A-Team
Group Members
Steven Reppond
Joe McVeigh
Matt Gibson
Sam Keener
Abstract
We are designing and constructing a Playground for a child suffering from dwarfism.
Introduction
This design must adhere to the mother's needs as well as safety standards. We also want to incorporate some of the child, Brianna's, favorite things.
She loves: bright colors, frogs, princesses, slides, swing sets, and many other activities. Her mother Trish Tompkins only had a few constraints for our design.
She requested that we design something that can be disassembled easily, she is buying a house soon and wants to be able to take the playground with her.
She also wanted us to design it to be smaller to meet her sizing needs. There is plenty of level space in her backyard for us to work with.
After taking note of all requests and requirements we will each draft a design implementing our personal ideas and we will use these designs
in a concept evaluation to determine the best option.
Design Specifications
- The design must meet all safety standards
- Easy to disassemble and reassemble
- Platforms cannot be greater than six feet above the ground
- Lots of yard space
- Must meet size constraints of child
Design Concepts
Since there a large range of playground designs we decided to draft four concepts and converse which one will be best for Brianna's needs.
Design Concept 1
Design Concept 2
This design concept was our groups favorite one. This design is would be easier for Trish to disassemble on her own when she needs to move.
The stairs and the swings will need to be shorter than normal to accommodate for Brianna's height. One of our main ideas for this design
is to incorporate a chalkboard for Brianna to draw on. We haven't mentioned until now but she is also deaf and mute, this chalkboard
will give her a good way to express herself. Brianna likes frogs, so were tried to incorporate a frog theme in this design. The right view
of this project shows just a basic example of what were going to try and do. Ideally we would like to design the overhang of the chalkboard
to look like a frogs head. we believe that there are no safety hazards with this design, however we will check in detail when we do our
Engineering design. The primary material for this design is Metal Piping.
Design Concept 3
In this design we tried to make the set simple and yet still maintain creativity. Brianna will have at least three swings for her and friends
as well as a slide. The slide will look like a frog's tongue coming out of his mouth considering frogs are her favorite creature. There
will be stairs leading into where she would enter for the slide. This design is simple and safe and we believe we can make it easily
transferable from one location to another. The primary material for this design is metal piping.
Design Concept 4
This design concept utilizes a playhouse for Briana as well as making a swing set and slide to attach to the side. the swing set in this design would require a third support in the middle to add support the weight of the tire swing as well as add a plate to avoid swinging into the other side of the swing set. The playhouse in this set up would be turned away from the swings to allow the rain to run off away from the swings. Finally, the inside of the playhouse would include a chalkboard, a table and chairs.
Concept Evaluation
When we evaluated our three designs we weighted the factors as the following: Safety 25%, Cost 25%, Transferability 20%, Creativity 15%,
and Difficulty to build 15%.
| Design # |
Cost |
Difficulty to build |
Transferability |
Safety |
Creativity |
Score |
| 1 |
5 |
5 |
8 |
8 |
9 |
6.95 |
| 2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
8 |
4.7 |
| 3 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
8 |
8 |
4.5 |
Final Design
Swing Set
After performing a cost analysis we decided to go with a pre designed swing set.
Sportime Triple Swing Frame
Specifications:
Strongest frame in its class. The extra-short top bar on this swing make it the strongest single frame available. The ultra durable frame is made from 2" O/D galvanized steel with nylon, swing bearings. Adaptable to suspend just about any swing accessory.
- 7 year manufacturer warranty
- Dimensions: 91"H x 130"W x 97"D
- Great for accessible swings helping children with disabilities
- Includes 12" ground stakes; swing set sits on top of the ground
- Holds up to 420 pounds; 140 pounds per suspension
Slide Platform
Slide
- This slide mounts easily to 4'6" - 5' platform
- Features speed and waves with a comforting scoop design
- 251 lbs. weight limit
- Lifetime warranty against cracking and breaking under normal use
- Meets and/or exceeds all ASTM requirements for safety (American Society of Testing Materials)
Chalkboard
Analysis
Describe the three types of analysis performed on the design. Use equations and schematics as needed.
We used the Public Playground Safety Handbook aid in our safety engineering analysis.
The safety analysis for playground safety, incorporates many aspects that play a role in the assurance of a safe design and use. Specifically for our design, we looked at aspects that insure that our overall design will be safe for use. With the help of the “Handbook for Public Playground Safety” we were able to back the aspects shown below.
- Attention to protrusions, sharp edges, snag points, and crush and shear points
- Assurance that all the equipment met the recommended age appropriate standards for equipment
- Assurance that equipment is made of materials that are suitable for playground construction use
- With the chalkboard paint application, the paint needed to be lead-free and safe for playground use
- The wood in design has to be naturally- rot and insect-resistant, or be already treated to avoid these damages from occurring
- To ensure that the playground is assembled correctly and safely (big aspect because of portability), an assembly manual must be made
- A secure anchoring is key for stable installation
- Attention to openings in the design that posed an issue of entrapment
- Analysis that the weights applied to the swing sets by the children using the equipment would not pose a threat of tipping (which is discussed in more detail by the Force analysis)
Analysis:
Safety Analysis
Force analysis
For our force analysis we calculated the force required to tip the swing set. The frame of the swing set holds up to 420 pounds; 140 pounds per suspension/swing. We set the weight, in one swing, at 130 pounds. After calculations we concluded that it would take about 209 pounds at a 15 degree angle, from the x-axis. We also included a stress versus life cycle curve. The steel we are using is 1010 or very similar. According to the curve we will stay well below the upper limit.
Cost Analysis
Our pricing list includes all resources that will be required for this project. At this point the costs will change due to fluctuation in the cost of the metal and the schools ability to get reduced pricing on metals. We also found that completely building the swing set was very inefficient and a prefabricated kit was actually much cheaper. And because of all of these factors our costs should only decrease since we overestimated with factors since we could not find simpler metals and only found high grade steel for tubing.
Bill of Materials
Calculations
