Sparx Hockey

At this co-op my primary responsibility was supporting the development of Sparx's newest product, the Samurai Deburring Tool. This device removes all the steel burrs left on the blade edge from sharpening, which makes the blade deburring process faster, safer and less damaging than hand-deburring.

 My key responsibilities were:

• Evaluating the prototype factory parts as they arrived.

• Designing, building tests for the mechanical components.

• Creating nests and instructions for the technicians building the tool.

Additionally, I worked on several other projects including a prototype laser system and a cosmetic upgrade kit.

Skills involved:

• SolidWorks (Assemblies, PDM)

• 3D Printing

• CNC Milling

• Laser cutting

• Communicating with suppliers

• Exposure to GD&T

• Design for consumer products

The first fixture I made tests the life of the DC motor that powers the deburring. The fixture is made of laser cut Acrylic, to support a simulated load on the motor shaft. This simulates the load on the motor of an ice skate being deburred. An attached Arduino controls power to the motor to simulate normal usage, and a counter tracks how many of these cycles the motor has performed. 

The second fixture I made is for wear testing the mechanical detent system. To determine if we needed to optimize the geometry of the teeth, I this fixture. An Arduino housed inside a modified version of the chip tray, to keep everything compact, tracked how many times the dial had been turned by a servo motor. This allowed us to quickly verify the lifespan of the component.

I also created several nests and fixtures for assembly, which I iterated with input and usage from the technicians, to streamline assembly of the finished Samurai deburring tool.