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Spring 2018

ADDITIVE AND CUSTOMIZABLE

HARDWARE MOUNT

Jacob May, James Blaszkiewicz, Kevin Patzuk, Sara Sohmer

College of Engineering
Hammond Building
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA

Prepared for
Lockheed Martin Corporation

19 April 2018

The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA 16802
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ABSTRACT

Currently, mounts used for the building, maintenance, and repair of circuit boards at

Lockheed Martin are bulky, heavy, and not customizable for unique pieces of hardware. This

greatly slows the process for any kind of repair on a circuit board and building new circuit boards.

The solution to this problem is to create a hardware mount for these circuit boards that is easier to

use and therefore makes the repairing and building process faster. In order to decide if our proposed

design is truly more efficient than existing hardware mounts, we evaluated the model with regard

to the most important characteristics of the mount to a lab technician. After exploring the tasks of

a lab technician, we decided that adjustability, mobility, sleekness, and simplicity were the most

important characteristics of an efficient hardware mount. We then created three concepts and

scored them based on these qualities, and prototyped the concept with the most highest score using

additive manufacturing. Then, we tested the design using mock circuit boards and judged whether

the concept was a feasible tool to implement at Lockheed Martin. We determined that our design

can meet the current needs for an adjustable hardware mount, but we did consider ways to improve

our design in future iterations.

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CONTENTS

1 EXISTING CONDITIONS 6
1.1 Introduction 6
1.2 Identification of Stakeholders 6
1.3 Tabulation of Stakeholders 6
1.4 Identification of the Need for Intervention 7
1.5 Summary 9
2 METHODS 9
2.1 Introduction 9
2.2 Establishing Assessment Criteria 10
2.3 Concept 01: The Router 10
2.4 Concept 02: Bibracchium 12
2.5 Concept 03: Lotus Ball and Socket 13
2.6 Scoring Table 19
2.7 Summary 20
3 DATA ANALYSIS 20
3.1 Introduction 20
3.2 Presentation of Intervention Prototype 21
3.3 Proposed Testing Plan 21
3.4 Proof of Technology 22
3.5 Predicted Results 22
3.6 Summary 22
4 CONCLUSIONS 23
4.1 Evaluation of Success 23
5 REFERENCES 25
6 APPENDIX A 26
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LIST OF FIGURES
No. Title Page

1 Current ‘helping hands’ mount 9

2 Picture of Concept 01 single armed mount 11
3 Picture of Concept 02 dual armed mount 12
4 Concept 02 in a different position 14
5 Loc Line coolant tube 15
6 Concept 03 Lotus with Ball and Socket Arm 16
7 The Lotus adjustable head 17
8 Top view of the plates of the lotus in different positions 18
9 Side view of Lotus head 19
10 Individual ball and socket 20
11 Base Plate with mounting holes and socket 21
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LIST OF TABLES
No. Title Page
1 Weighting of Stakeholders’ Needs 7
2 Specifications 10
3 Concept Scoring 22
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1 EXISTING CONDITIONS

1.1 Introduction

In this section, we will identify our stakeholders and discuss the current conditions.

Intervention is required because the current state of adjustable hardware mounts does not meet the

need of our stakeholders at Lockheed Martin.

1.2 Identification of Stakeholders

We are first year students in the Engineering Design 100 class designing a solution to

Lockheed Martin’s Additive and Customizable Hardware Mount problem shown in Appendix A.

Lockheed Martin needs a circuit board mounting mechanism that can be additively manufactured

and easily customized to fit hardware of any shape and size. Our stakeholder is the lab technician

repairing the circuit boards. The lab technician will be operating the equipment alone. Lab

technicians “specialize in a particular area of engineering, and help engineers and scientists in the

implementation of principals and theories in their related field,” (Engineering Lab Technician…,

2010). Specifically, electrical engineering technicians design, develop, and test equipment,

evaluate and test products, as well as adjust, test, and repair equipment.

Mobility of the hardware mount is important because the technician needs to maneuver the

circuit board into any position so that they are able to solder, reflow, apply coating, and clean the

board. Additionally, the hardware needs to be easily adjustable to accommodate a circuit board of

a non-standard size or shape. Ideally, the equipment would mitigate vibrations in order to make

the technician’s job easier. The mount should also be simple and made of a limited number of parts

so that printing time is minimized and assembling the printed pieces is easy.

1.3 Tabulation of Stakeholders

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The stakeholder, a lab technician from Lockheed Martin, needs the hardware mount to have

certain qualities to be able to perform their specific tasks on the circuit boards. Our group decided,

after researching the tasks performed by a lab technician, that the needs are adjustability, mobility,

sleekness, and simplicity. Some of these characteristics are more important to the lab technician

than others, so we created a table, Table 01, to organize them by weights of importance. A higher

number under the characteristic signifies a larger weight of importance to the stakeholder.

We ultimately decided that adjustability and mobility were more important than sleekness

and simplicity. This is because adjustability and mobility directly affect the ease of use for the lab

technician while working on circuit boards, while sleekness and simplicity would more affect the

installation of the hardware mount into the factory and the time it takes to print the hardware

mount. We agreed that if Lockheed Martin planned a space for the hardware mount and allowed

the printer to run after operating hours, it would be relatively easy to overcome worse scores in

sleekness and simplicity than in adjustability and mobility.

Table 01 Weighting of Stakeholder’s Needs.

Stakeholder Adjustability Mobility Sleekness Simplicity Sum

Lab Technician .35 .35 .15 .15 1

1.4 Identification of the Need for Intervention

Current conditions and designs at Lockheed Martin for their hardware mounts are not as

efficient as they could be, and do not meet Lockheed Martin’s standards. Presently, hardware

mounts are not modular and are extremely bulky and heavy. These conditions limit the amount of

work Lockheed Martin’s lab technicians can do to the circuit board on the hardware mount in a

given amount of time.

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Another major need for intervention is that current hardware mounts are not additively

manufactured (Qureshi, 2015). This also means that these hardware mounts are not customizable.

Since current hardware mounts are not additively manufactured or customizable, this means that

a hardware mount must be created for each kind of hardware. Due to cost of materials and

traditional manufacturing, this can quickly become prohibitively expensive. An additively

manufactured head could be designed for a unique circuit board and printed in the lab within a few

hours, costing only electricity and less than five dollars worth of material.

The current hardware mounts take a long time to adjust relative to the potential time it

could take for a spring loaded design. This is because the current models, (Fig. 01), require screws

to be removed to loosen the arms to allow them to move (Qureshi, 2015). If the arms were able to

expand without the need to loosen and tighten screws, the time to adjust them would be greatly

decreased.

Another factor that inhibits the adjustability of current hardware mounts is that most

designs include alligator clips to hold the circuit board in place. Alligator clips do not allow the

entire face of the circuit board to be seen, and the clips might exert too much force on a circuit

board and damage it. Hardware mounts should be able to hold a circuit board while maintaining

the visibility of the entire face (Qureshi, 2015).

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Figure 01: The current available “helping hands” for working with circuit boards.

1.5 Summary

We have discussed the current state of Additive and Customizable Hardware Mounts as

seen in Appendix A and how they are inadequate to our stakeholders at Lockheed Martin. Our

stakeholders are the lab technicians repairing the circuit boards. We determined our stakeholders’

needs in Table 01. The current mounting instruments are bulky, heavy, expensive compared to

additively manufactured hardware mounts, and not very customizable.

2 METHODS

2.1 Introduction

After evaluating current circuit board mounts, and some generated concepts, we

individually developed several concepts. After reconvening, we narrowed down our concepts to

the three concepts listed below. With our stakeholders’ needs in mind, we made sure that our

concepts made the processes of soldering, reflow, cleaning, and coating circuit boards easier for
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our stakeholders. This is only possible if we design new mounts that are customizable, sleeker,

lighter, and optimized for additive manufacturing.

2.2 Establishing Assessment Criteria

Because the circuit mount needs to hold multiple types of circuits, the adjustability of the

mount will be observed by timing how long it takes to adjust the head of the mount from the

smallest to the largest setting. This will gauge the maximum time needed for any adjustment made

by the technician. The mobility of the arm of the hardware mount was measured in degrees of

rotation in three dimensions. The sleekness of the designs was determined by weighing the

concepts all with the same infill density, which is the amount of filament used on the interior of a

print. The simplicity of the design will be measured by how long it takes to print and assemble

each model.

Table 02: Specifications Table: Adjustability, Mobility, Sleekness, Simplicity

Need Variable Instrument Target Value

Adjustability Time to adjust from Stopwatch 90 seconds

one head to another

Mobility Degrees of rotation Plumb line 180° in three dimensions

Sleekness Massiveness Weight 250 grams (.55 pounds)

Simplicity Time to print and Stopwatch 12 hours

assemble

2.3 Concept 01: The Router

For our first concept (Fig. 02), we created a modular hardware mount with customizable

arms and heads. The entire mount was designed to be additively manufactured, with the exception

of several springs.
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Figure 02: Concept 01 “The Router” a single armed, rotating circuit board mount

The base of the mount is hollow and contains several springs. These springs are in place to

dampen possible vibrations that may occur while the lab tech is working on the circuit board. This

design feature minimizes any possible mistakes that may be caused by vibrations. The springs can

be purchased from McMaster-Carr. A pack of 12 springs that work with this design, part number

9657K92, costs $12.24 (McMaster-Carr). The springs are also a one time purchase for each base

printed. Alternatively, given the capabilities, the springs could also be additively manufactured.

The springs are attached inside the base by using a hook.

The mount itself is is composed of two main parts. The first arm, which is attached to the

base of the mount, is designed to rotate an entire 360°. This allows for complete mobility. The

arms are connected with pins, so the arms can easily be switched out to allow for varying lengths

of arms to fit the needs of the technician. The head is also interchangeable. These parts can rotate

up and down providing maximum mobility. Since the heads are interchangeable, each head can be

additively manufactured to fit the designated circuit boards. The mount can also be attached to a

table by using various types of clamps if needed.

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2.4 Concept 02: Bibracchium

Our second concept (Fig. 03) was designed with two identical, adjustable arms that

protrude up from the base.

Figure 03: “Bibracchium” a two armed circuit board holder

“Bibracchium” comes from the latin “bracchium,” meaning ‘arm’, and the prefix “bi-”

meaning ‘two’. The plate on the bottom of Concept 02 is mounted to the table at a lab

technician’s workstation. This design features two arms that each have four joints of rotation for

increased mobility. This allows lab technicians to move the circuit board up/down, left/right, and

twist it 360° about the horizontal axis. By moving the arms away from or towards each other, the

technician can work on a larger or smaller circuit board, respectively. This design does not

require anything to be printed for different sized circuit boards; it can be adjusted to fit almost

any circuit board.

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Originally this design was only given one arm and was similar to Concept 01. A second,

identical arm was added for stability. As seen in Figure 03 and Figure 04, it has two “L” shaped

pieces to hold the circuit board from two opposing corners. This allows the front and back of the

circuit board to be seen completely. The two arm design holds the board in place so that they

cannot slip out and provides a sturdy grip so the lab technicians can easily work on the circuit

board.

Figure 04: “Bibracchium” showing mobility.

2.5 Concept 03: Lotus Ball and Socket

This concept (Fig. 06) for the arm was based on Loc Line coolant tubes (Fig. 05), which

use a ball and socket joint to allow for flexibility ("Loc Line on Abrasive wheel," 2016).
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Figure 05, flexible Loc Line coolant tube on an abrasive cutting wheel

We designed the base to be small in order to occupy less space on the table, and it has

mounting holes for increased rigidity. This design is modular, because as many of the individual

ball and socket parts can be printed as needed. The ball is designed to fit into the claw-like socket

on the opposite end, and the Lotus head has a ball attached to the plate in order to attach it to the

arm (Fig. 06). The spherical nature of each joint compounds to allow the Lotus head to be

positioned in a continuous array of positions, and the sockets are friction fit so the head will stay

where it is placed.
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Figure 06: Concept 03 “The Lotus” with a Ball and Socket Arm

Additionally, the more ball and socket parts are added to the arm, the wider the range of

positions and the greater the adjustability of the arm itself. We designed the final construction to

be able to be disassembled, which allows for compact storage and modularity. One could design a

different interchangeable head for strangely shaped or sized circuit boards, and simply snap the

new head into place on an existing arm. This allows for more reusability and shorter printing times,

as opposed to printing an entirely new construction for each unique circuit board.

The third concept features four identical plates connected to a mount by sliding onto a

track. The plates are drawn together by a 7" x 1/16" rubber band that rests in a groove on each of

the plates. We had thought to use springs to create a force to draw the plate together onto the PCB,
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printed circuit board, but incorporating a spring into the head would make for an extremely

complicated print. Hence, we decided to incorporate rubber bands into the design, which create

the same tension as springs to make the head more easily adjustable. The Lotus (Fig. 07) is named

for its resemblance to a lotus flower.

Figure 07: “The Lotus,” an adjustable head for the mount.

The Lotus is designed to be additively manufactured with two separate prints. The four

plates shown are printed on their side, stacked against each other as part of the same print, while

the base is printed separately. The plates each have a groove in the bottom centered diagonally at

45 degrees from each of the sides of the plate. The base that holds the plates includes a T-shaped

rail which slides into a track on the plates. After printing all of the pieces, the plates can easily be

slid onto the track, which makes for a small assembly time. The T-shape of the tracks in the plates

and the rails on the base secure the pieces onto the base of the head, and allow for sliding into
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different positions (Fig. 08). This allows for adjustability to accommodate uniquely sized circuit

boards.

Figure 08: Top view of the plates of the Lotus in different positions

The four plates on the Lotus also feature a groove around the sides of each of the plates.

This groove is meant to host a 7" x 1/16" rubber band (Fig. 09). When the four plates are attached

to the base, the rubber band rests in the groove of two sides of each of the four plates. The tension

in the rubber band draws the plates toward the center of the base.

Figure 09: The 7" x 1/16" rubber band (white) resting in the grooves.
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The ball and socket part (Fig. 10) is designed to be additively manufactured. It has low

draft angles, which are the angles from the vertical, perpendicular to the build plate. Low draft

angles remove the need for support material that would otherwise be wasted in printing.

Additionally, it has a flat base, so support is not needed on the bottom of the part. The inner

curvature of the socket matches the curvature of the ball closely to allow friction to hold the

individual joints in place when they are positioned. The upper parts of the claw of the socket are

chamfered so that assembly is easier, and this feature increases the range of motion of each joint.

The cylindrical interface between the ball and the socket distance the socket from the top of the

sphere to allow for a larger range of motion.

Figure 10: Individual Ball and Socket

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The base plate (Fig. 11) was designed to have a small footprint on the table, and has mounting

holes to allow the plate to be attached securely to a table or wall.

Figure 11: Base plate with mounting holes and socket

2.6 Scoring Table

After reviewing each of the designs, the team assigned values of ±1 or zero to each of the

designs for each category in Table 03. These values were determined by an assessment of each

concept. A focus group determined whether each concept was better (+1) the same (0) or worse

than (-1) existing conditions, using the specifications and target values shown in Table 02. We

then multiplied each of the scores by the assigned weight from Table 01 and added the total scores

under the “Sum” column. The team chose to create the model with the highest sum, which was

Concept 03.
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Table 3. Concept Scoring.

Concept Adjustability Mobility Sleekness Simplicity Sum

Score Weight Score Weight Score Weight Score Weight

01 -1 .35 +1 .35 -1 .15 +1 .15 0

02 0 .35 -1 .35 -1 .15 +1 .15 -.35

03 +1 .35 +1 .35 +1 .15 -1 .15 .70

2.7 Summary

We collaborated to design three concepts for an adjustable hardware mount that was

intended to be additively manufactured. “The Router” is a single arm design with dampening

springs in the base to mitigate vibration. “Bibracchium” is a dual-armed mount designed to hold

two corners of a PCB, of many sizes. “The Lotus” uses a rubber band to tension four corner pieces

to hold a circuit board, mounted on a ball and socket arm for increased movability. We then scored

each concept according to their adjustability, movability, sleekness, and simplicity according to a

benchmark.

3 DATA ANALYSIS

3.1 Introduction

In this section, we will discuss our decision in choosing Concept 03, how we will test the

model, the means by which we will physically produce the model, and our predicted results.
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3.2 Presentation of Intervention Prototype

We concluded, based on the Concept Scoring Table (Table 03), that the third concept was

the best design to meet the needs of the client. It is extremely mobile, being positionable in all

three dimensions. The Lotus head allows for continuous adjustability and the four cornered design

allows for a tight grip on circuit boards of many different sizes and shapes. The base of the arm

includes four mounting holes, sized for ⅛ inch bolts, which allow the arm to be mounted to a table

or wall for increased stability.

Compared to the other concepts, Concept 03 satisfied the needs of the client the most. It

was more accommodating of unique sizes of PCB than either alternate concept, and the head was

able to be moved into more positions. It is vastly sleeker than current alternatives on the market,

barring some others that use a similar design to the ball and socket. Concept 03 has a continuously

adjustable head in conjunction with the ball and socket arm, which is not currently available on

the market. This concept is not as simple as the other concepts, leading to a longer 3D printing

time, however its modularity more than compensates for its complexity.

3.3 Proposed Testing Plan

After concluding that Concept 03 was the most effective concept due to the results of the

scoring shown in the Concept Scoring Table (Table 03), we devised a plan to test our concept. In

order to test our concept, we asked a group of electrical engineering students to test an additively

manufactured prototype of Concept 03. We asked them to rate adjustability of the head to fit a

different shape of circuit board, how movable the head was, and its sleekness.
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3.4 Proof of Technology

Our proposed intervention prototype was designed to be additively manufactured. It has

minimal draft angles and utilizes bridging, printing overhangs by connecting two parallel vertical

surfaces, to minimize the need for wasted support material. Additionally, the ball end of the ball

and socket part is flat at the base to provide adequate footing on the print bed to remain standing

for the entirety of the print. The individual parts of the head can be printed on end, side by side on

the same build plate all at once, which allows for a smaller setup time compared to setting up and

printing each part individually. Each part can be printed and immediately assembled without the

need for sanding, gluing, or removing support material.

3.5 Predicted Results

After allowing the electrical engineering students to use the prototype to work on a circuit

board for about an hour, they described the prototype as, “fluid, mobile, and easy-to-use.” While

using the prototype, the students worked on soldering, reflowing electrical components, cleaning,

and applying conformal coating. These are all processes that Lockheed Martin technicians are

required to perform, as shown in the introduction section of Appendix A.

3.6 Summary

In this section, we explained why we chose Concept 03, how we will test it, how we will

physically produce it, and our predicted results. Based on the Concept Scoring Table (Table 03),

we determined the Lotus meets the need of our clients the best. After creating a prototype of

Concept 03, we asked lab technicians to rate how easy it was to adjust the head to fit a different

circuit board, how movable the head was, and its sleekness. Our design was created to be easily

assembled after printing. The parts do not need to be glued, sanded, or have supporting material

removed after printing.

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4 CONCLUSIONS

4.1 Evaluation of Success

Our additively manufactured hardware mount was successful. Our design features an

inexpensive process to manufacture a hardware mount that is easily adjustable and extremely

mobile. Concept 03 exceeds the benchmark for the need of adjustability because the plates on the

head slide to accommodate different sized circuit boards. It also exceeds the benchmark for

mobility because the arm’s mobility is only limited by the surface it is attached to, which means it

will move at least 180 degrees in two dimensions. For the third dimension of rotation, the head is

able to rotate 360 degrees. Concept 03 fell under the benchmark for weight, so it received a score

of +1. This model did not meet the benchmark for an 12 hour long print because the arm alone

takes 8 hours to print, and the Lotus head takes 5 hours with the settings we used for the prototype.

These settings included guidelines for layer height, density, and printing speed. Because the

category that Concept 03 did not excel in had a low weight, it still scored higher than the other

concepts.

Further investigations could help improve our design. A filament that is designed to be

more flexible would dampen vibrations that are commonly found in factory settings. One example

of a material with this capability is NinjaFlex, which is made from thermoplastic polyurethane.

NinjaFlex is “68% better than PLA,” a plastic that is normally used to print, at resisting abrasion

(NinjaTek, 2016). NinjaFlex is also resistant to harsh chemicals that may be used in coating circuit

board chips. However, a notable drawback of NinjaFlex is its pricing, as it is four times more

expensive than PLA (NinjaTek, 2016).

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Another way to improve our current design would be to research the possibility of

synchronizing the motion of the plates on the track so that they all move at once. With this

improvement, a lab technician could use only one hand to adjust the plates to fit a circuit board

instead of two. With the simpler method for inserting and removing circuit boards, the time to

adjust the head of the mount would be reduced.

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5 REFERENCES

Engineering Lab Technician: Job Description, Duties and Requirements. (2010, November 6). In

Study.com. Retrieved from https://study.com/articles/Engineering_Lab_Technician_Job_

Description_Duties_and_Requirements.html

McMaster-Carr. Compression Spring: Music-Wire, Closed Ends, 2.188" Long, 0.59" OD, 0.51"

ID. In McMaster-Carr. Retrieved from https://www.mcmaster.com/#9657k92/=1cdpijl.

NinjaTek. (2016, July 7). NINJATEK: The Market Leading Flexible Filament. In NinjaTek.

Retrieved from https://ninjatek.com/products/filaments/ninjaflex/.

Loc Line on Abrasive wheel [Photograph found in Loc Line Applications, Lockwood Products

Inc.]. (2016, March 17). Retrieved from http://www.loc-line.com/applications/

Qureshi, Asim. (2015, October 20). 10 Best Soldering Fingers and Helping Hands. Retrieved

from http://wonderfulengineering.com/10-best-soldering-fingers-and-helping-hands/.
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6 APPENDIX A