GROUP 9B

ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGE 1

ENF1204 Engineering
Design
Coat Hanger Wire

Team B Group 9
Semester 2
-Pavitar Singh

-Michael Grover

-Chi yeong Choi

DESIGN CHALLENGE 1 1
GROUP 9B ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGE 1

Overview

INTRODUCTION - PAGE 2

DESIGN PROBLEMS - PAGE 2

DESCRIPTION OF FINAL DESIGN - PAGE 4

TESTING OF DESIGN - PAGE 5

DESIGN CHALLENGE 1 2
GROUP 9B ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGE 1

Coat Hanger Wire Challenge

Introduction
This report outlines the challenge of using a maximum of 4m of coat hanger
wire to design a structure able to hold maximum weight whilst having at least
some volume.

What is a good design?

A good design is one which is capable of holding a large weight whilst being
usable and popular in industry or a domestic application. The design must
incorporate elements which make it aesthetically pleasing but while
maintaining utmost safety (Eg. No sharp ends, stable etc) as well be cost
effective to construct (more wire/complexity will cause a rise in the cost of the
manufacturing process).

DESIGN CHALLENGE 1 3
GROUP 9B ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGE 1

The design and it's problems.

The design challenge posed many difficulties. It is interesting to note that these
difficulties came from the effects of one design element on another. Eg. Increasing
the volume of an object decreased it's strength but increased its stability (for a
longer wire has less strength but a larger (wider) base will mean a lower centre of
gravity).

A table was constructed in which elements that were absolutely necessary or 'musts'
were listed in one column, elements which were not necessary or were 'wants' were
listed in the other column.

The design began with each member of the team giving an idea as to what object
could be designed for the project. Each of these objects were then compared to the
list compiled earlier and the advantages/disadvantages of each discussed.

It took the team almost an hour to come up with a design that had mutual
agreement to it meeting the minimum requirements set by the team as well as
having any additional features or 'wants'. A good product is always one where a lot
more time is spent on designing and prototyping than on actually manufacturing
and distributing.

After careful considerations of the requirements of the design, the length of wire
available, the tools available to manipulate that length of wire into an object and
the amount of time we had to create it, a design of a stool was selected.

DESIGN CHALLENGE 1 4
GROUP 9B ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGE 1

Description of Design

Why this design?

The stool was chosen because it had the following characteristics:
• A strong frame due to the use of the the triangular (commonly referred to as a
truss design).
• Ability to increase compression strength of the wire by spiraling two wires
together (the increase in the strength and stiffness of the wire more than
outweighs the increase in the amount of material used).
• Modern arty design for any kind of table (if constructed out of a larger diameter
wire)

DESIGN CHALLENGE 1 5
GROUP 9B ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGE 1

Alternate Design

This design was not chosen because the primary design had a
double wire structure which was not possible with this design
as this was based only on a single wire structure therefore the
strength in it would be a lot less than what was achieved with
the primary design.

DESIGN CHALLENGE 1 6
GROUP 9B ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGE 1

Design Measurements
Design Volume
Design is a Cylinder, therefore the formula for calculating volume of a Cylinder applies to this
design.

V = π r2 h
Volume = 3.14 x 0.05m2 x 0.08m
Volume = 0.6 x 10-4m3

Testing
The design was able to hold 31.8 Kg of weight.
This combined with a volume of 6.3 x 10-4m3 gives
it a strength index of

DESIGN CHALLENGE 1 7