SME 3252

Mechatronics
Automated
retractable cloth
hanger
1

Group Members
CHRISTOPHER MAH HEEN MENG
ADRIAN WONG YIT FUNG
PUVENTHIRAN A/L VELOO
THILLAI MUGILAN A/L THALLAI MUTHU

Problem Statement
Cloth being getting wet when the
weather suddenly changes from a hot
sunny day and starts raining
No proper device to keep the dried
cloth back into the house automatically
when the people at home goes to work.

PROPOSED DESIGN

Full Isometric View

Product size estimation

1
m

1.5m
0.5m

Material specification
Mechanical
PropertiesofAluminum
Aluminum can be severely deformed

without failure. This allows

aluminum to be formed by rolling,
extruding, drawing, machining and
other mechanical processes. It can
also be cast to a high tolerance.

Alloying, cold working and heattreating can all be utilised to tailor

the properties of aluminum.
The tensile strength of pure
aluminumis around 90 MPa but this
can be increased to over 690 MPa
for some heat-treatable alloys.

Corrosion
ResistanceofAl
uminum
When exposed to air, a layer

of aluminum oxide forms

almost instantaneously on
the surface of aluminum.
This layer has excellent
resistance to corrosion. It is
fairly resistant to most acids
but less resistant to alkalis

Body casting

Basic Material used Aluminum

MOTOR
DESIGN

DC power brushless motor ADLEEPOWER

Model BM-370
TORQUE (GEAR MOTOR)
: 40 kg-cm
SPEED
: 100 3500rpm
POWER SOURCE
: 240V AC Power supply

11

SPECIFICATION OF
MOTOR

Is used to drive the rack with estimated

maximum loads of 10kg.

Advantages
Capable to produce high torque

maximum loads that can be lifted 15kg

Overload protection by self-locking

Safety switch installed

Can rotate forward / reverse
Fault LED lighted when error occurs

Actuator
Due to the unpredictable weather, we must

have an actuation system that can extend the

clothes rack out of the window to dry it, and
retract the rack when it rains to ensure
clothes remain dry and odor free.
Types of actuator:
Rack and pinion
Double acting pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder
Solenoid

Actuator

Advantages

Rack and Pinion

Double acting
pneumatic or
hydraulic cylinder

Disadvantages

Simple assembly
Quiet and
controllable
operation
Easy maintenance

Fast operation

Solenoid

Fast and quite

operation

Depending on
motor, extension
and retraction
may be slow.

Noisy operation
due to the need
of a pump.
High cost and
maintenance.
Extension and
retraction rate is
very difficult to
control, will result
in shock.

 The basic operating principle of a rack and pinion actuator system is

a type of linear actuator that comprises a pair of gears which
convert rotational motion into linear motion.
The circular pinion engages teeth on a linear "gear" barthe rack.
Rotational motion applied to the pinion will cause the rack to move
to the side, up to the limit of its travel.

Flowchart

HOW IT WORKS?
Programmed
Programmed
microcontroll
microcontroll
er
er instructs
instructs
the
the motor
motor

The
The rack
rack
retracts
retracts back
back
to
to its
its original
original
place.
place.

Programmed
Programmed
microcontroll
microcontroll
er
er instructs
instructs
motor
motor to
to
rotate
rotate
opposite
opposite
direction
direction

The
The rack
rack is
is
moved
moved by
by
the
the gear
gear and
and
move
move
forward
forward

when
when rain,
rain,
rain
sensor
rain sensor
sends
sends signal
signal
to
to
programmed
programmed
microcontroll
microcontroll
er
er

MICROCONTROLLE
R
Function of microcontroller
To control movement of the rack
correspondents with the sensors
The power supply is a separate power source

and DO NOT SHARE the same power supply

with other components to avoid damage.

18

SENSORS

Rain detection
Due to the ever- changing weather of Malaysia, it often rains daily

but it is also sunny a times. Nowadays people usually work on a 9

to 5 basis, leaving very little time for them to able to manage their
wet laundry.
Sunlight not only dries wet laundry, it also acts as an anti-bacterial
agent, killing germs from the laundry and eliminating odor which is
caused by indoor drying, which most people now do due to their
busy working schedules.
To solve this problem, we must have a sensor which can give
information to the microcontroller about rain, enabling the clothes
rack to automatically extend outwards when it is not raining, and
automatically retract when it starts to rain, keeping the clothes dry
and odor free.
This sensor would be mounted outside the window on a rod for it to
constantly detect rain.

When deciding on which type of sensor to

choose, we took into consideration these 3

sensors.
Light intensity sensors
Humidity sensors
Rain sensors

Sensor
Light intensity

Advantages
Able to detect
sunlight

Humidity

Able to detect
moisture

Rain

Protect clothes
from rain.

Disadvantages
Unable to
comprehend
situations when
rains occurs
during hot sun.
Unable to
comprehend
situations when
sunlight is strong
and humidity
level is high
Unable to detect
light intensity of
sunlight.

Due to the device purpose of protecting clothes

from rain, inevitable we have to choose the rain

sensor.
The basic operation principle of a rain sensor. It
works by reflecting harmonious light beams
within a transparent surface.
When raindrops fall onto the sensor area of the
transparent surface, this harmony is disturbed,
creating a drop in the light beam intensity.
The sensor than sends a signal that notifies the
microprocessor of the detection of rain.

The sensor used is the Hydreon Rain Gage

RG-11. The key features of this sensor is

that it is very compact, therefore it can be
easily mounted without space constraints.
Apart from that, is is also extremely

sensitive due to its The sophisticated

circuitry and DSP algorithms count and
totalize individual raindrops, meaning that
when the first raindrop is detected, it can be
setup so that the rack retracts immediately.
Its ability to run on both AC or DC is much

welcomed as this can eliminate the need for

a AC-DC converter or DC-AC inverter.
The construction of the RG-11 is designed

to be maintenance free as the round sensing

surface is self cleaned and there are no
openings for pest infestation on it, making it
a long lasting product.

Displacement detection
The rack automatically retracts and extends. Due to this,

it is important that the microcontroller can determine the

position of the rack to set the drying mode or loading
mode. The rack will only have 2 positions, that is:
Position 0 = fully retracted
Position 1 = fully extended

By using this sensors, not only does it enables the

microcontroller to control the extension and retraction of

the rack, the actuator components lifespan maybe
prolonged as this will reduce wear and tear to the gears
and motor itself due to the actuators not stopping at the
designated positions.

There are quite a number of sensors that can

detect displacement, which can translate into

a the positioning of the rack, and these were
the ones that were taken into consideration.
Potentiometer
Capacitive displacement sensor
Differential displacement sensor (LVDT)
Optical encoder
Proximity Switches

Based on the design suitability, the potentiometer and

differential displacement sensor require special mountings

to be mounted on the rack, which is a design constraint.
Whereas the Capacitive displacement sensor, optical
decoder and proximity switches can be readily mounted
on the rack. Due to price constraints however, the
proximity switch was chosen as it represents the most
cost efficient.
The principle to use the proximity switch is to mount 2
microswitches on each end of the support column. When
the rack touches one of the microswithes, a signal will be
sent to the actuator to stop.

The microswitch used is the MICRO SWITCH

BSSM-001 by SPK ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Specifications wise, the microswitch fulfills all
requirements.

Discussion
The hanger which is produces can be used in a
larger scale. For many company which are doing
laundry service they can use our product in a larger
scale. This would definitely save their money then
hiring people to collect and take care of the cloth .
Since Malaysia is known for their hot and cold
weather this product would really be very use full
to those who has to go for work after drying their
cloth.

Conclusion
The automated retractable cloth hanger would

be a first step into moving into a more

advanced lifestyle.
The use of mechatronics will further develop
in our life and make our life easier
This would also save money for those who
would use it for the purpose on business.