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The Quality of Life Plus program presented SDSU Students with an opportunity to develop a Waveski Launcher for Mark. He desires a Waveski Launcher to be created and to be used independently to and from his vehicle and the beach. Mr. Thornton wishes for the device to be lightweight, able to be disassembled, and able to be used without any help from bystanders. A team of 5 students were presented with this 2 semester long task that entails designing and manufacturing the product. The solution to the problem statement is a Waveski Launcher that uses a Ratchet Lever System with Fat Bicycle Wheels driven by a Ratchet and Socket. A total of 18 requirements are presented for this project which are outlined in a System Requirements Document. Manufacturing of this device required more time than expected due to unexpected problems occurring and components needing to be reworked. The Quality of Life Plus program has provided $5000 for this project and the various parts used are shown in various CAD Models and a Bill of Materials. To ensure efficient completion of the project, a manufacturing and assembly plan has been followed closely.
Upon completing manufacturing and assembly, the device is fully operational and has been extensively tested by the team before handing it over to Mark. The team worked through scheduling issues, machine shop issues, and testing issues but ultimately we came up with a product that the customer is happy with. A large part of our success was due to constant communication with Mark. We had many phone calls and 5 in person meetings to show Mark our progress and to make design changes to suit his needs. Mark is very pleased with his new launcher and is so excited to get out surfing again. Our team will forever be grateful for the amazing opportunity provided to us by Quality of Life Plus and the San Diego State University Mechanical Engineering Department, and even more so the friendship we fostered with Mark.
