College of Engineering Unit:
Team 107 LTO Cartridge recycling is a Capstone group made up of four undergraduate mechanical engineering majors at Oregon State University. Linear Tape Open (LTO) is a data storage technology which utilizes magnetic tape and is most commonly disposed of using incineration. The project was completed in coordination with sponsor Iron Mountain Inc. and under the supervision of sponsor mentor Will Allen and faculty advisor Dr. Sarah Oman. Team 107 was tasked with demonstrating the viability of separating LTO cartridges in preparation for recycling. The sponsor desired a recyclable plastic recovery rate of 95% by weight with less than 5% contamination by weight. To achieve cartridge separation, four screws must be removed from the LTO cartridge. After testing various methods, it was determined screw removal via punch produced the most reliable results and least contamination. The team designed a punch plate assembly capable of simultaneously removing four screws using four separate punches fixed to a single punch plate. When mounted on a three ton arbor press, the punch plate assembly was capable of satisfying the desired recovery and contamination specifications. To better satisfy engineering specifications related to cartridge processing time and safety, a loading mechanism and steel frame horizontal punching mechanism were designed and constructed. Within the six month project timeline, the three subassemblies were not fully integrated, yet all client engineering specifications were satisfied. Thus, in addition to the success as a standalone project, a strong foundation for subsequent groups has been set forth.
Industry Sponsor(s):
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 plate_sub-assembly.pdf | 236.45 KB |
| mime.107.poster_0.pdf | 1.23 MB |