KNM Engineering

214 Hammond Building

University Park, PA 16802
December 11, 2015
To:

ACME Tool Company

From:

Josh Kessler, Brooke Moyer, and Kamal

Subject:

Final Prototype Memo

Narouz

Over the past several months, KNM Engineering has transformed a simple concept into a
working prototype. The purpose of this memo is to document the final results, construction, and
performance of our final working prototype. We will include an in depth overview of the beta
prototype construction and part assembly, as well as performance results, and finally a review of
both the successes and the necessary improvements of our prototype. This project has been an
enriching experience for KNM Engineering, giving us the ability to refine our design,
prototyping, and engineering abilities. In addition, this project has helped our team realize some
of our strengths and weaknesses, which will help improve our team dynamic in the future.
Our final beta prototype consisted of 18 primary parts not including screws and dowels. The
following sections will detail how each part was created and assembled.
The largest component of our vacuum is the body. We decided to stick with the same general
design as our alpha prototype, but we made several minor changes to improve performance and
assemblability. These changes include adding four nubs with screw holes midway down the body
to attach the motor mount. In addition, we added holes for a hinge to attach the nozzle to the
body, and allow the nozzle to open when emptying debri. An official switch mount was also
incorporated into the design. The final change was adding additional exhaust slots for the air,
and moving them towards the front of the body where the impeller is located. We decided to 3-D
print the two body parts using high quality printers and printing materials. Using high quality
parts ensured the accuracy of our measurements and increased the durability of the prototype.

Figure 1: Two body pieces 3D printing

The internal components within the body of our final prototype were significantly redesigned
from our previous prototype. Using the original motor, we soldered a switch to replace the
original trigger, as seen in figure 2A. One major problem from the first prototype was the way
we mounted the motor to the body, so we devised a new way to mount it. We designed two
motor mounts, shown in figure 2B, which we laser cut out of acrylic to ensure accuracy. The first
motor mount attaches to the motor itself, and the second is mounted over it to make the screws
flush with the acrylic. The motor mounts both had four mounting points that lined up with the
four nubs on the body, allowing us to screw together the motor, the mounts and the body. This
design is vastly different from our alpha prototype design, which involved gluing the motor to
mounts on the body. The next change we made was mounting the impeller to the motor. We laser
cut the impeller mount out of acrylic, cutting a shape nearly identical to our gear. The impeller
mount is shown in figure 2C. Another change involved the impeller, which is shown in figure
2D. Although we kept the same design for the impeller as our previous prototype, we increased
the diameter from 2in to 3in. The final internal component is the impeller protector, shown in
figure 2E. This part was also 3D printed. It protects the impeller and directs air through a small
area to create a larger pressure difference. The only modification of this part from our alpha to
our beta prototype was making it funnel shaped.

Figure 2. Internal vacuum components, [A] Battery, [B] Motor Mount, [C] Impeller Mount, [D]
Impeller, [E] Impeller Protector

The handle was originally designed with a sharp 90 degree angle, but we decided to make it
more curved to fit in a users hand more comfortably. After finalizing the design, we 3D printed
the handle. The final result is shown in Figure 3. After the part was finished printing, we noticed
that the peg at the end of the handle was too short, which could potentially cause the handle to
fall out of the body. Therefore, we extended the peg by sanding down the sides of the nozzle.
This allowed it sit securely within the opening of the body without falling out.

Figure 3. Vacuum Handle

To ensure that our filter would be effective, we purchased a replacement filter for a DirtDevil
vacuum. The filter was too large to fit within our nozzle, so we cut the filter off of the plastic
base that it was attached to. Next, we cut the filter in half, and removed a section of the plastic
base. We then glued the filter back on the modified plastic base. Finally, we secured the filter in
front of the impeller by gluing it to the impeller protector. The final result of the filter assembly
is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Vacuum Filter

The nozzle of our final prototype is extremely different from our alpha prototype. Our alpha
prototype nozzle was made from PVC pipe, acrylic, and two latches to hold it to the body. We
discarded this idea completely and 3D printed parts designed in Solidworks. The nozzle was
divided in half to fit the tolerances of the 3D printer. It has a cone-like shape, a slot to attach to
the body, and a final diameter of 4in. Inside the nozzle, we inserted a piece of metal with the
same dimensions as the opening. This part is angled slightly to catch debris and prevent it from
falling back out. Finally, a single latch was added in order to keep the nozzle closed and flush
with the rest of the body during use.

Figure 5: Picture of Overall Nozzle (left) and Nozzle Exit (right)

Figure 6 shows the exploded view of our vacuum with each part labelled. Several missing parts
include the filter, impeller mount, and latch. Figure 7 shows the exploded view with each
subsystem labeled. As shown in the figure, the intake and storage subsystem both consist of the
nozzle, the filtration system consists of the filter and filter mount, the electrical subsystem
consists of the rewired switch, and the power subsystem consists of all of the internal
components.

Figure 6. Exploded view of vacuum showing individual components

Figure 7. Exploded view of vacuum showing subsystems

The progress of prototyping of the vacuum went through a few phases. Unlike our functional
final prototype, the first prototype was completely non-functional, and was developed to test the
aesthetics of the design as well as key features such as the body and handle. Moving forward, a
functional prototype was developed, shown in Figure 5. This prototype validated the
functionality of the impeller. This prototype was able to suck up some debris and was tested by
vacuuming a pile of rice. The suction power was very low compared to the final prototype. In
addition, debris fell out of the nozzle, which did not occur with the final prototype. The final
prototype was also tested by vacuuming a pile of rice and it was able to vacuum and contain .86
pounds of uncooked rice in the span of 10 seconds, an outstanding improvement over the
previous prototype. It was also tested with other types of debris and was able to perform
successfully.

Figure 8. Functional Prototype

There are several areas of improvement prior to a final commercial product. There are several
assembly issues that must be improved. For example, instead of gluing the main outer shell and
handle of the vacuum, they can be attached using fastening methods that are more reliable. Also,
instead of using a metal latch to connect the nozzle to the body, a more aesthetically appealing
mechanism can be developed. A bigger impeller and storage space can be considered to improve
both the suction power and the amount of debris stored, respectively. The power switch can be
modified to lay flat with the body instead of protruding outward. Finally, a mounting mechanism
needs to be developed that allows the filter to be replaceable instead of being permanently fixed.
The development of the final prototype witnessed many minor and major changes to the look and
performance of the device. The entire body was redesigned to appear more appealing and fit the
internal components properly. The handle was redesigned from a straight rod to a more curved
design to reduce the moment arm and the stress on the wrist of the user. The impeller was made a
bit larger and fit more securely to the shaft than previous prototypes. There were also new parts
that were developed to make the vacuum perform better, including the impeller mount, motor
mount, and impeller protector. The impeller protector increased the suction power of the vacuum
by directing airflow. Finally, the nozzle was changed from a PVC pipe to a 3D printed
component, improving its visual appearance and allowing it to fit better with the rest of the body.
When the final prototype was finished and tested, it was obvious that certain aspects performed
better than others. One of the things that performed very well was the impeller and motor design,
which generated significant suction. Also, the body or outer shell that was 3D printed was sturdy
and allowed air to flow nicely through it. The handle was also sleek and comfortable to hold and
had no negative consequences on the wrist of the user. Although the overall performance and
suction power of the vacuum was impressive, several aspects performed poorly. For example, the
debris trapping mechanism could not store a lot of debris at a time, which proved inconvenient
when vacuuming large amounts of rice during testing. Also the latch used was not very
appealing. Finally, the filter is unable to be removed or replaced, making it difficult to maintain
suction power for long term use.

We plan on improving the prototype in the future through specific designs that we could not
incorporate into our current prototype due to time and resource constraints. We plan on injection
forming the body, and allowing the body to be bolted together from the sides. We want to make
the storage and debris trapping device bigger and more professionally formed, so that storage
capacity is greater and there is a lower risk of debris falling back out. The latch will be replaced
by a clip, which will allow the nozzle to open easier and will not protrude from the vacuum. In
addition, the filter will screw and lock into place so that it is possible to remove. Another major
change we plan on incorporating into a future prototype is increasing the radius of the impeller
so that it almost touches the sides of the body to drastically increase the suction.
Over the past several months, our team built a successful vacuum and improved significantly as
engineers. Through our hard work, we created a handheld vacuum that successfully met all of
our goals. Many aspects of our design work well, and we intend to improve the aspects that do
not. The process that we employed to design and fabricate our vacuum will guide us as we
encounter future problems within engineering. We have learned about the value of customer
feedback, background research, theoretical analysis, economic justification, and most
importantly, the need to continuously iterate on designs to both fail and improve.