Michael Claiborne
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Hello, I am Michael Claiborne. I am currently pursuing a major in Materials Science and Engineering. I enjoy working with 3D printers, off roading and target shooting.
Interests
- Computers
- Open source
- 3D Printers
- Off roading
Experience
- I have built a Prusa i3 clone 3D printer from a kit.
- I have worked with an Open Source granulator
Enterprise
Semester 1 Fall 2018
Insulation Project Summary: For the insulation project I was tasked with taking construction waste from the Tober company and turn it into fireproof cellulose insulation. The waste was described to be drywall,scrap wood, and cardboard. The idea was to use the existing open source granulator to process the waste into cellulose fiber and then add chemicals to fireproof it. Throughout the semester issues arose with the project. There was a lack of communication with the sponsor company leaving the team with a lack of direction and with a lack of material to process. Because of this the semester was spent maintaining and upgrading the granulator in case of receiving material to process. Eventually some cardboard was ran through the granulator as a test with decent results. The cardboard was shredded into decent insulation material but it quickly clogged the machine. After that no further tests were done.
Granulator Project Personally I worked with the metal grates for the granulator which were made out of steel to protect the plastic grates underneath. The holes in the grates have material forced through them by steel blades. The size of the holes determined the size of material. I cut out the sheets of steel with an angle grinder after measuring out this size needed. I shaped the cut out sheets with a 3D printed die in the shape needed, a vice was used to shape the steel. Plastic grates with the same curve were 3D printed by Jacob Franz. I glued my steel grates to the plastic ones with JB Weld. I drilled holes in the the steel to match the holes in the plastic that the material would be forced through, the holes were drilled with a hand drill. The assembled grates were attached to the granulator with machine screws. A shop vacuum was attached to the outer end of the grate to pull out the material. I grounded the granulator to try to stop the granulated plastic sticking to the walls from the static. I tested and found that the granulator had a positive charge with a multimeter. So I drilled a hole in the metal body of the granulator with a hand drill. I tapped it with hand tools and added a screw with a wire soldered to it. Then attached the wire to the ground of the machines power cable.