Thermocouple Welding Fixture
Level of Education of Students Involved
Undergraduate
Faculty Sponsor
Peter Krenzke
College
Engineering
Discipline(s)
Mechanical Engineering
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Symposium Date
4-27-2023
Abstract
We developed a fixture to enable welding thermocouples making the process more repeatable while simultaneously cleaning up the weld junction and allowing for different welding joints. Three fixtures were developed, each incorporates an auto-attaching electrical connection and bending apparatus to form the wire into the desired shape producing either a butt or ball weld. The final proposed design operates its arms using a sliding mechanism which actuates perpendicular to the wires body. This design provides good control over the location and bend of the thermocouple wire. It falls short in the easibility to insert the wire. An alternative design utilizes arms which pivot about the location where the individual uninsulated wires split from their jacket. This design bends the wire in a progressive manner providing the user with a larger tolerance in wire length as it can be pulled back to aid in the alignment process. Inconveniently, this design lacks the means to contain the wire within its vertical bounds. These plus other characteristics of the proposed designs have been rated in a Pugh Matrix to deduce which approach is best suited for this instrument.
Recommended Citation
Brannon, Ethan Edward, "Thermocouple Welding Fixture" (2023). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 1204.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/1204
