Design and Development of a Multifunctional Test Rig

Sammanfattning: In this project, the several steps in a product development process can be followed, from the first brainstorming of basic concepts to the final implementation of the manufactured product in the factory. The project was assigned by Faiveley Transport Nordic AB and its aim was to design a well functioning test rig for testing of their train brake units. The new rig’s advantages compared to old existing test rigs at Faiveley, is that it should be compact, flexible and able to test multiple train brake units at the same time. Throughout the project the methodology of Ullrich and Eppinger’s “Product Design and Development” was used at a large extent. As a first step in this methodology, target specifications were set and thereafter the concept generation could start. The designing of the test rig was divided into sub problems to be solved separately and after several iterations a final design was found. To make sure the test rig was dimensioned in a satisfying way comprehensive calculations were carried out, e.g. ANSYS calculations. After the supervisors at Faiveley approved the design it was manufactured by the company Ingenjörsfirma Jeppsson AB. When the test rig was delivered careful testing took place. The results were very positive, all components functioned as wished and the test rig responded well when applied to forces. As Faiveley wanted a new pneumatic system to drive the train brakes, this was ordered by Festo. It consisted of one control unit and ten valve units in a terminal making the device very compact. A casing was designed and manufactured to protect the sensitive equipment. Finally the target specifications were compared to those of the actual test rig. All specifications were found satisfactory and the project was considered successful.