Design and Manufacturing of Crankshaft Inspection Machine

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to design and fabricate a Crankshaft Inspection Machine. It serves as a proof of concept for later versions to be designed for Tractor OEM. The machine will be able to measure Diameter of main and pin journals of two crankshafts:3-cylinder and 4-cylinder. The diameter is measured by rotating crankshaft and using a C-block mechanism that takes the readings over defined intervals. Machine uses two dead centers for mounting the crankshaft and a servo motor attached via belt to rotate the crankshaft. Two LVDT probes are utilized to take the readings with an accuracy of 1 micron. The accuracy and precision requirements are specified by the manufacturing drawings provided by the OEM. The design of machine components is dictated by the dimensional constraints rather than stress and loading conditions since most components are stationary and have light in weight components to hold. The design is optimized to take readings for both the journals in such a way that radial alignments of probes become irrelevant. It is mainly due to innovative arrangement that allows tangent contact to the journal surface and has not been seen in precision measurement industry.