Murray Inc. Accelerates Product Development with IoT Solution
Technology Category
- Sensors - Haptic Sensors
Applicable Industries
- Electrical Grids
- Equipment & Machinery
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
Use Cases
- Outdoor Environmental Monitoring
- Virtual Prototyping & Product Testing
Services
- Testing & Certification
About The Customer
Murray Inc. is a global manufacturer of lawn, garden, and outdoor power equipment, including snowthrowers, lawn tractors, walk-behind mowers, gas-powered edgers, mini-cultivators, and high-wheel trimmers. The company, headquartered in Brentwood, TN, prides itself on offering products that provide consumers with the latest technology, greatest durability, and top designs for the money. Their products are powered by engines from Briggs & Stratton, the world’s largest producer of air-cooled gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment. One of Murray’s newest products is the Power 2 Steer, a heavy-duty snowthrower with a unique steering system.
The Challenge
Murray Inc., a global manufacturer of outdoor power equipment, was faced with a significant challenge. The company had a narrow window of opportunity to get its new product, the Power 2 Steer snowthrower, into production before losing business from one of its strategic snowthrower retailers. The Power 2 Steer featured a unique steering system that required a new clutch assembly, the effects of which on stress and deflection levels needed to be evaluated for various components and subsystems throughout the snowthrower. This included the drive shafts, bearings, subframe, and the sheetmetal main chassis. Designing these components for the necessary strength was critical to ensure adequate fatigue life of components without adding prohibitive cost and material. The tight product development schedule left no room for numerous physical prototype test cycles.
The Solution
To meet the production deadline, Murray turned to ITI Manta for engineering analysis of the structure and design of critical components and subsystems. ITI Manta, a business within product development consulting firm International TechneGroup Incorporated (ITI), used ANSYS Mechanical to determine von Mises stress and structural deflection in a simulation-driven design approach. This approach allowed flaws to be spotted, alternatives explored, and product performance refined early in the conceptual stage of development before detailed design was created and the first prototype built. Component designs were optimized based on minimizing stress and deflection levels, thus optimizing the target fatigue life. Hardware prototypes were then built to verify the design.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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