Conveyor Belt Design For Bottling Plant of Coca Cola

Conveyor Belt Design

Ashay Mehta, Kartik Menda and Vivek Pattni
Tech Report 3000
Instructors Navdeep Malhotra and Dr. M.S. Grewal
Monday, July 30, 2007
Summary
New Products are designed and developed by working efficiently in a team. The
authors selected the project of Conveyor Belt Design in PET production line at
Kandhari Beverages Pvt. Ltd, a franchise of Coca Cola India Ltd (KBPL). The project
selected by the authors was in-line with the objective of the organization. The writers
worked in team and each represented a particular functional area and was responsible for
delivering the project activities on time.
Project report on conveyor belt design was divided into major sections namely
introduction, discussion, conclusion and recommendations. Discussion of the project
report followed the systematic product development process that the writers established
and followed it rigorously. The activities were divided into four milestones and the
individual milestone consisted of activities pertaining to all the three functional areas,
namely Project Management, Design and Development and Manufacturing.
Milestone one comprised of the fundamental and groundwork study that strengthened
the foundation of the project. Major activities like project approval, reverse engineering,
and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) for the new product were a part of this
milestone. QFD was divided into two phases to follow the flow of activities and
incorporate the voice of customer in the final product. During the stint, the team members
visited the company for studying the functions and design of the metal link.
Milestone two was critical and intense, as scrupulous engineering knowledge was
required for product designing. With the increase in the number of activities it was
necessary to manage the data and ensure that all the project team members were working
towards the same goals. Blend of engineering and management activities helped to build
up relevant skills within the team members. Project management practices made it
convenient for the authors to achieve the engineering goals easily. The activities like
work breakdown structure, benchmarking study, QFD phase 2, concept creation, CAD
modeling and CAE analysis were the key aspects of this milestone.
Milestone three was dedicated foremost for mold design and to reach to the conclusion
of the project. The authors intended to design a CAD model of the mold that would help
the readers to visualize and understand the mold design parameters. The team members
visited Central Institute for Plastic Engineering and Technology to learn about the mold
design parameters. Quality management plan, design calculations and mold CAD
development were the major activities. Milestone four was only meant for discussing the
learning outcomes from the project and was meant to thank each other for their intense
involvement in the project.
It was concluded that POM could be used for the conveyor belt application as it
fulfilled the customer requirements. When compared to metal conveyor belt, the POM
belt would be cost effective, resulting in several business benefits. The authors also
recommended using the mentioned engineering justification and calculations for
customized conveyor belt design; this report was exclusively prepared for KBPL.
Acknowledgement
We firstly thank Mr. Navdeep Malhotra, our mentor for the project. Without his
unbound dedication and time after time guidance, this project would not have been
possible to complete. He pushed us hard when we were stuck, and picked us up when we
were down and out. We are grateful to Dr. M. S. Grewal (Institute Director, Canadian
Institute for International Studies) for sharing his immense knowledge that helped us to
overcome major difficulties faced during the project.
We also like to offer our regards to Mr. Gurmohinder Singh (College Administrative
Department) for providing us a link to Kandhari Beverages Pvt. Ltd., and helping us out
to secure a project with them.
We will like to thank Mr. S. S. Grewal (Director (Tech)) of Kandhari Beverages Pvt.
Ltd for providing us the opportunity to carry out a project in their plant. We are also
grateful to Mr. Vinod Sharma (Store In charge), Mr. Rajesh Sharma (Asst. Store Officer),
Mr. Narendra Singh (Electrical In charge), Mr. Bagh Singh (Maintenance Manager),
Mr. Charanjeet Singh (Plant Manager), Mr. B. P. Bharadwaj (Asst. Quality Manager),
Mr. Gursewak Singh (System Manager), Mr. Jagmohan Singh (Senior Chemist),
Mr. T. C. Munjal (Manager Lab), Mr. Kamal Sharma (Purchase Manager),
Mr. Ashish Sethi (PET In charge) and Mr. G. K. Joshi (DG In charge), employees of
Kandhari Beverages Pvt. Ltd., for assisting us on any queries that we put forward to them
and taking out some valuable time to guide us to an appropriate solution. We also thank
Rinku, a peon, who provided us aerated drinks whenever we desired.
We express gratitude to Mr. R. M. Mishra and Mr. S. Sharma, faculty at CIPET
(Central Institute for Plastic Engineering and Technology). They enlightened us about
various aspects of mold designing and manufacturing in the two-day visit that we paid to
them. This proved to be enormously helpful in making of an improved design of the
mold.
July 30, 2007
Ashay Mehta
Kartik Menda
Vivek Pattni
Table of Contents
Page
Summary
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Introduction
11
Background
11
Purpose
13
Scope
15
Product Design and Development

Milestone 1
17
19
1.1.1 Project Team Declared
19
1.1.2 Approval from Kandhari Beverages Pvt. Ltd
20
1.1.3 Project Concept Document
21
1.1.4 Product Development Deliverables
23
1.1.5 Identify Requirements for Mentor
24
1.2.1 Volume Estimates Available
25
1.2.2 Quality Function Deployment Phase 1
27
Milestone 2
48
2.1.1 Project Monitoring and Control
48
2.1.2 Project Charter Prepared
49
2.1.3 Change Request Plan
50
2.1.4 Project Scope Statement Generated
52
2.1.5 Project Planning
54
2.1.6 Work Breakdown Structure Available
56
2.2.1 Benchmarking Study Completed
57
59
2.2.3 Design Calculations
59
2.2.4 Multiple Theme Concepts Based on Functional Requirements
63
2.2.5 CAD Modeling
66
2.2.6 D-FMEA for the Selected Concept
71
2.2.7 CAE Analysis
75
2.2.8 Safety
77
2.2.9 Maintainability
78
2.2.10 Concerned Resolutions
79
2.2.11 Product Design Freeze
80
2.2.12 Drawing Release
81
2.2.13 Mold Design Strategy
82
2.2.14 Consultant Identified for Mold Design
83
2.3.1 Manufacturing Process Selected
84
2.3.2 Identification of Facilities Required to Manufacture the Product
85
2.3.3 Preliminary Process Planning Sheets Ready
86
Milestone 3
88
3.1.1 Project Monitoring and Control
88
3.1.2 Quality Management Plan in Accordance to Defined Quality
88
3.2.1 Quality Check Parameters Defined
89
3.2.2 Engineering BOM Available
91
3.2.3 Mold Study at the Consultants Location
92
3.2.4 Mold Math Data Available
93
3.2.5 Mold CAD Development
96
3.2.6 Mold Drawing Release
98
3.2.7 Mold E-BOM Available
99
3.2.8 Mold Details
100
3.3.1 Costing
101
3.2.2 Final Product Specifications Established
103
Milestone 4
105
4.1.1 Lessons Learnt Archived
105
Conclusion
106
Recommendations
108
Glossary
109
References
116
Appendices
A. Project Team Declaration

B. Project Kick-off Meeting Agenda
C. Project Concept Document
D. Product Development Process Deliverables
E. Mentor Agreement Form
F. Conveyor Path Layout
G. Partial QFD 1
H. Project Status Report
I. Project Charter
J. Change Request Plan
K. Work Breakdown Structure

L. Gantt Chart
M. Network Diagram
N. Communication Plan
O. Revised Project Scope Statement
P. D-FMEA Conveyor Link
Q. Design Freeze Meeting
R. Component Drawing: 8686
S. Component Drawing: 8654
T. Process Control Chart
U. Final Project Status Report
V. Quality Management Plan
W. Mold Drawing No: 1001
X. Mold Drawing No: 1002
Y. Mold Drawing No: 1004
Z. Mold Drawing No: 1005
List of Illustrations
Page
Figure 1: Block Diagram of Conveyor System
11
Figure 2: Complete QFD
18
Figure 3: House of Quality conveyor Path
27
Figure 4: Conveyor Path
30
Figure 5: Degree of Freedom of Movement in Y-axis
32
Figure 6. Force due to conveyor belt only
33
Figure 7: Force with the bottles on the conveyor belt
34
Figure 8: Force due to accumulated load
34
Figure 9: Traction force due to gravity at the inclinations
35
Table 1: Speed of conveyor belt at different elementary sections
36
Table 2: Electric motor specifications
36
Table 3: Traction force for all the elementary sections
37
Table 4: Forces for all the three conditions for all the nine sections
41
Table 5: Bend factor values
41
Table 6: Design, performance and cost targets
42
Table 7: List of polymer properties
43
Table 8: Material Selection
45
Figure 10: Benchmarking Features
57
Table 9: Benchmarking Results
58
Figure 11: Theme Concept 1
63
64
65
65
Figure 15: Concept 1
66
67
Figure 17: Concept 2 Assembly
67
68
68
69
Figure 21: Concept 4 Assembly (a)
69
Figure 22: Concept 4 Assembly (b)
70
Figure 23: Pin for concept 4
70
Figure 24: Snapshot of Analysis on POM
76
Table 10: Engineering Drawing Release
81
Table 11: Processing properties of POM Homopolymer
86
Table 12: Bill of Material of Conveyor link
91
Figure 25: Mold Top Plate
96
Figure 26: Mold Bottom Plate
96
Figure 27: Split Core
96
Figure 28: Mold Assembly Exploded View 1
97
97
Table 13: Engineering Drawing Release for Mold
98
Table 14: Bill of Material of Mold
99
Figure 30: Weight Comparison
107
Figure 31: Life Comparison
107
Figure 32: Cost Comparison
107
10
Note: Following symbols used in the project report.

* - Definition provided in glossary.
Up arrow: Y-axis, right arrow- X-axis and forward arrow- Z-axis
On the extreme right of every subheading a number in the form of X.A is written, where
X denotes the milestone number and A denotes the functional area as shown below:
A
1
2
3
Functional Area
Project Management
Design and Development
Manufacturing
11
Introduction
Background
The project of material conversion of conveyor belt from stainless steel to POM
(Polyoxymethelene) was undertaken and completed at Kandhari Beverages Pvt. Ltd,
Nabipur, Punjab, which is a franchise of Coca Cola India Pvt. Ltd. The conveyor belt is
driven by other mechanical apparatus and electric motor attached to it. These other
mechanical apparatus associated with the conveyor belt are mainly induction motors, gear
mechanism with the induction motor and nylon gears. The input shaft of the gear
mechanism is attached with the motor is used to adjust the speed of the conveyor belt in
accordance with the filler speed. * The induction motors (single or three phase) are
controlled by the VFDs (Variable Frequency Drive) that are controlled by Programmable
Logic Controllers (PLCs). A nylon gear is attached to the output shaft of the gearbox and
the teeth of the nylon gear meshes with the bottom surface of the link and thus drives the
conveyor belt. The integration of the gearbox with the nylon gear and the induction motor
is as shown in the following figure:
Conveyor Belt
Conveyor
Belt
Gear
Box
Nylon Gear
Nylon
Gear
Output shaft
Gear
Teeth
Motor
Induction
Motor
Side View
Front View
Figure 1: Block Diagram of Conveyor System
12
The processing of the aerated drinks is done within a fully automated system and
controlled environment. There are two production facilities in the plant, namely RGB
(Recycled Glass Bottle) line and PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottle line. The
transportation of these bottles from one process to another is done on the conveyor belt.
Conveyor belt is the major mechanical apparatus used in the plant and its use is
continuous and rigorous, hence it is a critical part of both the production lines. Therefore,
any damage to the conveyor belt and its related components such as motors, gears and
links would stop the production line and result in severe losses. The conveyor belt used at
the plant was an assembly of stainless steel links joined together with the help of a
stainless steel cylindrical pin. Standard ten feet strips of links used to build the conveyor
belt for both the production lines were imported from Germany and the average life of
this stainless steel conveyor belt is 6 7 years. The stainless steel conveyor belt had been
in use since 2001 and hence, a replacement of the conveyor belt was due. Therefore, this
project was undertaken by the authors to select a suitable material to replace the stainless
steel conveyor belt used for the PET bottle production line.
Traditionally, stainless steel has been used as the standard material for the
manufacturing of the links for the industrial conveyor belts. The density of stainless steel
is very high and the surface of the links has to be smooth to fulfill the design and
performance requirement for which, finishing operations such as honing and lapping are
performed after the initial processing. This results in an increase in the manufacturing
cost of the stainless steel links. To survive in the competitive market, the industrial
demand is to reduce weight and cost of the product without degrading the quality of the
product. This encouraged the authors to take up the project to find a suitable material that
is lighter and cheaper than stainless steel but has several benefits for the same application.
13
Plastics have been in use in the manufacturing industry since 1930s and their
development and utilization has flourished remarkably over the last few years. Plastic
products have several benefits over metals in terms of weight, assembly, aesthetics,
flexibility and cost. Therefore, the authors effort was to convert metal conveyor belt to
plastic conveyor belt made from POM (Polyoxymethelene), an engineering plastic.
Purpose
The objective of the project was to replace the material of the conveyor belt of PET
production line from stainless steel to POM (Polyoxymethelene), engineering plastic that
is lighter and cheaper than stainless steel and has several benefits for the same
application. The conversion of the material helped to reduce the running costs of the
bottling plant like service and maintenance of the conveyor belt and mechanical
components such as induction motors, bearings and gears that are integrated with it. This
alteration resulted in the following advantages:
The service and maintenance costs of the POM conveyor belt were reduced. On
stainless steel conveyor belt, lubrication was used to make the surface smoother
so that the PET bottles would slide on the surface as per requirements. The use of
lubrication was eliminated for the POM conveyor belt because the surface of the
links made from POM was smooth that facilitated the bottles to slide without
falling down.
The bearings of the induction motors continuously undergo fatigue load due to the
weight of the PET bottles and the conveyor belt. The alteration of the material
14
from stainless steel to POM helped in reducing the weight of the conveyor belt
and thus resulted in reduction of the working stress experienced by the bearings.
This increased the life of the motors, as there was less wear and tear of the parts
due to decrease in the working stress.
As the conveyor belts were imported from Germany, the cost of logistics and
custom duty was also added to the final cost of the product. Also, the lead-time for
the product was around 30 days, and as a result, a certain level of inventory was
maintained. In the case of POM conveyor belts, the bottling plant had the
advantage of manufacturing the conveyor belt links in-house by investing on a
Hand Injection Molding Machine. Hence, the ordering and carrying costs of the
conveyor belt were reduced. The in-house manufacturing of the POM conveyor
belt links also helped in the curtailment of the hidden costs associated with the
inventory.
15
Scope
The project of altering the material of the conveyor belt from stainless steel to POM
was considered only for PET production line. It was concluded by the writers that the
project would not be feasible and functional in the RGB production line because the
pieces of broken glass of the bottle would damage the POM conveyor belt. Hence, the
material change for the conveyor belt used in RGB production line was excluded from
the scope.
During the project, certain assumptions were made while performing engineering
analysis, collecting the data and calculating the final cost of the POM conveyor belt,
average life and the final cost of the mold. The assumptions made by the writers are as
stated below:
The engineering analysis of the conveyor belt link would be done on Pro-E
Mechanica software
The data provided by Kandhari Beverages Pvt. Ltd was regarded as correct.
The milestones of the project would be accomplished as per the planned schedule.
The natural frequency of the conveyor belt would not affect the performance of
the conveyor belt.
The proposed design is not patented.
The coefficient of friction between the guide rail and the bottle is negligible.
The cost of manufacturing the mold is Rs. 6,00,000
The dimensional accuracy of the of the conveyor belt link and the components of
the mold would be without tolerance.
16
The project also had several constraints faced by the authors which are as listed
below:
The product could not be fabricated due to limitation in the budget allocated for
the project
The testing could not be performed under actual conditions due to limitation in
resources.
The validation of the product was not done by performing physical tests, as some
of the testing equipments were not available.
The mold was not developed because of the restriction in time and cost assigned
to the project.
Noise created by the conveyor belt motion was not measured as the instruments
for measuring noise was not available
17
Product Design and Development

The quality tool, Quality Function Deployment (QFD)* was used by the authors to
find out the expectations of the customer and use them to drive the Product Development
Process. It enabled the writers to concentrate on the customer requirements during the
design phase, thereby reducing the implementation time. The incorporation of QFD in the
project helped to achieve the desired quality that confirmed to customers requirements.
Following steps were performed in creating the complete the house of quality:
Competitive information was used to focus on customer requirements, and resources

were prioritized according to the structured information acquired from the customer.
Simultaneously work was started on the design of the product by the authors that
avoided future redundancies and helped in recognizing future application
opportunities to avoid post introduction difficulties.
A cross-functional team was created which facilitated in decision-making ability of

the project team and look for discovering various opportunities in improving the
quality of the product.
The whole process was then documented in a systematic manner to create database
for future projects. It would also help in the continuous improvement of the product.
Figure 2: Complete QFD
19
Milestone: 1
1.1.1 Project Team Declared
1.1
The activity with which the project was started was the declaration of the project
team. The project team was formed comprising of three members, who have a diverse
experience and skills. The team members have also worked in numerous
multinational and esteemed organizations such as General Motors and Renault. The
details of each member including contact information and vocational experiences are
mentioned in the Appendix A.
1.1.2 - Approval from Kandhari Beverages Pvt. Ltd.
20
1.1
For selecting the project, the authors requested for an approval from Kandhari
Beverages Pvt. Ltd, a franchise of Coca Cola India Pvt. Ltd to carry out a live project
at their location and were allowed to study the processing and working of the PET
and RGB production plant. It was observed that both the plants were completely
automated and the conveyor belt was the only mechanical component that was used
incessantly to produce the beverages. Hence, it was inferred that the conveyor belt
was the most critical mechanical component and an enhancement in the cost and
quality of the conveyor belt would result in substantial benefits to the organization.
Hence, this project was identified by the team members to change the material of the
stainless steel conveyor belt to polymer at Kandhari Beverages Pvt. Ltd.
A project kick-off meeting was organized to have formal introductions of the
project team members with the company executives and discussion on the project was
done for obtaining an approval. The copy of the agenda of the meeting is mentioned
in Appendix B.
1.1.3 - Project Concept Document
21
1.1
To start with the project a Project Concept Document (PCD)* was formed by the
authors to submit to the review committee in which an overview of the project was
provided along with the signatures of the review committee. The complete project
concept document for the project is provided in the Appendix C. The concept
document was divided into three sections that covered fine points of the project as
mentioned below:
Section One: Completed by the requestor
Business Justification: This section provided information about the purpose of the
project and what business issues or problems will be solved.
Project Description: The project description stated the objective of the project and
gave brief information about the outcomes of the project upon its completion.
Project Costs: A high-level estimate of the project costs was listed in this section
stating the limited budget amount allotted for different areas.
Time Frame: The project was divided into five major phases namely initiation,
planning, execution, monitoring and control and closing. Hence, a starting date and
the end date estimate was provided for each phase.
Section Two: Completed by the project manager
Planning Estimates: This section gave brief information about the major activities
of the project and the timing for each to be completed.
Business Areas Impacted: In this section, concise information is stated about the
business units impacted by this project.
22
Section three: Completed by the Review Committee
Selection committee review: This section was provided for verdict of the selection
committee and related comments on the project.
Signatures of the review committee: The signatures of the review committee at

the end authenticated the verification of the project concept document.
1.1.4 - Product Development Deliverables
23
1.1
For every new development of the product, there is a systematic process, which is
known as New Product Development Process (NPD). The activities of this process
differ from product to product and are unique for each product. The authors
developed the new product development process for the design of the polymer
conveyor belt. This process included the activities of the project, which were
distributed among three milestones. The development of this process was necessary at
the initial stage so as to accomplish the project in a systematic manner. It also helped
the team members to become aware of their roles and responsibilities at various
stages of the project. A high level deliverables of the product development process
were mentioned with respect to the milestones and the functional areas, i.e. Project
Management, Design and Development and Manufacturing. The list is mentioned in
Appendix D.
It was necessary for the project team to accomplish all the activities of the
previous milestone to start with the activities of the next milestone. The activities
within the milestone might be performed in parallel depending on the availability of
the resources.
1.1.5 - Identify Requirements for Mentor
24
1.1
A mentor is a project stakeholder who has proficient skills and knowledge that is
specific to the subject of the project and thus provides assistance to the project team
for solving problems with respect to the subject of the project. The team members
needed a mentor* and following were the criteria for the selection of the mentor:
The mentor should have an exemplary knowledge about plastic material

properties because the end product of the project would be manufactured from
POM, an engineering plastic.
He/She should be an expert in the field of mold design and development because
it is the part of the scope of the project.
The mentor should be proficient in manufacturing processes and parameters to be

considered for plastics.
The mentor was selected on the basis of the above criteria and an agreement form
was signed with the mentor, which is in the Appendix E.
1.2.1 - Volume Estimates Available
25
1.2
To study the feasibility of producing the links and analyze business gains from it,
the volume estimation has to be defined. The number of conveyor belt links required
to satisfy the outcomes of the project, was obtained by measuring the total length of
the conveyor belt theoretically as well as practically. Theoretically, the dimensions of
the stainless steel conveyor belt such as the length, width and thickness were
measured and noted down. The authors made a plant layout of the conveyor belt
including the number of motors and their locations throughout the length of the
conveyor belt. The plant layout can be referred from the Appendix F.
1.2.1.1 - Theoretical Value
The theoretical value for the number of links was determined in the following
manner:
Total Length of the conveyor belt 7306 inch
Length of the conveyor belt link 1.5 inch
Hence, no of links required = Total length of the conveyor belt = 7306

Length of the conveyor belt link
1.5
= 4870.66
5000
1.2.1.2 - Practical Value

Practically, numbers of links were counted for 3 feet. This value was used to
estimate the volume of the links needed in following manner:
For 3 ft = 36 inch, no of links = 24
Therefore, for 7306 inch, no. of links = 7306*24
26
36
= 4871
5000
The above values gave a rough estimate of the production volume and would
be used to calculate the final cost of the conveyor belt.
1.2.2 Quality Function Deployment - Phase1
27
1.2
The house of quality, which is the principal tool of QFD, was applied to translate
the voice of the customer into design requirements that meet specific target values.
The frame work of the house is as shown in the figure below:
Technical descriptors
(Voice of the organization)
Relationship between
Requirements and descriptions
Prioritized technical descriptors

Figure 3: House of Quality
P rio ritize d C u s to m e r
R e q u ir e m e n ts
C u st o m e r R e q u ir e m e n ts
( Voic e o f C u st o m e r)
Inter-relationship
between technical
descriptors
The Process of generating the house of quality was divided into two phases
namely phase 1 and phase 2 according to the activities performed (refer Appendix D).
In the first phase, the shaded sections in the figure 2 were completed and the partial
QFD as created by the authors including the activities that facilitated in completing
these sections is shown in Appendix G. The list of these activities are discussed in
detail as following:
28
1.2.2.1 - Customer Requirements Generated

For the development of any product, it is essential to first define the customer
requirements that are converted into design specifications by Design and
Development team. The team is responsible for designing the product in
accordance with the customer requirements. To fulfill customer requirements,
quality of the product should neither be less nor more because less quality results
in bad products and excess quality is a waste in products as it adds extra cost to
the product. Hence, the activity of acquiring customer requirements assisted the
authors in inferring the characteristics of the polymer conveyor belt as desired by
the customer are mentioned below:
The average life of the polymer conveyor belt should be between eight to ten
years, considering the fact that the average life of the stainless steel conveyor
belt is seven years.
The final landed cost of the conveyor belt should be less than the cost of the
stainless steel conveyor belt, i.e. Rs. 8000/ 10 ft
The weight of the belt should be less than the metal conveyor belt for reducing
the material handling problems.
The polymer belt should be able to withstand the weight of completely filled
2-litre PET bottle and should be able to run for eight to ten years without
breakdown.
The material of the polymer conveyor belt should not react with the chemicals
used in the plant under prevalent environmental conditions.
29
1.2.2.2 - Conversion of Customer Requirements into Technical Specifications

For making any modifications in the existing design, it was important to
perform reverse engineering and study the design parameters that had to be
considered in order to fulfill the customer requirements. These functional
parameters became input for the design and development team to create multiple
theme concepts for the polymer links. Hence, the team did reverse engineering of
the stainless steel links and the following inferences were made accordingly:
Length: As discussed in the background, a nylon gear is attached to the output

shaft of the gearbox. (Refer Figure 1). A boss was provided on the bottom
surface of every links so as to mesh with the teeth of the nylon gear. Hence,
the length was the distance between two subsequent bosses, which was
according to the pitch of the nylon gear.
Width According to the design procedure, the width of the link should be
three to four times the width of the boss provided at the center on the bottom
surface. This proportion is for the stability of the conveyor belt to avoid the
belt from coming out of the path at the bend due to its inertia. The authors in
the RGB plant of the company observed this phenomenon where the width of
the link was 190 mm.
Flatness - The main function of the conveyor belt is to transport bottles from
one place to another while different operations are carried on it. Therefore, the
surface has to be flat to carry the bottles without their falling down due to the
30
jerks caused during the stop/start of the conveyor belt. Flatness is also
essential for sliding the bottles from one conveyor belt to another.
Axes movement - It was observed that the path of the conveyor belt was not
straight and was in the shape of an ellipse, when viewed from the side. The
top view of the layout, as mentioned in Appendix D, shows that the path took
left and right turn at different locations. Thus, it was required for the polymer
conveyor belt to move in all the three axes of motion as shown in the figure
below:
Direction of the flow of

bottles on conveyor belt
Y
Z
X
Bend Angle
Top View
Figure 4: Conveyor Path
Bend Radius
31
Bend angle As shown in the above figure, the conveyor belt took left and
right turns at several locations at a certain angle. The angle at every turn on
the pathway was observed by the authors to be 90 degrees (Refer Appendix F)
Bend radius Bend radius is the smallest turn that can be made by the
conveyor belt at the turn. The turning radius was calculated by the authors as
shown below:
(L/2R) = (/360)
Where, L = arc length = 44
R = turning radius =?
= Turning angle = 90
(52inch/2r) = (90/360)
r = (52 x 4)/2
r = 29
Degree of freedom of movement of the link in Y and Z-axes For the smooth
movement of the conveyor belt at the horizontal and vertical bend, the
distance of 4.4 mm between the rear edge and the front edge of the link in the
assembly was maintained. The maximum bend angle is 90 degree and hence,
the relative angular movement of the link had to be determined for the same
angle.
Conveyor belt joint: For the assembly of the links, considering the degree of
freedom in movement as discussed in the above section, the type of conveyor
belt joint was identified. It was concluded that the cylindrical pin insert would
32
fulfill the design functionality and the customer requirements as explained in

the figure shown below:
Position A
Maximum degree of
freedom
Link
Pin
Position B
Figure 5: Degree of freedom of movement in Y-axis
1.2.2.3 - Technical Math Data Calculations - 1

In order to compare the multiple theme concepts, it was necessary to carry out
engineering analysis on all the concepts. As shown in the Conveyor Path layout
(Refer Appendix F), the path of the conveyor belt was divided into 9 elementary
sections. The maximum traction force* was calculated for each elementary
33
section to estimate the drive unit capacity and the maximum tension of conveyor
belt for the following conditions:
Conditions for traction force

1. Traction force without any bottles on the conveyor belt.
The movement of the conveyor belt is in the direction of the force (F)
applied on it. The force due to the weight of the conveyor belt acts in the
downward direction. For this condition, only the weight of the link was
considered for the length L and the coefficient of fiction between the
conveyor link and bottom strip as shown in the figure shown below:
Figure 6: Force due to conveyor belt only
2. Traction force with ideal quantity of bottles

In this condition, the traction force was calculated considering the
weight of the belt and the bottle for a particular length L. The direction of
34
the traction force and the force due to load of the conveyor belt carrying
bottles is as shown in the following figure:
Figure 7: Force with the bottles on the conveyor belt
3. Traction force with accumulated bottles

Sometimes, the bottles get accumulated in one section of the conveyor
belt and hence the load is increased. The coefficient of friction between
the conveyor link and the bottles was taken into account for calculating the
force with accumulated load as depicted in the following figure:
Figure 8: Force due to accumulated load
35
4. Traction force at the inclination

In case of an inclination, gravitational forces are also included for the
calculation of the traction force. This condition was not regarded, as there
was no inclination provided in the conveyor system used in the PET plant.
(Refer Appendix F). The following figure explains this condition:
Figure 9: Traction force due to gravity at the inclinations
Formula used
The formula used for calculating the traction force is as mentioned below:
Px=Fxv
Where,
P = Power of the motor used to drive the conveyor belt (W)
= Efficiency of the motor
F = Traction force (N)
(Equation 1)
36
v = velocity of the conveyor belt (m/s)
Force Calculations for the first three conditions

For determining the traction force for each elementary section of the
conveyor path, the power and the velocity were determined practically by the
authors. The distance traveled by the conveyor belt was determined and with
the help of stopwatch, time was noted down for the respective distance. This
data was collected for all the nine elementary sections as shown in the table
below:
Elementary Section
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
3.3
2.9
5.2
5.1
5.8
3.8
4.8
6.4
5.6
Time (s)
2
3.3
2.9
5.2
5.2
5.7
3.8
4.7
6.3
5.5
3
3.2
2.9
5.2
5.2
5.7
3.9
4.7
6.2
5.6
Distance Avg time

(in)
(s)
48
46
40
60
38.5
38.5
47
75
39.5
3.27
2.90
5.20
5.17
5.73
3.83
4.73
6.30
5.57
Speed
(in/s)
14.69
15.86
7.69
11.61
6.72
10.04
9.93
11.90
7.10
Table 1: Speed of conveyor belt at different elementary sections

Specification of the Electric motor
The motor used in the plant at all the elementary section were of the
same specifications as depicted in the following table:
Specifications
Output Power
Max rpm
Voltage
Ampere
Frequency
Efficiency
Value
1.1
1400
415
2.45
50
77
Units
KW
rpm
V
A
Hz
%
37
Table 2: Electric motor specifications

Traction force calculation at elementary section 1
From the above data, the values of velocity and the power were used in
the equation 1, to calculate the traction force. The calculations are shown
below:
Given (From Table 1 & Table 2),
P = 1100 W
= 0.77
v = 14.69 in/sec = 0.37 m/s
F =?
Therefore, F = (P x )/v
= (1100 x 0.77)/0.37
= 2269.41 N
Similarly, the traction force for the remaining 8 elementary sections

were calculated and tabulated as shown below:
Motor Location
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
3.3
2.9
5.2
5.1
5.8
3.8
4.8
6.4
5.6
Time (s)
2
3.3
2.9
5.2
5.2
5.7
3.8
4.7
6.3
5.5
3
3.2
2.9
5.2
5.2
5.7
3.9
4.7
6.2
5.6
Avg
Distance Distance
time
(in)
(m)
(s)
48
1.2192 3.27
46
1.1684 2.90
40
1.016
5.20
60
1.524
5.17
38.5
0.9779 5.73
38.5
0.9779 3.83
47
1.1938 4.73
75
1.905
6.30
39.5
1.0033 5.57
Speed Speed
(in/s)
(m/s)
Traction
force (N)
14.69
15.86
7.69
11.61
6.72
10.04
9.93
11.90
7.10
2,269.41
2,102.28
4,335.04
2,871.50
4,965.88
3,320.21
3,358.30
2,801.10
4,699.46
Table 3: Traction force for all the elementary sections
0.37
0.40
0.20
0.29
0.17
0.26
0.25
0.30
0.18
38
The conveyor path was divided into nine elementary sections that were
driven by separate electrical motors allocated for these sections
respectively. To calculate the load due to the weight of the conveyor belt,
the weight of the individual link was assumed to be 22 gm. The volume of
the part for the calculation was considered to be same as that of stainless
steel link. The polymers like POM, PC and PA6 were recommended for
the application and hence the material with the highest density, i.e. POM
was chosen for calculating the forces.
The authors, for the above-mentioned first three conditions, calculated
the tensile force on the conveyor belt for the respective section. The
calculation for the first elementary section is as shown below:
Condition 1
Tension without bottles
F1 = [F0 + l (Lc + Lb) r ] k
Where:
F1 = total tension (N)
F0 = elementary tension (N)
l = length of the elementary conveyor (m)
Lc = load due to chain weight (N/m)
Lb = load due to completely filled bottles (N/m)
r = coefficient of friction between the link and strip
k = bend factor
Given:
F1 =? (N)
F0 = 0 (N)
l = 2.01 (m)
Lc = 6.84 (N/m)
Lb = 0 (N/m)
r = 0.1
k = 1
Therefore, F1 = [0 + 2.01 (6.84 +0) x 0.1] 1

= 1.37 N
Condition 2
Formula used:
Tension without accumulation
(with bottles)
F1 = [F0 + l (Lc + Lb) r ] k
Where:
k = bend factor
Given:
Given:
F1 =? (N)
F0 = 0 (N)
l = 2.01 (m)
Lc = 6.84 (N/m)
Lb = 222 (N/m)
r = 0.1
k = 1
Therefore, F1 = [0 + 2.01 (6.84 + 222) x 0.1] 1

= 45.92 N
39
40
Condition 3
Tension with accumulation
F1 = [F0 + l (Lc + Lb) r + l x La x b ] k
Where:
k = bend factor
La = accumulated load (N)
b = coefficient of friction between link and bottles
Given:
F1 =? (N)
F0 = 0 (N)
l = 2.01 (m)
Lc = 6.84 (N/m)
Lb = 222 (N/m)
r = 0.1
k = 1
La = 318 (N)
b = 0.2
Therefore, F1 = [0 + 2.01(6.84 + 222) x 0.1 + 2.01 x 318 x .2]

= 192.80 N
41
Similarly, the forces were calculated for the remaining eight elementary
sections for the first three conditions. These calculations were tabulated
and the results are as shown in the table below:
Elementary
Section
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Conveyor Length Bend Factor

Force
Force (Condition1)
(m)
(k)
(Condition2)
2.01
9.45
5.46
6.15
3.96
3.35
2.39
12.12
6.96
1.0
1.0
1.6
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.6
1.6
1.0
1.37
6.46
5.98
4.20
2.71
2.29
2.61
13.26
4.76
45.92
216.23
199.95
140.66
90.68
76.73
87.42
443.61
159.26
Force
(Condition3)
Power
Required
(W)
192.80
907.88
839.54
590.61
380.72
322.15
367.06
1862.62
668.71
93.45
475.04
213.03
226.24
84.33
106.72
120.22
731.45
156.52
Table 4: Forces for all the three conditions for all the nine sections
k = bend factor at turn for the following degree

30
45
60
90
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.6
(http://www.flex-lineautomation.com/Files/Standard%20Conveyor%20Systems.pdf)
Table 5: Bend factor values
Hence, the optimum power required for each elementary section was
calculated and the results are as shown in the above table.
42
1.2.2.4 - Design, Performance and Cost Targets

Based on the customer requirements, product design requirements and
technical math data calculations discussed above, targets were set in terms of the
design, performance and cost of the polymer conveyor belt. The targets are listed
in the following table:
Sr. No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Parameters
Movement in Y direction
Movement in Z direction
Maximum Traction Force
Max. Temperature
Resistivity to caustic soda
Electrical conductivity
Resistivity to UV rays
Resistivity to lubricant
Wear resistant
Cost
Weight
Lubricity
Type
Design
Design
Design
Performance
Performance
Performance
Performance
Performance
Performance
Cost
Performance
Performance
Target
For 90 degree bend angle
For 90 degree bend angle
5000 N
60 degree Celcius
Strong
Very low
Strong
Strong
Strong
Less than Rs.7000/10 ft
Less than 50 gm
Excellent
Table 6: Design, performance and cost targets
1.2.2.5 - Properties of Relevant Materials Selected
43
Properties such as mechanical, thermal, electrical, environmental, chemical and

miscellaneous properties were considered while designing the polymer conveyor
belt link. The type of properties considered for the polymers is as shown in the
table below:
Table 7: List of polymer properties
1.2.2.6 - Material Selection
44
On the basis of technical math data calculation, customer requirements and

product design specifications, material for the conveyor belt was selected. The
relevant properties were selected from Table 7. The data for the respective
property for each material was collected. The table was divided into six columns
namely:
Property: This column contained a list of selected properties that were relevant
for the specific application of the product.
Material: Three materials were considered for the function
Value: The values were found out for each material from various sources like
books and Internet
Rating: The rating from the scale of 1 10 (1 = very poor, 10 = excellent) was
assigned to the materials on the basis of its performance for the specific
application of conveyor belt link.
Multiplying Factor: The multiplying factor facilitated the authors with the
scoring of the material for a particular property. The multiplying factor was
allocated values of 1,2 and 3 on the basis of the priority of the property, where
1 meant least important, 2 meant moderate and 3 meant the most important.
Total Score: Total score was obtained by multiplying the rating value with the
multiplying factor for the respective material. The addition of the total score
for all the properties of a particular material was done to obtain the final score
or performance of the material. This value for all the three materials was
compared and the material with the highest score was selected for the
application.
The material selection table is shown below:
Chemical Properties
Acids dilute
Alkalis
Aromatic hydrocarbons
Greases and Oils
Ketones
Material
Values
Rating
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
Poor
Poor-Fair
Good
Good-Fair
Poor
Good-Poor
Good
Good
Poor
Good
Good
Good-Fair
Good
Good-Fair
Poor
4
6
8
6
4
5
8
8
8
8
9
7
8
7
4
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
3.6
3.7
2.9
25
20
15-67
10^13
10^15
10^15
1012 - 1016
10^14 - 10^16
10^15- 10^17
7
8
5
8
7
9
6
8
8
7
8
8
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
5
15 to 20
10 to 15
0.2-0.3
0.2 - 0.35
0.31
M82
M94
M70
30-250
75 - 130
3
8
6
8
9
6
7
10
6
7
8
PC
60-85
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
0.39
0.35
0.37
2.6-3.0
2.9 - 3.1
6
9
7
7
9
MF*
2
45
Total Score
8
12
16
18
12
15
8
8
8
24
27
21
16
14
8
Electrical Properties
Dielectric constant @1MHz
Dielectric strength (kV mm-1)
Surface Resistivity (Ohm/sq)
Volume Resistivity (Ohmcm)
7
8
5
8
7
9
18
24
24
21
24
24
Mechanical Properties
Abrasive resistance - ASTM
D1044 (mg/1000 cycles)
Coefficient of friction
Hardness - Rockwell
Izod impact strength (J m-1)
Poisson's ratio
Tensile modulus ( GPa )
3
3
9
24
18
24
27
18
21
30
18
21
24
15
18
27
21
21
27
Tensile strength ( MPa )
Flexural Modulus (GPa)
Flexural Strength (MPa)
Shear Strength (MPA6)
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
2.3-2.4
78
70
55-75
2.3
2.83
2.3
85
95.6
90
59
60.3
63
5
9
8
7
6
9
6
5
8
6
7
8
9
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
1130
1420
1200
HB
HB
V0-V2
Poor
Poor
Fair
>8
0.6 - 0.9
0.35
2.7
0.25
0.1
18.5
14.2
6
5
9
6
7
7
8
5
6
7
3
7
9
2
8
9
4
7
9
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
95
122
66-70
200
170
7
6
8
8
7
PC
140
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
PC
PA6
POM
80
135
128-138
1700
1500
~1200
0.24-0.28
0.22 - 0.24
5
8
7
5
7
8
5
7
46
15
27
24
21
18
27
18
10
16
12
21
24
27
Physical Properties
Density (g cm-3)
Flammability
Resistance to Ultra-violet
Water absorption - equilibrium
(%)
Water absorption - over 24
hours (%)
Elongation at Yield (%)
15
27
18
21
21
24
10
12
14
9
21
27
6
24
27
12
21
27
Thermal Properties
Coefficient of thermal expansion
(x10-6 K-1)
Heat-deflection temperature 0.45MPa (C)
Heat-deflection temperature 1.8MPa (C)

Specific heat (J K-1 kg-1)
Thermal conductivity @23C
(W m-1 K-1)
2
3
14
12
16
16
14
10
10
16
14
10
14
16
15
21
PC
0.19-0.22
47
24
Table 8: Material Selection

The final scores of all the three materials were added and following are the results:
PA6 453
PC 527
POM 586
Hence, the material of the polymer conveyor link was POM
Milestone: 2
2.1.1 - Project Monitoring and Control
2.1
Project Monitoring and Control Activity was performed for all the milestones to
verify or confirm the status of all the previous activities. Hence, it assisted the project
48
manager to analyze the deviations of the actual project activities from the planned
activities in terms of time, cost and quality. It also helped to assess the project risks
that may be encountered in near future and keep the project team updated on the
progress of the project. A checklist was prepared to monitor the progress of the
project that is shown in the Appendix H. This checklist is the list of activities,
functional areas, responsible person for the activities, scheduled completion dates and
the actual completion dates for every activity with the status of the activity.
The status of the activities was denoted by three colors: red, yellow and green. The
significance of each color is as explained below:
Red The activities that were under risk and had no backup plan were marked by
red color. It also indicated that the project would be delayed if these activities
were neglected.
Yellow Yellow color signified that the activity is incomplete but had a backup
plan ready to compensate the deviation from the scheduled plan. This activity was
of low risk as the backup plan was available, but it could not be neglected.
Green Green colored activities denoted that the activities were completed and
documented.
2.1.2 - Project charter prepared
2.1
A project charter* was created that provided a more detailed description than
project concept document of numerous aspects of the project such as strategic plan,
roles and responsibilities and the objective of the project. The major purpose of the
49
project charter was to acknowledge the beginning of the project by the assignment of
roles and responsibilities to every team member and committing resources to the
project. The complete charter is depicted in the Appendix I and following are the
vital contents of the project charter:
Project overview This section included the purpose of the project and also
explained the reason for undertaking the project.
Project objectives Project objectives included the factors that assisted in

deciding if the project was successful.
Business justification - This section provided information about the purpose of the
project and what business issues or problems would be solved.
Resource and cost estimates - A high-level estimate of the human and financial
resources required for the project was mentioned in this section.
Roles and responsibilities In this section, a detailed chart is presented showing

the roles and responsibilities assigned to every team member.
Signatures This section contained the signatures of key stakeholders such as

project manager, project sponsor and the customer. The main purpose of the signoff was to assure that the key stakeholders understood purpose and the objective
of the project.
2.1.3 - Change Request Plan
2.1
The changes made to the scope, budget and schedule during the course of the
project were requested to the review committee in the format of Change Request.
50
Plan. (Refer Appendix J) Documenting the changes assisted the project team in
understanding the causes, due to which change occurred and when the change was
scheduled. There were primarily three questions that were examined for each of the
changes: 1) Why is the change needed? 2) What will be the impact on the project or
product of the project if the change is not implemented? 3) Are there alternatives to
the change? The answers to these questions were documented in the Change Request
Form every time a change was required. Following elements were included in the
change request form:
Section One: Completed by the requestor
Description of Change Request The detailed description of the change

required in the scope of the project.
Business Justification for Change A thorough description of how the change

would benefit the organization was mentioned in this section
Impacts of Not Making the Change The consequences that the project might
face if the change is not made were specified under this section.
Section Two: Completed by the Project Manager
Impacts of the Change In this section, the impacts that the change would
have on the project schedule, budget and quality of the product were described
in detail.
Recommendation to the Change Control Board This section included the

opinion of project manager to approve or deny the change along with the
justification.
51
Section Three: Completed by the Change Control Board
Recommendations and date of review In this section, a discussion

concerning the impact of the change on the goals of the project and whether
the change should be considered a new project or an extension of the existing
project were mentioned along with the date of the review.
Signature - This section contained the signatures of key stakeholders such as

project manager, project sponsor and the customer.
2.1.4 Project Scope Statement Generated
2.1
The project scope statement* formed by the project management team contained a
comprehensive list of the goals and objectives of the project and other planning
52
estimates such as time and cost estimates. The purpose of the scope statement was to
form a strong base for all the decisions of the project. This was done by listing goals
and objectives, deliverables, requirements, assumptions and constraints. A revised
project scope statement was made incorporating the change. The revised project
scope statement as made by the team is mentioned in the Appendix O. Following are
the elements that were included in the project scope statement:
Project Overview: In these section, the final product was described and the
reasons that inspired the authors to undertake the project along with the purpose
of the project.
Project Goals and Objectives: This section included the goals and objectives that
were described using SMART* and formula. These goals and objectives were
used to measure the success of the project upon its completion
Comprehensive list of project deliverables: These included the activities that must
be completed in order to satisfy the goals of the project. The activities had
measurable outcomes and critical success factors* were also mentioned.
Comprehensive list of project requirements: The list of project requirements

included the individual tasks that had to be accomplished in order to consider the
deliverable complete.
Exclusions from scope: Certain deliverables or requirements were not part of the
project and these activities were listed in this section.
Time Estimate: The planning estimates of the project such as time estimates were
mentioned in this section and were updated with the addition or deletion of any
activity.
53
Roles and responsibilities: The contents of this element included the roles and
responsibilities of individual project team members
Assumptions*: A comprehensive list of all the assumptions made during the

project was listed in this section.
Constraints*: All the constraints faced by the project team during the course of the
project were listed under this section.
Signatures: This section contained the signatures of key stakeholders such as

project manager, project sponsor and the customer.
2.1.5 - Project Planning
2.1
54
The project planning consisted of several project management tools such as

schedule, critical path method, change request plan, and communication plan, which
are explained in detail as below:
2.1.5.1 - Schedule
2.1.5.1.1 - Gantt Chart
The project submission date was given to the authors and according to it a
project schedule was prepared using Microsoft Project in the form of Gantt
chart. The schedule facilitated the writer to accomplish the project activities as
planned. This helped the team members to monitor the progress of the project
effectively. The Gantt chart for the project showing the schedule for every
activity is shown in the Appendix L.
2.1.5.1.2 - Critical Path Method
The Critical Path Method (CPM)* was used to calculate the duration of the
project in the following manner:
The tasks were first listed in the MS Project worksheet, in accordance with
the tasks mentioned in the WBS.
Some activities were independent, while the other activities were

dependant, which meant that the beginning of certain tasks dependant
upon the completion of the task previous to it. This dependency for each
task was assigned in the worksheet.
The early start date and early finish date for each task were calculated.
The late start and late finish date for each task were also calculated.
55
The float* for each task was calculated by subtracting the early start date
from the late start date.
The critical path or network diagram for the project was determined by
adding the duration of every activity with zero float.
The critical path method helped the team members to determine the critical
activities and accomplish the project activities according to the schedule. The
network diagram depicting the critical path is shown in the Appendix M.
2.1.5.2 - Communication Plan

The communication plan* was prepared by the project management team to
describe in detail who got what information and when. It also documented how to
collect, file, and archive project communications and the distribution methods
used to inform the stakeholders. The detailed communication plan for the project
can be referred from the Appendix N.
2.1.6 - Work Breakdown Structure Available
56
2.1
A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)* organizes the work of the project into logical
groupings similar to a milestone chart but displays the information in a tree form or an
outline form. The project management team created the WBS to divide the project into
major milestones. These milestones were further divided into deliverables and each
deliverable contained certain activities that had to be accomplished for the deliverable to
be complete. As the project had multiple levels with a number of tasks, the work
breakdown structure was presented in the outline view. A detailed WBS is illustrated in
Appendix K.
2.2.1 - Benchmarking Study Completed
57
2.2
The stainless steel and the polymer conveyor belt links were benchmarked* in
order to identify certain features that assisted the team to design products to meet
customer requirements. It was time and cost efficient because the process involved
adoption rather than pure imitation or invention. Thus, a working model of an
improved product was formed in which the planning, testing and prototyping efforts
were reduced. The benchmarking of the stainless steel link was performed by the
design team and the following steps were followed:
1) The benchmark was decided: The benchmark design for the conveyor link was
decided to be the stainless steel and the polymer link that was in use at Amritsar
plant.
2) Current performance was understood: The functional and operational features of
the benchmarked links were studied by the authors.
3) The team learned from the data acquired: The writers identified the critical
features of the respective benchmarked products i.e. Product A stainless steel
link and Product B polymer link.
Figure 10: Benchmarking Features
4) The findings were used to develop a better product: After studying the critical
features, the writers used the result to develop the new improved design by
adapting the features of both the designs along with their justifications.
The result table for the benchmarking process is as shown below:
Table 9: Benchmarking Results
58
59
2.2
This activity is the continuation of phase 1 where complete house of quality was
developed. The remaining sections were completed by the design and development
team and the completed QFD is shown in Figure 2 (Pg 18).
2.2.3 Design Calculations
2.2
For creating multiple theme concepts, the proportions for the concepts were
determined from the benchmarking study and force calculations. The cylindrical pin
used for the assembly of two conveyor links was designed and the thickness of the
polymer link was calculated.
2.2.3.1 - Pin Design
The pin used for the assembly of two links, was designed by the authors by
calculating the pin diameter. The formula used for determining the pin diameter is
as mentioned below:
1
N
= Taum + Kt x Taua
Ssu
S'sn
Where:
N
= design factor
Taum= mean shear stress (N/m2)
Taua = alternating shear stress (N/m2)
Kt = stress concentration factor
Ssu = ultimate tensile strength under shear
S'sn = endurance strength in shear under actual
condition
60
Ssu = 0.75 (UTS)

Where
Ssu = ultimate tensile strength under shear (N/m2)
UTS = ultimate tensile strength (N/m2)
S'sn = 0.577 (S'n)

Where
S'sn = endurance strength in shear under actual
condition (N/m2)
S'n = endurance strength under actual conditions
(N/m2)
S'n = Sn x Cm x Cst x Cr x Cs
Where:
S'n = endurance strength under actual condition
(N/m2)
Sn = endurance strength (N/m2)
Cm = material factor
Cst = type of stress factor
Cr = reliability factor
Cs = size factor
Fmean
= Fmax + Fmin
2
Falternating
= Fmax - Fmin
2
The maximum force and the minimum force acting on the conveyor belt link was
taken from Table 4, in the following manner:
Given:
Fmax = 418.75 lb
Fmin = 0.31 lb
Calculations:
Fmean
Falternating
Ssu
Sn
Sn'
S'sn
A
d2
209.53
209.22
56250
45000
33750
19473.75
0.028938
0.036863
The material selected for the pin was Austenitic Steel 201 S20100 1/4 hard
as the strength of the material is suitable for resisting the forces acting on the
pin.
Material
Yield strength
Tensile strength
Cr (Reliability Factor)
Cm (Material Factor)
Cst (Type of Stress Factor)
Cs (Size Factor)
N (Design Factor)
Kt (Stress Concentration Factor)
= Austenitic Steel 201 S20100 1/4 hard

75000Psi
125000Psi
0.75(For 0.999 reliability)
1(For wrought iron)
1(For bending Stress)
1(For D<0.3 inch)
4(For Mild Shocks)
1(For Uniform diameter)
1
N
= Taum + Kt x Taua
A
N
= [X + Y] 1, where: A=Area, X=Taum, Y=Kt x Taua
= [0.01 + 0.02] 4
Ssu
S'sn
S su
d2 = 0.028937627
4
d2 = 0.036863
S'sn
61
62
d = 0.19 inch = 4.826 mm
d = 5.302 mm (multiplying by design factor: 1.1)
Thus, the diameter of the pin was kept 5.5 mm for increasing the factor of safety.
2.2.3.2 - Link Thickness:

The thickness of the part was calculated by using the formula as shown below:
Stress = Force / Area
Where, Force = Fmax (from Table 5)

Stress = Yield strength of POM = 7400 psi
Area = length x thickness, length = 12 mm = 0.48 m
Therefore, Area = Force/Stress
Length x thickness = Fmax/Yield strength of POM
Length x thickness = 418.75/7400
= 0.056
Therefore, thickness = 0.056/048
= 0.11 in
= 2.8 mm
Thus, the thickness of the part was kept 3 mm
2.2.4 - Multiple Theme Concepts Based on Functional Requirements
2.2
63
Hand sketches give direction to the design and create a path on which a design can
be developed. They save a lot of time spent on the computer thinking of a new
concept. The initial concepts of the link were hand sketched by the design and
development team based on the customer requirements and the design parameters.
The sketches of multiple theme concepts are as shown below:
64
2.2.5 - CAD Modeling
2.2
65
66
Computer Aided Design (CAD) modeling is the design of the product with the help
of CAD software on computer. The CAD modeling of the conveyor belt link allowed
the design and development team in viewing the two-dimensional and threedimensional drawings at the same time on the computer screen. It assisted the team in
communicating the dimensions, color and critical features of the design concepts
effectively with the project team. The software used by the authors was to develop
CAD models was Pro Engineer Wildfire 3 and following are the images of the CAD
Models:
2.2.5.1 - Concept 1: In this concept, the movement in Y and X axes was
restricted and hence could not function as per the customer requirement.
2.2.5.2 - Concept 2: In this concept, the movement in X-axis was restricted and
stress concentration on the joint might lead to its failure
2.2.5.3 - Concept 3: The pin diameter was very less and because of that the pin
may rupture in shear and result in breakdown. If the pin diameter was increased
67
then the thickness i.e. 7 8mm, of the part would increase simultaneously
creating difficulty in manufacturing.
2.2.5.4 - Concept 4: This concept was created considering the results of the
benchmarking activity. (Refer Table 9) This concept was designed as per the
68
69
design calculation activity by determining pin diameter and the part thickness.
These calculations were used so that the component was able to withstand the
forces as mentioned in technical math data calculation 1 for fulfilling customer
requirements.
Figure 21: Concept 4 Assembly (a)
Figure 22: Concept 4 Assembly (b)
Figure 23: Pin for concept 4
2.2.6 D-FMEA for Selected Concept
2.2
70
71
The Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (D-FMEA)* was performed for the
selected concept. The DFMEA done for the project is mentioned in Appendix P. To
conduct D-FMEA of the selected concepts, the steps listed below were followed:
FMEA Number The FMEA document number, which was used for tracking was
entered.
System, Subsystem, or Component Name and Number This sections indicated

the appropriated level of analysis and the team members decided on what
constituted a system, subsystem or component for certain specific activities.
Design Responsibility The name of the department responsible for the activity
was included in this section.
Prepared By The name, telephone number, and the department of the engineer
responsible for preparing the FMEA was mentioned.
FMEA Date The date on which the original FMEA was compiled and the latest
revision date was entered.
Core Team This column included the names of the responsible individuals and
departments that had the authority to identify and perform tasks on the design.
Item/Function The name and other pertinent information of the item being
analyzed was listed here. Also the function of the product being analyzed to meet
the design intent was included.
72
Potential Failure Mode Each potential failure mode associated with the
particular product and its function was listed and the assumption was made that
the failure could occur but might not necessarily occur. A review of past things
that had gone wrong, concerns, reports and group brainstorming was done.
Potential failure modes that could occur only under certain operating conditions
and under certain usage conditions such as only during the production of 2-liter
bottles or 500 ml bottles were considered. Also potential failure modes were
described in physical or technical terms, not as a symptom necessarily noticeable
by the customer.
Potential Effects of Failure . The potential effects of the failure were described
and the possibility of the failure modes impacting the safety or non-compliance to
regulations. The intent of the section was to forecast the failure effects, to the
teams level of knowledge.
Severity Severity was a related ranking within the scope of the individual
FMEA.
Classification This column was used to classify any special product

characteristics for components, subsystems, or system that might require
additional design or process controls.
Potential Causes/ Mechanism of Failure Every potential cause and failure

mechanism for each failure mode was listed completely so that remedial efforts
could be aimed at pertinent causes.
Occurrence The occurrence ranking number was a relative rating within the
scope of the FMEA and did not reflect the actual likelihood of occurrence. The
73
team agreed on evaluation criteria and ranking system, that was consistent, even if
modified for individual product analysis.
Current Design Controls The prevention, design validation/verification (DV), or

other activities that had been completed or committed to ensured the design
adequacy for the failure mode and cause/mechanism under consideration. The two
types of design controls that were considered are as follows:
a. Prevention The cause/mechanism of failure of the failure mode were
prevented from occurring, or the rate of occurrence was reduced.
b. Detection The cause/mechanism of failure of the failure mode, either by
analytical or physical methods, before the drawings got released for
production.
Detection After making the detection ranking, the team reviewed the occurrence
ranking and ensured that the occurrence ranking was still appropriate. This value
was used to rank order the concerns in the design that were within the scope. In
order to achieve a lower ranking, the planned design control validation and
verification activities were improved.
Risk Priority Number (RPN) The risk priority number for each design was
calculated by the design and development team by using the following formula:
RPN = (severity ranking) X (Occurrence ranking) X (Detection ranking)
Recommended Actions Engineering assessment for preventive/corrective

actions were first directed at high severity activities designated by the team. The
intent on recommended action was to reduce ranking is the following order:
severity, occurrence and detection. The primary objective of recommended
actions was to reduce risks and increase customer satisfaction by improving the
74
design. When engineering assessment lead to entering None in this column

indicated that no recommended actions for a specific failure mode/cause/control
combination.
Responsibility for the recommended actions The name of the individual

responsible for each recommended actions and the target completion date was
mentioned in this section.
Actions Taken After the actions had been implemented, a brief description of
the actual action and effective date was entered.
Action Results - After the preventive/corrective action had been identified, the
resulting severity, occurrence, and detection rankings were estimated and
recorded. The resulting RPN was estimated and recorded and if no action were
taken, the related ranking columns were left blank.
2.2.7 - CAE Analysis
75
2.2
Computer Aided Engineering (CAE)* assisted the design and development team to
achieve the exact value of various stresses experienced by the conveyor belt links,
nylon gear and the bearings. The team construed the stresses and forces acting on the
link, nylon gear and the bearings with the help of Pro Engineering Mechanica
software. The CAE analysis was done for all the multiple theme concepts in order to
evaluate the tensile stress acting on the conveyor belt link, shear stress experienced by
the pin, the adjustable allowable stress on the teeth of nylon gear and the radial stress
on the bearings.
The blue color on the component depicts that it was able to sustain the maximum
forces that would be acting under actual conditions. The part was tested by applying
bearing stress of 5 x 106 N/m2 on the bosses on both the sides. Also the theoretical
value obtained from the manual calculations matched the results of the analysis.
Several iterations were performed by selecting different constraints and the results
showed that the part was safe according to the manual calculations and properties of
the material. After trying several analytical, the authors arrived at this conclusion that
the component fulfilled the requirement of sustaining the maximum traction force.
The result is as shown in the image on the next page:
Figure 24: Snapshot of Analysis on POM
76
2.2.8 Safety
77
2.2
Safety was incorporated in the design not only to reduce the risk but also the
uncertainty. It was a major concern and the most important objective in the design of
polymer conveyor belt. The authors conducted a study to create an inherently safe
design that minimized the intrinsic dangers in the process including the potential
hazards. The safe design was achieved by integrating the following aspects of the
product:
Round Edges: The edges of the conveyor link were rounded to avoid cuts on
the hands of the workers. The sharp edges might also damage the parts that are
in contact of the conveyor link as the belt is moving continuously.
Electrical Conductivity: There is a production of static electricity when the

plastic is rubbed against another material. There is always water spilled on the
links because of the condensation from PET bottles. Hence, there is always a
chance of the worker getting an electrical shock that might cause severe
injuries. Thus, the material with the least electrical conductivity was selected.
Flammability: There was always a probability of a fire and hence safety

measure that was inherent to the design was selecting the material that was
self- extinguishing. Thus, the material for the conveyor belt link was selected
as POM, which has the property of auto-extinguishing.
2.2.9 Maintainability
78
2.2
Maintainability study was conducted for all the multiple theme concepts in order
to validate the difficulties faced during the maintenance and regular service. It was
important to select a design that could be repaired, replaced, lubricated and
maintained by the worker at the bottling plant. Hence, maintainability trials were
virtually studied on the concept that was selected for CAE analysis. The concept was
found to be safe and simple for servicing and maintaining the same. The results of the
maintainability study for the selected concept are listed below:
Front Groove: A front groove was provided on the bottom surface of the link
as discussed in the Table 9. The purpose of providing the groove was also to
disassembly of the conveyor belt for regular service and maintenance.
Light Weight: The weight of the product was reduced significantly to 16 gm

as compared to stainless steel link i.e. 82 gm. The reduction in weight would
also reduce the material handling cost and damages substantially.
2.2.10 Concerned Resolutions
79
2.2
In case of any concern, with respect to any of the parameters such as functional
image, customer requirements, force calculation and safety and maintainability study;
it was necessary for the authors to resolve the concerns at this stage for obtaining the
approval of design from the stakeholders. The design and the functional image
satisfied the customer requirements and also the material was able to sustain the
forces applied. The results of the CAE analysis and manual calculations illustrated
that the polymer conveyor link was able to sustain the mentioned forces. The safety
and maintainability study also exhibited zero concern regarding the product design
from the perspective of serviceability and maintainability.
2.2.11 Product Design Freeze
80
2.2
A cross-functional team consisting of members from the design and development,

project management and manufacturing departments reviewed the concepts whose
assembly drawings were released. The team analyzed thoroughly every design and
technical aspects such as customer requirements, properties of the material,
serviceability, accessibility and maintainability and manufacturing feasibility for each
concept and arrived at a conclusion. Among all the concepts, the design of concept 4
was finalized. The Minutes of Meeting (MoM) of the meeting is as mentioned in the
Appendix Q.
2.2.12 - Drawing Release
81
2.2
This activity marked the releasing of the drawings of the multiple theme concepts
by the design and development team. The detailed drawings of the approved concept
were prepared by the team and were distributed to the project management team and
the manufacturing team. The assembly drawings and the drawings of individual
components were stored for future reference and are mentioned in Appendix R and S.
The details of the released assembly drawings and the drawings of each component
are as shown in the table below:
ENGINEERING DRAWING RELEASE RECORD

Component: Conveyor Link Assembly
Part Number
Part Name
Material
TCR-1/8686
Pin Polymer Link Concept 4 201 S20100 1/4 hard
TCR-1/8654
Polymer Concept 4
POM Homopolymer
Table 10: Engineering Drawing Release
Version 1
Drawing No
8686
8654
2.2.13 - Mold Design Strategy
82
2.2
Plastics are manufactured by the process of shaping flexible raw material within
the cavity of the metal form, i.e. mold. Mold design and development is very critical
activity in the development of plastic product as the quality of the product is directly
dependent on the quality of the mold. Mold design was excluded from the scope but
the authors had designed mold to check the feasibility of the component. A strategy
for the design of the mold was formed by the project team that involved identifying a
consultant for the assistance in defining critical parameters of the mold design. While
designing the mold, some of the parameters were not considered such as geometric
tolerances, shrinkage and many other mold characteristics that are actually considered
while designing a mold. The aim of the authors was to highlight the mold
appearance.
2.2.14 - Consultant Identified for mold design
83
2.2
The project team required a consultant for the design and development team that
had excellent knowledge in the field of mold design and exemplary experience in
developing the mold. The consultant identified by the manufacturing department was
Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET). The team
employed the expertise of the personnel at the institute in the field of design and
development of mold.
2.3.1 Manufacturing Process Selected
84
2.3
The methods applied to manufacture a product must be carefully analyzed for a

new product or developed product. The project team carefully considered the most
accurate and most economical method to manufacture the polymer conveyor belt link.
Injection molding is the most widely used method of manufacturing for plastic
products and an assorted variety of plastic products. From the dimensions and profile
of the final product, its function and the material it was inferred that the polymer link
should be manufactured by Injection Molding Process. The selection was in
accordance to the consultants advice.
2.3.2 - Identification of facilities required to manufacture the product
85
2.3
It was important to identify the requirements for manufacturing the conveyor belt links inhouse. The essential facilities required for manufacturing the product under controlled
parameters are as listed below:
Floor Space: The floor space required for installing the injection-molding machine had to
be identified. The floor space also included the space for storing the raw materials and the
finished products.
Operator: An operator had to be hired for operating the injection-molding machine and
another operator to assemble the links together to form the conveyor belt.
Injection Molding Machine: The injection-molding machine had to be purchased of the

required tonnage capacity for a single cavity two-plate mold.
Tools and Accessories: The tools and accessories required to manufacture the mold inhouse were gauges for checking the dimensions of the finished product such as plug
gauge for checking inside diameter and snap gauge for thickness. The other accessories
required were the bins for storing the raw material and the finished product.
2.3.3 - Preliminary process planning sheets ready
86
2.3
After the finalization of the mold parameters, the process plan was created for the
manufacturing of the conveyor belt link. Following inputs were provided by the mold design
team in alliance with the consultant for deciding the parameters of injection molding
machine:
2.3.3.1 - Material processing properties available: The processing parameters for every
plastic are different and while manufacturing, these parameters have to be considered.
The material processing parameters considered for POM Homopolymer were as
mentioned below:
Processing Properties of POM Homopolymer

Processing
200 392 Average = 200C;
Temperature
215 C 419 F Grade Count = 25
Mold Temperature 70 C
158 F Grade Count = 21
Drying
85 C
185 F Grade Count = 21
Temperature
(http://www.matweb.com/search/SpecificMaterial.asp?bassnum=O1280)
Table 11: Processing properties of POM Homopolymer
87
2.3.3.2 - Process Control selected: The injection-molding machine has 19 monitoring

points that control the product quality and the molding cycle. All the controls are
controlled by the controllers of the molding machine. The Acceptable Tolerance for
Quality Class Classification (ATQCC) for the injection-molding machine was determined
by the manufacturing team, which assisted the project team in deciding the molding cycle
variables, melt and hydraulic fluid temperature, injection fill rate, fill and pack pressure
and cycle timers could be controlled. The analysis determined the point when control and
process limits should be tightened and when components in the system must be replaced
or repaired. The comparison table of the molding system to the ATQCC standard molding
values is shown in Appendix T.
88
Milestone: 3
3.1.1 - Project Monitoring and control
3.1
This activity is similar to the activity1 of milestone 2 with the same name and the
status report till milestone is mentioned in Appendix U.
3.1.2: Quality Management Plan in accordance to defined quality
3.1
To ensure the quality of the product as desired by the customer, quality parameters
were defined and documented in the Quality Management Plan. The Quality
Management Plan for the project as prepared by the project management team is as
shown in the Appendix V. Following are the contents of the Quality Management
Plan:
Project Overview In the section, the final product was described and the reasons
that inspired the authors to undertake the project along with the purpose of the
project.
Quality Assurance Procedures: The list of all the activities and processes that
would be used to monitor the conformity to the quality criteria was mentioned.
Roles and responsibilities for quality management: A roles and responsibilities

chart detailing the responsible team member for a particular quality activity was
prepared.
Signatures: This section contained the signatures of key stakeholders such as

project manager, project sponsor and the customer to authenticate the plan.
3.2.1 - Quality Check parameters defined
89
3.2
To ensure that the quality of the end product is according to the customer
requirements, it was necessary to perform quality checks on the final product. Certain
aspects of the product were identified by the design and development team that were
critical to the success of the product. The quality check parameters were identified for
the critical aspects and listed as shown below:
Mechanical Tests: The polymer conveyor belt must be tested for the mechanical
properties such as tensile strength, wear resistance and hardness. The mechanical
tests that must be performed on the link to check for quality are as follows:
Izod and Charpy Impact
Rockwell Hardness Test
Abrasion Test
Physical Tests: The physical tests that must be performed on polymer link to
check the quality of the product as specified by the customer are as follows:
Flammability Test
Water Absorption Test
Chemical Tests: The end use of the conveyor link involved working in the
environment with moisture and chemicals such as caustic soda, grease and oil.
Hence, chemical tests must be performed on the final product which are listed
below:
-
Reaction with caustic soda
Reaction with alkalis
Reaction with acids
90
Laboratory Tests: The polymer link should also be tested for electrical properties
and the material should be tested in a closed environment under controlled
conditions to achieve accurate results. The laboratory tests to be performed on the
link are as follows:
Surface resistivity test
Volume resistivity test
Dimensional Tests: Dimensional rigidity of the part was important for the
application and thus, it was important to ensure that the dimensions of the final
link are as specified in the engineering drawings. The dimensional accuracy of the
component was checked with the help of gauges as mentioned below:
-
Plug Gauge
Snap Gauge
3.2.2 Engineering BOM available
91
3.2
The engineering Bill Of Material (BOM)* was created by the design and
development team, which stated the part number, material, dimensions and the
quantity of each components that go into assembly. The engineering BOM created for
the POM conveyor belt is as shown below in table:
ENGINEERING BILL OF MATERIAL

I. General Information
Project name: Conveyor Belt Design
Project number: TCR - 1
Project Manager name: Mr. Kartik Menda
Date:
II. Component Details

Component Name: Conveyor Link Assembly
Sr.
No
1
2
Part
Number
TCR1/8686
TCR1/8654
Part Name
Pin Polymer Link Concept
4
Material
201 S20100 1/4
hard
Quantity
Polymer Link Concept 4
POM Homopolymer
Table 12: Bill of Material of Conveyor link
3.2.3 Mold study at the consultants location
92
3.2
The mold study was a two-day visit by the project team members to CIPET, Panipat,
India. During this tutorial session, the authors gained knowledge about the
parameters of mold design for the polymer conveyor belt link. The writers were
exposed to the professional mold design practice.
3.2.4 Mold Math Data Available
93
3.2
The parameters of the mold such as runner size, gate size and the length of finger
cam were calculated in order to design the mold that was feasible. Following are the
calculations:
3.2.4.1 - Circular Runner
For calculating the size of the runner, consideration in the shape of the cross
section of the runner, the size of the runner and the runner layout was done. The
cross-section shape was considered as fully round because it provided a maximum
cross-sectional area. The runner layout was not considered, as the mold was
design with one cavity. The runner size was calculated as shown below:
Runner Length = 15 mm (Assumed)
Part Weight = 15.396 gms
D = W x 4L
3.7
= 15.396 x 415
3.7
= 2.08 mm
= 2.1 mm
94
3.2.4.2 - Pin Gate

A pin gate was used for feeding into the base of products and due its small size
it was selected, as a finishing operation was not required for this gate. The molten
raw material was injected from a single point for which the pin gate was suitable
option. The diameter of the pin gate is calculated in the following manner:
n = 0.7 (constant based on material group POM)
C= 0.178 (constant based on wall- thickness t= 0.75))
A= 8.647x103 mm3 (surface area of mold)
D = n x C x 4A
= 0.7 x 0.178 x 48.647x103
= 1.2 mm
3.2.4.3 - Finger Cam

The finger cams, which are hardened circular steel pins, are mounted in the
fixed mold plate at an angle. The splits, mounted in guides on the fixed mold
plate, have corresponding angled circular holes to accommodate the finger cams.
The acting length of the finger cam was determined as following:
M = 10.5 mm (split core movement
= 15o (Angle of Finger Cam)

c= 1 mm (clearance
L = (M/sin ) + (2c/sin 2 )
= (15/ sin15) + (2x1/ sin 30)
= 40.56 + 4
= 44.56 mm
95
3.2.4.4 - U Circuit cooling

The cooling system provided in the mold was in the shape of U, which were
inter-connected internally through an internal drilling. This system of cooling
was selected because it was effective for cooling long and narrow cavities. The
shape in the mold of polymer conveyor belt was modified to suit the
application.
3.2.4.5 - Split core

The split core design was used for the component because it had a number of
sideways holes that could not be made with a simple 2- plate mold. The core
was designed in such a way that it moves towards the core when the top plate is
coming down, and moves away from the core when the top plate is retracting.
The split core is nestled in a pocket machined in the base plate of the mold. The
back of the split core was angled, so that the top plate could provide it support
to bear the pressure during injection process.
3.2.4.6 - Guide pillars

Guide pillars, also known as leader pins were mounted on the top plate so
that the cavity and core were kept in alignment. The size of the guide pillars was
kept such that an alignment was maintained irrespective of the applied molding
force.
3.2.5 Mold CAD Development
96
3.2
The mold was designed by the authors on the Pro-Engineer wildfire 3.0 software.
The CAD model for the individual components and the final assembly are as shown
below:
Figure 27: Split Core
97
3.2.6 - Mold Drawing Release
98
3.2
The drawings of the individual components of the mold were created. These drawings
were meant for the distribution to the mold maker. The drawing shows different views of
the component such as isometric and orthographic projections along with the dimensions.
This activity was meant for managing the database for the project and trace the drawing
of respective component for future references. The individual drawings of the
components are mentioned in Appendix W, X, Y and Z respectively. The details of the
drawing numbers with the respective part is as shown in the table below:
ENGINEERING DRAWING RELEASE RECORD

Component: Mold
Part Number
TCR-1/1001
TCR-1/1002
TCR-1/1004
TCR-1/1005
Part Name
Mold Bottom Plate
Mold Top Plate
Mold Split Core 1
Mold Split Core 2
Material
Machined Aluminum
Machined Aluminum
Machined Aluminum
Machined Aluminum
Table 13: Engineering Drawing Release for Mold
Version - 1
Drawing No
1001
1002
1004
1005
3.2.7 Mold E-BOM available
99
3.2
The engineering Bill Of Material (BOM) was created for the mold. The E-BOM
contained general information about the project and the details of individual
component such as part number, part name, the material and the number of
components used for the assembly. The engineering BOM created for the POM mold
of polymer conveyor belt link is as shown below in table:
ENGINEERING BILL OF MATERIAL

I. General Information
Project name: Conveyor Belt Design
Project number: TCR - 1
Project Manager name: Mr. Kartik Menda
Date:
II. Component Details

Component Name: Conveyor Link Mold
Sr. No
1
2
Part Number
TCR-1/1004
TCR-1/1005
Part Name
Mold Split Core 1
Mold Split Core 2
Material
Machined Aluminum
Machined Aluminum
Quantity
1
1
TCR-1/1002
Mold Top Plate
Machined Aluminum
TCR-1/1001
Mold Bottom Plate
Machined Aluminum
Table 14: Bill of Material of Mold
3.2.8 Mold Details
3.2
100
After the finalization of the design of the mold for polymer conveyor belt link, the
specifications of the mold were decided. The specifications included the material of
the mold, life of the tool mentioned in terms of components and the total cost of the
mold. The authors assumed the mold cost after consulting with the mentor and the
consultant (CIPET). The final specifications of the mold are as mentioned below:
Tool Material: Machined Aluminum
Tool Life: 250,000 components
Tool Cost: Rs. 530,000
3.3.1 Costing
101
3.3
After establishing majority of the parameters for the design and manufacturing of
the polymer conveyor belt link, the final cost of the product was calculated. While
calculating the cost of the product, the excise tax was assumed to be 20 %, overhead
charges including electricity and labor charges were taken as 12 % and the profit
margin was considered 6 % of the final cost. The cost calculations are as shown
below:
Parameter
Resin Cost
Component weight
Basic cost
Overhead charges
Revised cost 1
Excise Tax
Revised Cost 2
Tool Cost
Components
Tool cost per comp
Revised Cost 3
VAT
Revised Cost 3
Profit Margin
Final Cost
Value
500
0.0163
8.15
12
0.978
9.128
20
1.8256
10.9536
530000
250000
2.12
13.0736
2
0.261472
13.33507
6
0.800104
14.14
Unit
Rs/Kg
gm
Rs
%
Rs.
Rs.
%
Rs.
Rs.
Rs
no.
Rs.
Rs.
%
Rs.
Rs.
%
Rs.
Rs.
The cost calculated in the above table was for one component. Conveyor belt of
these types come in standard size of 10 ft. Hence, the cost of the chain of 10 ft belt
was considered as the unit cost of the total cost of the conveyor belt. The unit cost is
calculated on the next page:
No. of links in 1feet

No. of links in 10 feet
No. of pins in 10 feet
Cost of one pin
Total cost of pins
Total Cost of links
Total Cost of conveyor for 10 ft
8
80
7
0.5
3.5
1130.814
1134.31
Thus, the unit cost of the conveyor belt is Rs. 1134.31/10 ft of conveyor
3.3.2 Final Product specifications Established
3.3
102
103
After the calculation of the final cost of the conveyor belt, all the parameters had been
established. The authors prepared the final specifications of the product and following
are the specifications:
Dimension: The final dimensions were established after doing manual

calculations of forces and analyzing the strength of the component under dynamic
conditions and performing CAE analysis on the component for various stresses.
The final dimension of the product is as mentioned below:
Length: 38.1 mm
Breadth: 88.9 mm
Thickness: 3 mm
Weight: The weight of the product was calculated from the formula:
Weight = Volume x Density
= 1.148 x 105 x 1420
= 0.0163 Kg
= 16.3 gm
Cost: The cost was calculated in the activity 3.11 (pg no 93) and the value of the
unit cost was Rs. 1134.31/10ft of conveyor
Life: The life of a plastic product depends on various parameters which are as
follows:
-
Yield strength: The yield strength of the material must be significantly higher
than the stress acting on it so as to resist the fatigue loading. From the manual
calculations of forces (pg 41) and the material selection table (pg 45), the
104
yield strength of POM is significantly higher than the forces acting on the
conveyor belt.
-
Lubricity: The property of self-lubrication in the plastics help in reducing the

coefficient of friction, thus reducing the wear and tear. From Table 8 (pg 45),
the lubricity of POM is the highest and thus, the coefficient of friction would
get reduced and the life of the component would increase.
Wear resistance: The wear resistance of POM is very high as compared to

other engineering plastics. Thus by using POM, the wear rate would be
reduced resulting in an increase in the life of the final component.
By considering the above parameters, it was concluded that the life of the end
product would increase and it was estimated by the authors that the life of the
product would be 8 10 years. The estimation was made on the basis of the
information given by the mentor and other sources such as Internet and course
books.
105
Milestone: 4
4.1.1 Lessons Learnt Documented
4.1
At each and every stage of project, the authors learnt new things that added to their
knowledge and enhanced their skills. Lessons learnt session was organized by the
authors after the completion of the project. The main objective of the writers was to
share each others ideas and experiences that were gained during the project. These
experiences would help the team members to perform efficiently in their future
projects. The lessons learnt of the team members are mentioned below:
The authors understood that managerial skills are of equally importance for an
engineer to manage the project data and activities effectively.
The writers also learnt that a thorough background study should be done for
reducing the mishaps at the later stages of the project.
The team members learnt leadership skills by taking the responsibilities for an
assigned functional area.
The authors also learnt how to co-ordinate with the top-level management of the
company by visiting the company and discussing the project details with them.
The writers also learnt that the database of the project should be managed
properly for effective results and for reference at the later stage.
The team members also learned mold design parameters from a visit to Central
Institute for International Studies.
The authors were also aware about the manufacturing process of cold beverages.
From the research on the working of the conveyor system the writers gained
knowledge on the same.
106
Conclusion
From the engineering analysis, the authors concluded that the polymer conveyor belt
was able to sustain the applied forces. The functionality of the product was also proved
through engineering facts and figures obtained from the calculations. It was also proved
that the final component was able to sustain the maximum traction force as shown in
CAE analysis (Pg 76). The probability of failure could not be neglected, as the effect of
natural frequency of the belt on its performance was not considered while designing.
The weight of the of the polymer conveyor belt link was 16.3 gm as compared to that
of 84 gm. Hence, the power consumption of the motor to drive the conveyor belt would
be reduced, as power is directly dependent upon the weight of the product. Hence, by
replacing the stainless steel conveyor belt with the polymer belt, the organization would
record substantial savings. In addition to this, the material handling cost was also reduced
and thus resulted in increased safety. The power required for each elementary section is
shown in Table 4 and Induction Motor less than 1.1 kW could be used for less power
consumption.
The cost of the polymer conveyor belt was calculated to Rs. 1134.31/10 ft of the
conveyor belt. Thus, it was considerably cheaper than the stainless steel belt and having
better quality.
The life of the polymer conveyor belt was estimated for 8 10 years as compared to 7
years of stainless steel. Thus, the polymer conveyor belt would last more than stainless
steel under the same given conditions.
107
The graph comparing the three aspects of weight, cost and life of the polymer and the
stainless steel conveyor belt that supports the above mentioned points was generated by
the authors and it is as mentioned below:
Weight Comparison
Weight (gm )
100
84
80
60
40
20
Weight (gm)
16.3
0
Polymer
Stainless Steel
Material
Figure 30: Weight Comparison

Life Comparison
8.5
8
Years
8
7.5
Life (yrs)
7
7
6.5
Polymer
Stainless Steel
Material
Figure 31: Life Comparison
108
Cost Comparison
10000
8000
Cost (Rs)
8000
6000
Cost (Rs/10 ft conveyor

chain)
4000
2000
1134.31
0
Polymer
Stainless Steel
Material
Figure 32: Cost Comparison
Recommendations
After going through the product development process, the authors were in the position
to recommend the following things:
The authors recommended that the engineering justification and calculations used
in this report could be used for designing a conveyor link for customized
application.
It is also recommended that other parameters such as noise, vibration and

dynamic loading must be considered for the design of conveyor links.
The writers recommended using the analytical software such as Ansys,

Hypermesh and Adams for virtual validation and optimization.
The polymer conveyor belt could be used in the RGB plant and the new juice
plant
To reduce the wear and tear on the polymer conveyor belt, it was recommended
that silicone based lubricant should be used.
109
The writers also recommended that the material of the wear strip should be
changed from nylon to a weaker material such as PE or PP because the wear and
tear of POM links would increase by continuously rubbing against nylon, which
has mechanical properties equal to POM.
Glossary
Abrasion, Wear & Friction: When there is motion between parts, gears, bearings,
pulleys, contact surfaces, and other components, careful selection of materials is required
to reduce abrasion and wear. The forces on materials with continuous or intermittent
contact generate a PV value that is used to select materials with coefficients of friction
suitable for the application.
Assumptions: An event or action believed to be true.
Benchmarking: It is identifying the highest standard of excellence, learning and

understanding those standards, and finally adapting and applying them to improve
performance.
110
BOM: It is the detailed list of all the individual components that are assembled together
to form the final assembly.
CAE: CAE is the engineering analysis of a product to find out the loads, pressure,
centrifugal and dynamic forces, moments and stresses acting on the product under
working conditions.
Co-efficient of Linear Thermal Expansion: All materials when heated or cooled

experience a linear and volume change in dimensions. Plastics experience greater thermal
contractions and expansion than do metal. When they are attached to or mated with metal
or other dissimilar materials, the design team must consider their expansion and
contracting rates.
Communication Plan: It documents the types of information need the stakeholders have,
when the information should be distributed, and how the information will be delivered.
Constraints: Anything that limits the actions of the project team.
CPM: The longest path through the project made up of activities with zero floats.
Critical Success Factors: The project deliverables or requirements that absolutely must
be completed correctly to consider the project a success.
111
Density: Density is the mass per unit volume of a material. The weight calculated from
the density is used as a quality and process control checkpoint during the molding
operation.
DFMEA: Design Failure Mode Effect Analysis is a risk management tool to appraise a
design for robustness against potential failures and to prioritize action plans considering
the severity of the risk, its occurrence and the ability to detect in regular operations.
Dielectric Strength, Dielectric Constant: Dielectric strength measures the insulating

capability of a plastic subjected to increasing voltage just prior to breakdown. Variables
that can affect the results are temperature, sample thickness, moisture concentration, and
rate of applied voltage and test time. Any contamination on a samples surface or porosity
in the molded product will lower a resins dielectric strength. These can cause arcing or a
conductive path through the sample, resulting in premature failure.
Dissipation Factor: When polarizing reversals occur rapidly with alternating current,
60Hz (cycles per second), heat is produced in the test sample as the molecules are
activated by rapid changes in their polarization. The measure of the heat dissipation in the
sample is reported as the dissipation factor (DF). DF is expressed as the ratio of the
energy lost as heat, compared to heat transmitted from the sample and is measure at 1
Mhz or other specified frequencies.
Ductility: Ductility of a material allows the material to be pulled, rolled, or stretched into
another shape without destroying the materials physical property integrity. It is a
112
function of the materials elongation and the rate of applied force to alter the materials
shape, usually with the application of heat.
Elasticity: Elasticity is the material property that describes a materials ability to return to
its original shape and size after being deformed by a force.
Filler Speed: Rate of filling liquid in bottle.
Float: The amount of time that can delay the early start of a task without delaying the
finish date of the project.
Friction: Plastics do not behave according to the classic laws of friction. Adhesion and
deformation characterize frictional forces between a metal/plastic interfaces.
Gantt Charts: They are easy-to-read charts that display the project schedule in task
sequence and by the task start and finish dates.
Hardness: Hardness of a material is the measure to resist wear and tear.
Heat Deflection Temperature: Heat Deflection temperature is the temperature at which

an ASTM standard test bar, supported at each end and loaded in the center, under a
constant stress of 66 or 264 psi, has deflected 0.010 in. as the test specimen is submerged
in an increasing temperature controlled oil bath.
113
Heat Resistance: There are essentially two types of heat resistance additive agents. The
first is to protect the material from surface oxidation when exposed to elevated
temperatures. The second type of material is used to protect the resin during processing.
Izod & Charpy Impact: Izod and charpy impact tests measure a materials ability to
absorb impact energy at a molded-in or machined notch in a test sample. The difference
between the two tests is that the charpy test impact point is a knife-edge that impacts the
test specimen. The izod test uses the flat side of the impact pendulum surface against the
test bar. The test has a pendulum arm falling through an arc with the head impacting the
specimen with the energy absorbed by the material on impact recorded on the dial scale.
Lubricity: Thermoplastics have an inherent lubricity that is the load-bearing

characteristic of a material under relative motion. Plastics with good lubricity have a low
coefficient of friction value measured by dynamic and static tests. Adding modifiers,
additives and fillers can increase it.
Melting Point: Melting point is the temperature at which the solid plastic material starts
changing the state to liquid.
Mentor: A wise and trusted counselor or teacher.
Moisture Effect (water absorption): All resins must be dried to low moisture levels
before processing; otherwise the effects of moisture during processing causes the
molecular chains to break with a drastic lowering of the materials physical properties.
114
Notch Sensitivity: Notch sensitivity is the term used to describe the ease with which a
crack can propagate through a material. It is reported on data sheets as notched Izod
impact.
Plasticity: A material that does not return to its original shape but instead flows or creeps
under a force before failure has plasticity.
Project Charter: It is the official project kickoff document. It gives the project manager
the authority to proceed with the project and commits resources to the project.
Project Concept Document: Provides first overview of project design, main

components, environmental and social impacts and loan amount. Formal management
approval of PCD required before project preparation can begin. Not disclosed, but should
be requested.
Quality Function Deployment: Quality Function Deployment is a planning tool used to

fulfill customer expectations through disciplined approach to product design, engineering
and production. It is also known as the House of Quality or Voice of Customer.
Shrinkages: When thermoplastics are heated, they become fluid and expand. When
cooled, they solidify and shrink from their original molten volume state. This change in
material volume and density going from a liquid to a solid is known as material or mold
shrinkage.
115
SMART: SMART is acronym for Smart: goals should be specific and stated in clear,
concise terms; Measurable: Goals should be measurable; Accurate and Agreed To:
The goals should stated accurately and should be agreed to; Realistic: Goals must be
realistic; Time Bound: Goals must have a time frame that theyre completed within, that
is, an established end date.
Surface Resistivity: The measurement of current flow across the surface of a material
due to surface contamination, especially moisture, is a measure of surface resistivity.
Tensile Strength: Tensile strength of the material is the strength of the material, which
can resist any deformation.
Thermal Stresses: A product subjected to a force has physical material stresses in the
structure. When a product is anchored in place and restricted in its movement, and then
heated or cooled thermal stressed are created in the product.
Toughness: Toughness is the ability of a material to absorb physical energy without
failure. Energy is absorbed by either elastic or plastic deformation.
Traction Force: It is the force that is experienced between a driven member and the
surface it is been driven upon.
Volume resistivity: how well a material conducts an electrical current (conductivity) is a

measure of the electrical resistance of the material when a direct potential is applied to it.
116
This measurement, known as volume resistivity is the resistance measured in ohms times
the are of the smaller electrode divided by the thickness of the specimen.
WBS: It is a tool used to graphically display the deliverables of the project in a

hierarchical fashion.
References
Acetals (n.d.), retrieved on June 16, 2007 from http://www.cctplastics.com/acetals.html
Alloy - Thermal Properties (n.d.), retrieved on May 20, 2007 from

http://www.goodfellow.com/csp/active/gfMaterialTables.csp?sort=17
Dale H. Besterfield, Carol Besterfield-Michna, Glen H. Besterfield, Mary BesterfieldSacre, Total Quality Management, Third Edition, (2003), Pearson Education, Inc., Delhi
Flexural Strength Testing of Plastics (n.d.), retrieved on June 13, 2007 from
http://www.matweb.com/reference/flexuralstrength.asp
Kim Heldman, Project Management Jump Start, BPB Publications, New Delhi
117
M. Joseph Gordon Jr., Industrial Design of Plastics Products, 2003, John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., NJ
Of Finite Element Analysis, Unique Characteristics of Plastics Stress Analysis, (n.d.),

retrieved on June 18, 2007 from http://www.pitechinc.com/fea-faqs.htm
Overview - Acetal Homopolymer, Unreinforced (n.d.), retrieved on June 15, 2007 from
http://www.matweb.com/search/SpecificMaterial.asp?bassnum=O1280
Polyamide Nylon 6 (n.d.), retrieved on June 17, 2007 from

http://www.goodfellow.com/csp/active/gfMaterialInfo.csp?MATID=AM39
Polymer Data File: Polyamide PA (Nylon) (n.d.), retrieved on June 20, 2007 from
http://www.tangram.co.uk/TI-Polymer-PA.html
Polymer Data File: Polyoxymethylene POM (Acetal), (n.d.), retrieved on June 15, 2007
from http://www.tangram.co.uk/TI-Polymer-POM.html
R. G. W. Pye, Injection Mould Design (Fourth Edition), 1989, Longman Scientific &
Technical, Harlow
Robert L.Mott, Machine Elements in Mechanical Design, Fourth Edition, 2003, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., NJ
(For more details see the FlexLink Official Website)

Standard Conveyor Systems, (n.d.) retrieved on June 17, 2007 from http://www.flexlineautomation.com/Files/Standard%20Conveyor%20Systems.pdf
118

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