INDIAN INSTITUTION OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING IIIE
DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF POWER
SCISSOR JACK
PRESENTED BY
[Link] KASAR
Page 1 of 23
ABSTRACT
A Scissor Jack is a mechanical device used to easily lift a vehicle off the ground, to gain access to sections
underneath vehicles or to change the wheel. The most important fact of a jack is that it gives the user a
mechanical advantage by changing the rotational force on power screw into linear motion, allowing user to
lift a heavy car to the required height.
It is called a scissor jack as the structure consists of diagonal metal components that expand and contract in
the same way as a pair of scissors.
In this project an attempt has been made to design and fabricate a power scissor jack to lift and support a load
of 4.5kN, for typical use in four wheelers. The entire work has been divided into eight chapters.
Problem Statement
Available jacks present difficulties for the elderly people and women and are especially disadvantageous under
adverse weather conditions. Presently available jacks further require the operator to remain in prolonged bent or
squatting position to operate the jack which is not ergonomic to human body. It will give physical problems in
course of time. Moreover, the safety features are also not enough for operator to operate the present jack.
Furthermore, available jacks are typically large, heavy and also difficult to store, transport, carry or move into
the proper position under an automobile. The purpose of this project is to overcome these problems. An electric
car jack which has a frame type of design by using electricity from the car will be developed. Operator only
needs to press the button from the controller without working in a bent or squatting position for a long period of
time to change the tire.
Objectives
1. To design a power scissor jack which is safe and reliable to raise and lower the load easily.
2. Use of double start square thread in power screw.
3. Pins in bearings.
4. To fabricate the prototype of a scissor jack which is operated by a gun powered by the car battery.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Scissor jacks are mechanical devices and have been in use since 1930s. A scissor jack is a device constructed with
a cross-hatch mechanism, much like a scissor, to lift up a vehicle for repair. It typically works in a vertical
manner. The jack opens and folds closed, applying pressure to the bottom supports along the crossed pattern to
move the lift. When closed, they have a diamond shape. Scissor jacks are simple mechanisms used to handle large
loads over short distances. The power screw design of a common scissor jack reduces the amount of force
required by the user to drive the mechanism. Most scissor jacks are similar in design, consisting of four main
members driven by a power screw [7] [9].
When this crank is turned, the screw turns, and this raises the jack. The screw acts like a gear mechanism. It has
teeth (the screw thread), which turn and move the two arms, producing work. Just by turning this screw thread, the
scissor jack can lift a vehicle that is several thousand pounds. A scissor jack has four main pieces of metal and two
base ends. The four metal pieces are all connected at the corners with a bolt that allows the corners to swivel. A
screw thread runs across this assembly and through the corners. When opened, the four metal arms contract
together, coming together at the middle, raising the jack.
When closed, the arms spread back apart and the jack closes or flattens out again. A scissor jack uses a simple
gear drive to get its power. As the screw section is turned, two ends of the jack move closer together. Because
the gears of the screw are pushing up the arms, the amount of force being applied is multiplied. It takes a very
small amount of force to turn the crank handle, yet that action causes the brace arms to slide across and
together. As this happens the arms extend upward. The car's gravitational weight is not enough to prevent the
jack from opening or to stop the screw from turning, since it is not applying force directly to it. If a person
applies pressure directly on the crank, or lean his weight against the crank, the person would not be able to
turn it, even though his weight is a small percentage of the cars
DATA COLLECTION
The main applications of power screws are as follows:
1. To raise the load, e.g. screw-jack, scissor jack,
2. To obtain accurate motion in machining operations, e.g. lead-screw of lathe,
3. To clamp a work piece, e.g. vice, and
4. To load a specimen, e.g. universal testing machine.
There are three essential parts of a power screw i.e., screw, nut and a part to hold either the screw or the nut in its
place. Depending upon the holding arrangement, power screws operate in two different ways. In some cases, the
screw rotates in its bearing, while the nut has axial motion. The lead screw of the lathe is an example of this
category. In other applications, the nut is kept stationary and the screw moves in axial direction. Screw-jack and
machine vice are the examples of this category.
Nomenclature of Square Thread
ACME Thread
There is a special type of thread called acme thread as shown
in Fig 5.3. Trapezoidal and acme threads are identical in all
respects except the thread angle. In acme thread, the thread
angle is 29° instead of 30°.The relative advantages and
disadvantages of acme threads are same as those of
trapezoidal threads. There is another type of thread called
buttress thread. It combines the advantages of square and
trapezoidal threads. Buttress threads are used where heavy
axial force acts along the screw axis in one direction only.
ACME thread
Pitch: The pitch is defined as the distance, measured parallel to
the axis of the screw, from a point on one thread to the
corresponding point on the adjacent thread. It is denoted by the
letter ‘p’.
5.6.2 Lead: The lead is defined as the distance, measured parallel
to the axis of the screw that the nut will advance in one
revolution of the screw. It is denoted by the letter ‘L’. For a
single-threaded screw, the lead is same as the pitch, for a double-
threaded screw, the lead is twice that of the pitch, and so on.
5.6.3 Nominal diameter: It is the largest diameter of the screw. It
is also called major diameter. It is denoted by the letter ‘do’.
5.6.4 Core diameter: It is the smallest diameter of the screw
Nomenclature of a Power Screw thread. It is also called minor
diameter. It is denoted by the letters ‘dc’.
DESIGN & ANALYSIS
The weight of the car is considered as 1.5 ton. The weight
acting on front and rear axle is 60% and 40% of total weight
respectively, hence the weight acting on front axle i.e.; 900
kg is considered for designing the jack. A weight of 450 kg
acts on each wheel. And the maximum load on screw act
when jack is at its lowest position. We assumed the thread on
screw be a Double Start Square thread and coefficient of
friction between threads is 0.20.
6.3 Design Calculations
Length of each arm = L1 =L2 =L3 =L4 =160mm Length of the power screw = (w1+w2+w3) = 350mm w1 =
w3 = 150 mm
w2 = 50 mm
Maximum lift of the jack = (h1+h2) = 300 mm
is the angle made by link with horizontal when jack is at its lowest position.
cos () = (175-25)/160 = 20.36˚
W = (load * g) = (450*10) = 4500 N = 4.5 kN
The tension T acting on the power screw is shown in the above Fig 4.1.
Tension, T = W/2*tan ()
Total tension = 2*T = W/tan ()
For a power screw under tension we can take t = 124 N/mm2 for mild steel Let dc be the core diameter of the
screw. But load on the screw is
Load = (π/4)* dc2 * t
2*T = W/tan () = (π/4)* dc2 * t
2*T = 4.5 kN/tan (20.36˚) = 12123.44 N
dc2 = (W/tan ())*(4/ (π* t))
Hence, dc = 11.34 mm
Since the screw is subjected to torsional shear stress we adopt, dc = 14 mm Taking pitch, P = 2 mm
Outer diameter, do = dc + P = (14+2) = 16 mm Mean diameter, d = do – P/2 = 16-2/2 = 15 mm Check for self-locking
tan () = Lead/π*d; = helix angle
Lead L = 2*P; since the screw has a double start square thread.
tan () = 2*p/π*d = 2*2/ π*15 = 0.084
Helix angle; = 4.85˚
Coefficient of friction; μ = tan () = 0.20; friction angle; = 11.3˚
RECOMMENDATIONS
Power Screw
A circular rod was turned to the required dimensions in a
lathe machine and then we have adjusted the lathe machine
in order to obtain external square threads and thus the
external square threads of required dimensions
Trunions
A circular rod was drilled to form a through hole. Then the
hole has been finished to form internal square threads
corresponding to the external threads of the power screw so
that the internal square threads of the trunions mate with the
external threads of the power screw
Top and Bottom Plates
The left out pieces of the channel sections of the arms have
been used for the top plate and then holes were drilled to the
plate for fasteners connecting top plate and the arms. The top
plate is fabricated in order to act as a loading platform as
shown on the Fig 7.4.
The bottom plate was fabricated by welding two L-angles so
that the bottom arms fit into the bottom plate. The bottom
plate is fabricated in order to obtain maximum stability to
the Power Scissor Jack.
RESULT
In this project a prototype of power scissor jack which can be operated by a power gun has been
designed and fabricated. The jack has been designed to a pay load of 4.5kN. The salient features of
the present fabrication are elimination of human effort to operate the jack, through a simple
electrical device which can be actuated by a 12 V battery and provision of a light source to facilitate
convenient operation during night time. All the elements of the jack are fabricated in the machine
shop. The assembly of the component can be achieved in 100 minutes. Another feature of the unit is
provision of two trunions on both the sides of the jack to ensure jerk free operation. The elements
which are useful are readily available commercially for each and early replacement of failed
components if required.
Scope for future work
As a development the web part of the arms can be replaced by stiffening ribs to reduce the overall
weight the top and base plates can be made foldable to make the unit more compact. Permanently
mounted jacks on the vehicle can be developed so that tire change can be completely automated.
References
[1] [Link]
[2] RS Khurmi, A text book of Machine Design, Eurasia publishing house
[3] [Link]/hub/The-Hydraulic-Jack
[4][Link]/downloads/Design%20Guides/PJLMPT-02/S1-Screw-Jacks [Link]
[5] [Link]/EJAESR-vol1-iss4/[Link]
[6] INPRESSCO-GERNAL ARTICLE; E-ISSN2277-4106, AUTOMATED CAR JACK.
[7] [Link]/6167889/Modification_of_the_Existing_Design_of_a_Car_Jack.
[8] [Link] [9][Link]
2012-1-4-167- [Link]
[10] [Link]
[11] [Link]
Devices+[Link]
[12] Design and fabrication of motorized automated object lifting jack; [Link] (e):2250-3021.
[13] [Link]
[14] Module 7 Screw threads and Gear Manufacturing Methods, [Link]
[15] IOSR Journal of