1

NewtonsLogCutter

AinslieCampbell
AngusMorine
BethFaulkner
GerryPetrash
JamesLapido
DesignTeam: NewtonsLogCutter
ENGN3006,StrengthofMaterials
DepartmentofEngineering,DalhousieUniversity
Submittedto: Dr.PeterHavard
DepartmentofEngineering
DalhousieUniversity
March21,2014

2
Contents
Abstract 3
Introduction 4
DesignConcept 5
DataandMethods 6
EstimatedBudget 7
Discussion 7
Conclusions 9
References 10
3DSketches 1116
HandDrawnSketches 17~

3
Abstract
Thepurposeofthisdesignprojectistoaddresswaysinwhichahomeownermay
preparehisorherownfirewood:acommonpracticeinruralNovaScotiaandbeyond.The
processoftransforminglargelogsintomanageable,splitfirewoodisinarguablylaborintensive
andpotentiallydangerous.Onepersonwhoprepareshisownfirewoodwillhavetobendorstoop
overmanythousandsoftimes,wieldaheavychainsawandstackandrestackthesamepieces
ofwoodrepeatedly.Thewearandtearonthebodyisobvious,butthisstudywillattemptto
calculateandquantifytheamountofworkdoneandtocomeupwithsolutionstoreducethe
amountofenergyrequiredtoperformsuchatask.Thisstudyproposesatwofoldsolutionto
reducetheamountofenergyexpendedbyonepersonpreparinghisownfirewood:
1.manipulatethewoodatwaistlevelwithrampsandacustomdesignedtable
2.eliminatetheliftingofthechainsawbyboltingittoamovingstand
Theproposalincludesideasthatemploygravity,sincemanyofthelogsarealready
elevatedontopofalargepile.Wealsoadvocatetheuseofsomeinexpensiveofftherack
accessoriestofacilitatethetaskofmanhandlingthelogsandeliminatetheneedtoinventnew
tools.Toeliminatetherepetitivechainsawmovement,weconceptualizedadevicethatlooks
similartoalawnmower:achainsawisboltedtoakindofwheeledcartwiththebladeextending
verticallyupright.Thischainsawmowercanbepushedbackandforthrelativelyeasilywhilethe
logsremainstationaryonatable.
WeapproachedtheprojectbyusingasourcasestudythesituationofacertainDr.Peter
Havard,theavuncularStrengthofMaterialsinstructoratDalAC.Throughmeetingsandlectures,
welearnedthathiscurrentprocessinvolveshaving8cordsofuncutlogsdeliveredtohis
4
propertyonceayear.Hecutsthemhimselfwithachainsaw,splitsthemwithanelectricwood
splitterandstacksthem.Withthedataandanecdotalinformationthatheprovided,wewereable
tocomeupwithsomeideasonhowtoimproveonhiscurrentmethods.
Itcanbeconcludedthatourrethinkingofthewoodsplittingprocessbyusingstrategically
placedrampsandatableispossibleandworthtrying.Thechainsawmowerideaneedstobe
subjectedtoafarmorerigorousexaminationthancanbeprovidedhere.Itrepresentsamajor
designprojectinandofitselfandwouldrequiremanymanhoursjusttoproduceaworking
prototype.Itisnotlikelythatthisideawillmakeittothedrawingtableanytimesoon.
Introduction
Attheheartofourprojectisthefactthatweliveinoneofthecoldestcountriesinthe
world.Despitewhatanyonesaysorbelievesaboutclimatechange(akaglobalwarming),the
winterof201314hasbeencolderthanusual.TheEarthmaybeheatingup,butitisfartoosoon
tostopthinkingabouthowwearegoingtostaywarmduringthelongCanadianwinters.From
sealskinbootstoigloos,fromhitechsportsweartobuildinginsulationsystems,Canadian
engineers,designersandloversofthegreatoutdoorsarealwaysonthelookoutforinnovative
solutionstolivingcomfortably,safely,economicallyandsustainablyinsuchextremecold.
Canadianspridethemselvesonselfreliance,problemsolvingandacandopioneeringspiritand
whenitcomestohomeheating,manypeoplearenotsatisfiedwithburningoil.Providingones
ownfirewoodbyhandandwithhandheldmachines,isanattractive,albeitnonmainstream
alternativetoburningfossilfuels.
Thedesignobjectivesforthisresearcharetoreducestrainontheworkersbodyby
reducingthenumberoftimesneededtobendoverandpickupeachpieceofwoodandby
eliminatingtheneedtoliftthechainsawupanddownbyhand.Notonlywillthispotentially
5
decreasetheworkload,itwillalsobesaferduetothedecreaseinrepetitivetasksandthe
physicaldistancefromthechainsaw.
DesignConcept
Inordertomeetourobjectives,weproposethedesignoftwomaincomponents...
1.custombuiltwoodentable
2.custombuiltchainsawmower
...andthepurchaseofsomenewtools:
3.twoarchedaluminumloadingramps(USD180.00)
4.twoWoodchucklogmovertools(USD89.00)
5.twoHookaroonlogmovingtools(USD55.00)
Thetablehasthreegapsthatrunitsentirelength.Thechainsawbladecanmovethrough
thesegapsinordertocutthroughthelogswithoutinflictingmajordamagetothetableitself.
Thelogcuttingmachineresemblesalawnmower,butinsteadofaspinningbladeonthe
bottom,achainsawisboltedontopwithitsbladeprotrudingupwards.Thehandleofthe
machineisnotattachedtothebacklikeaconventionalmower,butrathertotheside.Thelegsof
thetablearebuilttoallowpassageofthecuttingmachine.
Hereisastepbystepguideonhowthesystemwouldbeimplemented.:
1. Thetableispositionedatoneendofthewoodpile.
2. Thesplitterispositionedattheendofthetablethatisoppositethewoodpile.
6
3. Theloadingrampsareinstalledbetweenthetableandthewoodpilebyjustsettingthem
inplace.Oneendoftherampsisconnectedtothetable.Theoppositeendrestsonthetopof
thewoodpile.
4. UsingtheHookaroons,theusercanpullthelogsandrollthemdowntherampandline
themuponthetable.Thetablewillsupportuptoabout4logsatatime.
5. Theuserstartsthechainsawandthenpushesitthroughonegaptheentirelengthofthe
tabletomakethefirstcutthroughallofthelogsonthetable.
6. Backupandpushtherigthroughthesecondgapandmakethesecondcutthrougheach
log.Thiswillreduceeachlogtofoursmallerlogs.
7. Switchoffthechainsaw,turnonthewoodsplitterandtransfereachlogdirectlytothe
splittertobesplitandthendropthemintoawaitingwheelbarrow.
8. Transportthesplitwoodtothestackingarea.
9. Reloadthetablewithanewloadoflogsandrepeattheprocessuntilcompletion.
DataandMethods
Wewilldenotehalfofthelengthandwidthforthetabletopasaandbrespectively(for
purposesofcalculations).Thesedistances,pairedwiththePythagoreanTheoremcanbeused
tocomputethedistancesfromthelegstothecenterofthetable,wheretheloadvectoris
locatedforthelogs.Notethatitdoesnotmatterifweinterchangeaandbourcalculations
willnotchange.Bytakingthesumofthetorquesaboutoneofthelegsasbeingequaltozero,
thefollowingequationcanbederived:F
leg
=(F)
logs
(a
2
+b
2
)

/(a+b+(a
2
+b
2
)

).
Normalstressinthetablelegswasalsoanalyzedandcalculatedusing:=F/A,whereF
istheaxialloadandAisthecrosssectionalareaofthetableleg.
7
Forbucklingofthelegs,theequation:P
cr
=
2
EI/KL
2
wasusedforthecriticalaxialload,
whereEisthemodulusofelasticity,Iisthemomentofinertiaoftheleg,Kisaconstant
correspondingtothetypeofbeamandListheleglength.
EstimatedBudget
WoodenFrameTable $300.00
Archedaluminumloadingramps $180.00
Woodchucklogmovertools(2) $89.00
Hookaroonlogmovingtools(2) $55.00
Chainsaw $250.00
ChainsawMower $500.00
TOTAL $1518.00
Discussion
Thedesignthatwedecideduponthroughaselectionofideasforasolutionoflessening
thestressonapersonsbackfromcuttinglogs,wasatablethatwouldallowacartwitha
chainsawtorollunderneathit.Thetablewasthemainfocusofthedesignconcept,sincethe
tablewouldbetheelementthatwouldelevatethelogs.Theelevationwouldpreventthebending
ofthebackwhichcouldharmtheworker.
Inordertoassessthetorquesinthetable,wefirstconsiderthetypeofloading.Thelogs
areadistributedloadwhoseresultantforceisatthemiddleofthetabletop(thecentroid).In
orderforthetabletoremaininequilibrium,thetorquevectorsaboutanypointmusthaveasum
8
ofzero.Theloadisinthecenterofthetable,meaningthattheloadsineachtablelegareequal.
NotethattheF
leg
variablerepresentstheforcerequiredinasingletableleg.
Theforceofthelogsisequaltoapproximately18000newtons.Thisequationcanbeusedto
sizeourtabletop.Wechoosealengthandwidthandrealizingthattheselectedvalues
correspondto2aand2bintheaboveequation,wedividethembytwotoputtheminour
equation.Theequationwillgeneratetheminimumforcerequiredineachlegforrotational
equilibriumofallpoints.
Thedesignofthetablebeganwithlegsneedingtobeabletoholdtheweightof1000lbin
compressionfromthelogsonthetable.Theareacalculatedforthelegswhentheywereunder
compressionwas1.7cm^2whichwasroundedto2cm^2.underfurtherinvestigationofthe
legs,thelegswereverysusceptibletobuckling.Sincethelegsatthissizewouldstartbuckling
withlessthanonesixthoftheweightthatwouldbeappliedfromtheweightofthelogsthatthe
tablewouldneedtohold.Thelegswouldhavetoberesizedtoatleastaareaoffivesquare
centimeters,whichwasdoubledforsafetyreasonsofpreventingheavylogsfromfallingand
causinginjury.
Ifwewantatablewithdimensionsof1.53meters,weput0.75and1.5intoour
equationtosolvetheminimumforceineachlegforrotationalequilibrium,whichisapproximately
3850newtons.Thisismuchlowerthanthecriticalloadingvalueof6700newtons.Wedidnot
needtocalculateasafetyfactor,sincethetablecaneasilyhandlesuchloads.
Theconstructionanddesignofthecartthatwouldmoveandholdthechainsawisavery
complexstructure,thatwouldneedtobeholdthetriggerandsafetyguardinposition,andhave
anemergencyshutofftriggersandbutton.Thedesignwouldalsoneedtoaccountfortheforce
ofpushingandpullingthecart,theweightofthechainsaw,andforcessuchascuttingthrough
thelogsandkickbackcausedbythesawbitingintothewoodtofar.Thesecalculationsarefar
9
beyondtheabilitiesofusatthistime.Anotherproblemwiththecartisfindingaviablewayto
pushorpullthecartsafelyunderthetable.Theattachmentwouldnotbeabletohaveahandle
likealawnmowersincethewouldonlybeasmallgapcreatedfromthechainsawthroughthe
logsanditcouldnotcomeoutthesideofthetablebecauseofthelegsofthetable.Pullingthe
cartwithacordisanotheroptionbutitcouldalsocausesafetyhazardssincethelogscouldroll
forwardorthecordcouldsnapifitbecamefrayedorwasntstrongenoughtowithstandthe
tensioncausedbythecart.Therearealsosafetyconcernswithhavingthechainsawpointing
straightupwithoutanythingtokeeppeoplefromknockingintoit,whichcouldcauseserious
injuryorevendeath.Itisevidentthatalotoffurtheranalysiswouldneedtobeplacedinthe
designofthecart,whichatthelevelweareatweareunabletodoatthistimeinourstudies.
Conclusions
Fromtheanalysisofthedesignofthetableitcanwithstandtheamountofweightneeded
toholdthelogs.Thelegsofthetableareabletowithstandtheforcethatputthelegsin
compression,butafterfurtheranalysisthelegshadtobemodifiedtokeepfrombuckling
underneaththeweight.Thedesignofthecartthatwouldholdthechainsawwasfarbeyondour
knowledgetocalculatetheforcestocorrectlydesignstructurethatwouldneedtosafelysupport
thechainsaw.Withouttheknowledgeaboutthecartitwashardtotellititwouldbeenoughforce
topullthecartwithacord,ortellifthatforcewouldmarkthecarttipover.Eventhoughmostof
thecomponentsofthedesignareacceptable,therearemorethingsthatcouldbeaddedtothe
componentstohelpwithsafetyfeatures.Toseeifthedesignisplausiblemoreworkand
calculationswouldneedtobedonewiththedesignofthecart.
10
References
Baileys.com,BaileysOutdoorWorkEquipment
CanadianCentreforOccupationalHealthandSafety
ForestrySafetySocietyofNovaScotia
Husqvarna:BuyingGuideforChainsaws
11
Sketches
Figure1:Generaldesignconcept
12
Figure2:Preliminaryidea:fixedinvertedchainsawwithadjustableramp
13
Figure3:Preliminaryidea:fixedinvertedchainsawonpermanentramp
14
Figure4:Preliminaryidea:guillotinelogcutter
15
Figure5:Preliminaryidea:tripleguillotinelogcutter
16
Figure6:Preliminaryidea:giantchainsawmountedonpickuptruck