Hang Dawgs
Introduction
A key part of every climber’s pack is a well-designed and affordable hangboard that promotes tendon health and reduces finger injuries. Our client, Matthew McCue, is starting a climbing gear business that manufactures portable hangboards. He has partnered with our team to design and create a compact assembly line to automate operations. Currently, it takes Matthew two hours to manufacture one hangboard while performing manual steps such as loading the machine with new material, securing the workpiece for machining, and dealing with sawdust. Having an automated process would reduce the labour required to produce a cost-effective product and increase repeatability by minimizing human error. Some of the challenges we had to overcome were effectively holding the workpiece in place during the high loading experienced during machining, keeping the manual tool changes to a minimum, and restarting the machining process once a new piece is in position. Our team has spent the semester working hard to create this solution that saves time, reduces manual operations, and eases the overall process.
Acknowledgements
The Hang Dawgs would like to thank Matthew McCue and the instructors at Camosun College and Innovates for their support and encouragement throughout the project. The skills and expertise that Imtehaze, Jesse, and Len brought were essential to the success of the project. We are excited to see climbers putting our designs to the test!
Team Members
Andres Salinas
(Documentation Lead)Andres, originally from Mexico, is a highly motivated individual with a strong interest in physics, engineering and mechatronic systems. He continued his education at Camosun College in 2024 where he acquired knowledge in mechanical engineering and reinforced his appreciation for automated systems. He recently discovered a passion for rock climbing and its community. This project combines his passion and interests allowing him to create an automated machine and apply his knowledge in areas such as pneumatics, electronics, programming, and manufacturing so that he can contribute to a community that he is part of. He continues to learn more about automation to improve systems that contribute to society.
Karson Corbin
(CAD Lead)Karson has always enjoyed building, fixing, and understanding how mechanical systems work. His passion for dirt bike racing and vehicles led to an interest in mechanics, manufacturing, and designing parts. Through the Mechanical Engineering Technology program at Camosun College, he has developed a strong interest in CAD, CNC machining, and automation. With his hands-on mechanical experience, this project has allowed him to use those skills while expanding his knowledge of pneumatic systems, control systems, and automated manufacturing processes. He looks forward to continuing to solve real-world engineering problems by combining practical experience with design.
Matthew McCue
(Accounting/Team Lead)Matthew grew up surrounded by woodworking projects, as large as building the deck wrapping around his childhood home and as small as spinning tops. This collided head on with his passion for rock climbing as nearly all training equipment is crafted from wood. Through the Mechanical Engineering Program, Matthew has learned to apply his CNC experience to manufacture high-quality gear. The project of automating the manufacturing process of rock climbing training equipment, specifically hangboards, into a compact assembly line checks every box for him. Matthew is beyond stoked to be able to make things for a community that has brought him so much joy.
Micah Luchetta
(Manufacturing Lead)Micah grew up in a remote community in the interior of B.C. with very limited building resources on hand. Still, he always found a way to build interesting things including squirrel suits and 500cc go karts. In the past year, Micah has developed a deep passion for rock climbing. This project neatly combines these two hobbies. He is excited to use different manufacturing processes such as CNC machining, 3-D printing and sheet metal work to automate a manufacturing process for rock climbing equipment. Micah has combined his hands-on experience and his education at Camosun College to integrate pneumatic, electronic, and mechanical systems. He is looking forward to seeing a part of the project being used at the crag.