Design and fabrication of an automated paper punching machine

Abstract

There is a lot of paper that needs to be arranged into files and folders in various institutions,offices and industries. For this to be achieved, holes have to be made in paper using a punching machine. Employees in most offices and institutions usually share manual paper punching machines. Automated paper punching machines are a solution but existing brands are too costly for the working class in this nation. Paper punching is a tedious task and requires a lot of human effort. This leads to a lot of fatigue among the workers especially those working in the paper centric departments of institutions and offices. Punching multiple papers at a time requires a lot of energy as well as time when done manually. Plus the existing automated paper punching machines are too costly to attain. The existing automated paper punching machines can be commonly found in high end offices and industries that manufacture stationery such as calendars and notebooks. Surveys were carried out to get a better understanding of the problem at hand and the data collected was analysed to establish the machine's specifications. From there a preliminary and detailed design was determined through the concepts generated, material selection and SolidWorks virtual prototypes created. Construction and testing of the machine followed suit. This was mainly done in Room A029, Aryan hostel with consultation and help from other workshops and professionals in Engineering. The machine fabricated could initially carry out the punching operation automatically without the need for a lot of human effort and the final prototype was constructed at a cost far below that of already existing automated punching machines on the market. After continuous testing and operation, certain components of the machine gave way to failure due to exposure to stresses and forces over time. The machine also fell short on the second functionality of making multiple holes for binding purposes. This was because the punching space of the manual punching machine installed was not sufficient to allow proper intermittent motion of the paper. Possible solutions for the shortcomings of the machine include extensive research and calculations on the forces and stresses that affect the various components of the machine over time; and the installation of a proper manual paper punching machine with adequate tool spacing.