghand Co-op is a company consisting mainly of farmers from the Kandahar Valley in Afghanistan. Arghand uses local agricultural products such as flowers, fruits, and berries to flavor the hand-made bar soaps which they produce. These soaps are currently produced using primitive methods of product weighing and quantifying. Arghand is in need of a mechanical "tool" to aid in this process. The overall goal of this project is to provide the Arghand Co-op with a soap plodder, which will eject specific quantities of soap, as determined by Arghand's needs. Several factors must be accounted for with this project, most prominently the fact that the plodder will be used in war-torn Afghanistan, where industrial resources are limited. Because of this, some common design considerations are simplicity, reliability, and repairability. With this design framework in mind at all times, we will begin by assessing customer needs and existing conditions. Following this, mechanical plodder concepts will be generated via group and individual brainstorming. At present, two main plodder types have arisen—piston/cylinder and screw designs. After some testing with simple prototypes of each design, a final concept will be selected. Next we will enter the design phases, first adapting the concept to Arghand's specifications, and then engaging in detailed design. Concurrently with the detailed design, final product prototyping will be taking place. Once a final prototype is completed, the final, working plodder will be fabricated, presented at the design exposition, and shipped to Afghanistan, where it will be employed in full production.