MEEN 361 Design Term Project | Fall 2023
REVERSE-ENGINEERING/OPTIMIZATION OF SCISSOR LIFT PLATFORM – COHORT A
A scissor lift platform is a simple and inexpensive method to lift loads vertically. It is typically
made from the same length members that can move against each other, thus allowing for a
vertical elevation of the parallel platform, as illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Example of an industrial scissor lift
Project Description:
•
•
•
•
This project is meant to give you hands-on experience in manufacturing process selection.
You and your team will have to decide how to build or update components of the design. The
choices include reverse-engineering and re-building a supplied scissor lift or completely
building a new scissor lift from scratch.
A basic design, including all parts and assembly drawings, will be provided to you through
Canvas. Then, you can either machine the components for the scissor lift or 3D print them.
In real-life scenarios, you will be required to develop your project parameters/design based
on the customer requirements within the set constraints. Similarly, you are expected to
optimize your scissor lift design to meet the set constraints.
The term design project will be worth 100 points, and the breakdown of the points is as
follows:
•
20 points for your reverse-engineering analysis or design optimization,
•
30 points for building and testing your scissor lift, and
•
50 points for the team project report.
Page 1 of 5
MEEN 361 Design Term Project | Fall 2023
When tested, your scissor lift platform should satisfy the following constraint:
Loading and Travel Specifications:
✓ The platform should be no more than 50 mm high when completely closed.
✓ The platform should be raised or lowered manually using a lead screw.
✓ The platform should have a vertical travel of at least 200 mm from the closed state.
✓ When raised vertically to its maximum extension, the scissor lift platform should support a
box with a footprint of 6 inches × 8 inches and a mass of 9 kgs. (~20 lbs.).
✓ The scissor lift should be stable and freestanding when supporting the load.
✓ Design your platform to be as light as possible.
Build Options:
Your team must choose one of the following options to build your scissor lift platform:
Option# 1: Reverse engineer, analyze, and re-build the supplied scissor lift
•
Pick up an old scissor lift, reverse-engineer the design, and analyze how the supplied design
could be improved. Then, discuss these improvements with your Teaching Assistant and Peer
Teacher.
•
•
Note, your team will not be able to choose which scissor lift they receive; one be supplied at
random. Also, only a few scissor lifts are available, so the teams will receive a scissor lift on a
first-come, first-served basis. Measure all the parts of the scissor lift.
Either perform a stress analysis (e.g., a finite element analysis) of one load-bearing member
of your improved scissor lift design or build a fully functional motion simulation of your
updated scissor lift assembly. The simulation must be realistic and include all fasteners,
connections, etc., you intend to apply.
•
Fabricate at least one new load-carrying component for your improved scissor lift assembly.
•
•
Re-build a fully functional scissor lift to meet the constraint requirements.
The team will not be provided any raw materials, to begin with; you will have to justify to your
Teaching Assistant and Peer Teacher why you need some or any of the raw materials.
You can 3D print parts or replace fasteners as needed as long as it is within the final design
specifications.
•
Option# 2: Design and build an entirely new scissor lift
•
Perform a design optimization study for your new scissor lift based on the supplied basic
design. Discuss your findings and suggested upgrades from the study with your Teaching
Assistant and Peer Teacher.
•
Create detailed engineering drawings for parts/assemblies for fabrication purposes.
•
Build and assemble a fully functional scissor lift to meet the constraint requirements.
Page 2 of 5
MEEN 361 Design Term Project | Fall 2023
•
The team will be provided with a complete set of raw materials to manufacture their scissor
lift.
•
You can 3D print parts and use fasteners as needed the set material selection parameters.
Material Selection:
•
•
•
•
•
The following selection of raw materials are available at request for your use:

Rod Ø 1/2” × ~12“ long or an all-threaded rod Ø 3/8” or 1/2” × ~12“ long

Bar ~12” long × 2” wide × 1/2” thick

Plate 12” long x 8” wide X 1/16” thick
Students are not permitted to buy and use their own raw materials for this project.
Also, you are allowed to build and use no more than six components from of your 3D printing
budget in your FINAL lift. Your scissor lift cannot be entirely made of 3D printed material.
An assortment of fasteners is available for your use at Fischer Engineering Design Center
(FEDC). Any bought-out hardware should be limited to simple fasteners not available through
FEDC.
No glue or welds are allowed.
Machining your parts:
Please complete the following before you go to the FEDC Fabrication Center to machine any of
your scissor lift parts:
•
•
•
Prepare engineering drawings indicating desired dimensions and tolerances. The engineering
drawings should include all the pertinent information about part number, name, bill of
materials, course number, section, and team number. The FEDC personnel can prevent you
from machining any components if you do not have the proper engineering drawings
available with you.
Use the iLab system to reserve any equipment you plan to use.
The FEDC personnel will not machine parts for you. However, they may provide you with
advice and may point you towards taking advanced courses if needed to help you with
machining the component you need.
3d Printing your parts:
•
•
•
Teams will be provided with a $10 allotment for 3D printing. This is equivalent to ~330 grams
of PLA.
All parts will be printed with PLA at 10-20% infill, unless it must be reduced to fit within the
budget.
You can either print your components in FEDC or in MEEN Rapid Prototyping Studio, not at
both the places.
Page 3 of 5
MEEN 361 Design Term Project | Fall 2023
•
•
You need to complete the 3D print tracking form to print your components in the facilities
which also include the Instructions on printing.
You need to estimate the weight of the parts you plan to print to ensure that you don’t go
over the allotted budget. You may use free slicing software like Ultimaker Cura for this
purpose.
Deliverables:
1. Discuss your design and CAD drawings as a team with your Teaching Assistant and Peer
Teacher. Depending on the option you choose, this would include either a discussion of the
improvements you will make to the supplied scissor lift or the optimizations you have planned
to the provided basic design.
2. A completed and functional scissor lift.
Your scissor lift will be tested during your scheduled Howdy lab time by end of Fall break
week.
Your score will be graded on the following aspects.
✓ Meeting the folding height and vertical travel requirements
✓ Stability of your design
✓ The final deflection under the load; the less deflection, the better.
✓ Total weight of your design- the lighter, the better
The rubric for grading is as follows:
Criteria
Total Points
Possible
Rubric
Accuracy &
Stability
4
Measures stability and
functionality of the lift
50 mm Folded
Height
200 mm Vertical
Travel
8
8
Points Awarded
Height ≤ 50 mm
8 points
50 mm < Height ≤ 52 mm
6 points
52 mm < Height ≤ 54 mm
4 points
Height > 54 mm
2 points
Travel ≥ 200 mm
8 points
195 mm ≤ Travel < 200 mm
6 points
186 mm ≤ Travel < 195 mm
4 points
Travel < 186 mm
2 points
Page 4 of 5
MEEN 361 Design Term Project | Fall 2023
Criteria
Deflection under
load [δmeasured]*
Weight
[Wmeasured]*
Total
Total Points
Possible
5
5
Rubric
Points Awarded
If δmin/δmeasured ≥ 0.9
5 points
If 0.8 ≤ δmin/δmeasured < 0.9
3 points
If δmin/δmeasured < 0.8
2 points
If Wmin/Wmeasured ≥ 0.9
5 points
If 0.8 ≤ Wmin/Wmeasured < 0.9
3 points
If Wmin/Wmeasured < 0.8
2 points
30
*Note, δmin and Wmin will be obtained from all scissor lifts built by the teams currently enrolled
in the MEEN 361 lab.
3. Team Report based on the requirements detailed in the template is available on Canvas.
Timeline:
The following are the deadlines for each of the deliverables and the processes.
Stage
Decision – Reverse Engineering/New Build
Deadline
Aug 23, 2023
Issue of Raw Materials for the build
Sept 1, 2023
Preparatory meeting with the TA
Sept 8, 2023
Scissor Lift Testing
Oct 13, 2023
CAD simulation if applicable
Oct 13, 2023
Final Report
Oct 20, 2023
Page 5 of 5