Design and Financial Analysis of a Redesigned Titanium Degreaser Basket

1. Design and Financial Analysis of a Redesigned Titanium Degreaser Basket Stanley T. Anderson II, Nicolette Grannum, Kenneth Manley, MingzeNiu Project Scope Concept Generation Design Validation Basket Design Process Background Testing Plan • Primary goal is to test the structural stability of the basket • Due to high cost of basket, only the metrics below were tested • Analyze the new basket and check that basket meets each target value • Superior Tube, located in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, produces high quality tubes for various industries • Tubes produced through cold drawing and annealing process and requires a large amount of lubricant • Existing process: completed parts are loaded into the steel basket and lowered into a giant solvent full of the hazardous solvent, n-Propyl Bromide (nPB) • During the exit, the heated basket breaks the cold boundary layer by heat transfer (shown left) and releases nPB vapors into the environment Concept Evaluation and Comparison • FEA validated structure, but cold barrier information is limited • Scale test using hot plate, water and metal samples to show effectiveness of material change and insulation • These samples were cross referenced and a general assumption that less heat released in the cold barrier would lead to decreased nPB loss Scope • Design a basket that will reduce solvent loss throughout the degreasing process when compared to the current basket Specifications and Metrics Financial Analysis Final Titanium Design: Titanium Concept 9 • Finances are an essential component to the analysis post design. • What is the profitability of the new basket in terms of throughput and solvent savings? • Titanium reduces weight has longer life through continues chemical use • The final design was the most innovative and accomplished all of the project goals at the lowest weight, and highest values for safety • Final design is fabricated with commercially pure, Grade 2 titanium and will need to be welded at several strategic points to come together in one assembly Path Forward • Need for insulation validated, increasing costs and overall savings • Combined with financial data, shows that the two baskets are profitable, through solvent and operational savings • Fabrication and delivery are the next steps to the redesigned degreaser basket from being used • The estimated for implementation is over the next two years, with the current basket being scrapped in 2015. Acknowledgements Superior Tube Representatives: James Brooks, Chris Nagele, Jeff Mlynarski Advisor: Dr. James Glancey