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Team Class Act
Our mission is to create a device that will increase
productivity and ameliorate the working conditions
for women in the rubber mat punching industry in
Kerala.
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Rubber mats are commonly used in India for door mats,
kitchen mats, etc.
Currently, holes in rubber mats are punched out manually
with hammer and chisel
A small mat can be punched out in ~ 3 minutes
The women workers often complain of neck and back pain
Improve Productivity
The product should punch multiple holes at once
Should punch holes more accurately than current method
Finish mats at a faster rate
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Improve Working Conditions
Ergonomic working position that workers will be willing to
adapt to
Punching method uses less force than hammer and chisel
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Mat suppliers bring mats from factory to workshops
After mats are punched, the shop manager sells mats
back to suppliers at a margin
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Need identified for a machine that can replace existing
manual labor required to punch mats using chisel &
hammer
Shop owner and workers of Akhil Rubber Mats were
interviewed - product requirements and specifications were
drafted
Overall requirements were a machine that punched mats
faster & caused minimum human effort
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Main Idea
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Imitate chisel impact
Increase precision
Minimize and distribute input force
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Increase base length
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Adds stability
Increase lever length
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Decreases input force
Finalized chisel attachments
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Bolt to plate
Spring Sizing
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Tried 3 different springs
Handle operation
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Safety after catch and release
Chisels: Rs 950
For 20 chisel mould
Screws and washers: Rs 110
Materials: Rs 1350
Aluminium plates
Aluminium handles
Springs: Rs 320
Found a pair for Rs 40 after
Total: Rs 2730
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Comfort (Scores compiled based on input from 5 workers)
1. Can you scale comfort level from 1 - 10 for with/without machine?
o 4.0 without machine / 8.4 with machine
2. Stress especially on lower back from 1 - 10 with/without machine?
o 7.8 without machine / 3.2 with machine
3. Have chances of injury to hand decreased with machine?
o Chance of injury very significantly reduced as hand is not near
chisel (qualitative observation by Indian students)
Efficiency & Quality (Scores compiled based on input from 5 workers)
1. Difference in time to produce a mat with/without machine?
o 3-4 minutes without machine / 2.5 minutes with machine
2. Difference in failure rate with/without machine?
o 4 mats per 100 without machine / 0 with machine (chisels
perfectly aligned)
3. How would you improve the device?
o A mechanism to automatically increment the mat is vital to
success (qualitative feedback)
Sustainability (Scores compiled based on input from 1 manage)
1. Will you still have a need for as many workers as you do now?
o There will be no workers replaced & no unemployment caused due
to demand for mats
2. Will you purchase the machine for your shop?
o High scope for mass purchase order if necessary changes are
made
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Great response was received!
Workers were highly appreciative of product design simple & easy to use
Learning curve was very gentle
Product can be fixed to a table and operated easily on
standing position.
Feedback is still very dynamic and in the early stages.
Much more testing and iteration needs to be done
Manufacturers:
• Mr. Joshy of Twin metal
• Mr. Suresh ( spares and parts)
Distributors:
• Mr Shibu of Akhil rubber mats (ARM)
• NGO's
• Rubber board ( future plans)
Logistics, Logistics, Logistics!
- Machine shop availability
- Shipping delays
- Lack of materials in India
- Scheduling meetings
What could been done differently?
- More proactiveness in searching for materials
- A set meeting time established at the start
How we worked as a team?
Clear division of labor between US and India
US - engineering design
India - meeting contacts, testing & feedback
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What worked and didn't work?
- Communication problems early in the term
- Initial division of work was unclear
- Transfer of responsibility from US to India
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Team feels the product has a lot of potential!
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Product is already close to being market ready and lots
of improvements can still be made
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Customer feedback indicates just one major product
feature is missing (automatic incrementing of mat)
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We will have some members continue project next term
and hopefully a team next year will inherit our project
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2 Months
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1 - 2 more iterations
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More quantitative feedback
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Finalize Design
6 months (Possibly next ME105 Class)
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Set up distribution network
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Manufacture ~50 products to start
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Market product to various workshops