Above is an assembly view of our pill crusher with the cover removed. This provides a view of the internal assembly of our design. The battery powered palm nailer utilizes a compound lever and a pounding force to crush the pills. This will produce a fine powder, as well as reduce the amount of injuries in the workplace normally associated with manual pill crushers.

The Senior Capstone experience encases all of the knowledge Mechanical Engineering Technology students have obtained over their progression through the program.

The purpose of this year’s senior capstone project is to improve and modify a pill crusher to better accommodate nurses. This project was brought to the class’s attention by a nurse employed at Westgate Manor in Bangor, Maine. The goals of the project are to eliminate problems with current pill crushers such as:

· Repeated motion leading to fatigue.

· Injuries obtained from repeated use.

· Work loss due to injury.

· Level of noise due to use.

· Inefficiency of use; time, and crushing.

 

Designed by: Andrew Finer

Email: Andrew.Finer@umit.maine.edu    

RED TEAM

The Pill Punisher

2011

Capstone

MET                                                                                                                                                    

Senior

Shown from left to right: Joseph Micucci,

Rupert White, Lawrence Pelletier,

Michael McGovern, Andrew Finer, Ryan Keezer