Tools sorting method for 5S

In workshops and production lines we always need to sort our hand and power tools and keep them in fixed places to reach them quickly and easily without wasting time and effort in looking for them and this what is called 5S: Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. The following are some concepts showing how to allocate a fixed place for each tool.

First of all, imagine that we have two pieces of tools or objects like in the image below.

The first method is to use a foam insert or a vacuum-formed plastic inserts. This method is the best as it provides good fixing and cushioning for tools.

The second method is to make a monochromatic color shadow for objects with high contrast (white board and black shadow). This shadow board is easy to recognize from far distances.

The third method is to make a thick outer contour lines for objects. 

The forth method is to print colored pictures for objects, so the objects will be placed on their pictures. Pictures may be 1:1 scale, or may be a reduced or enlarged scale. It is preferred to have a picture with an orthogonal view for the object as it will be viewed on the board.

The fifth method is to use name labels only, so tools will be placed above or under their labels. This method is the worst method to use for sorting tools specially if a tool has more than one name, or if there are different tools having the same name but different sizes (like wrenches, screw drivers, drill bits,... etc).  

The sixth method is stick labels on both tools and board. Each label will have a unique code.

Method number 7 is to use samples or demos. This method is almost used with consumable objects like tubes, hoses, tapes, screws, paints, electric terminals, wires, cables, plugs, blades, drill bits, ...etc. For example, in case of adhesive tapes, you can cut a small square piece of each tape and paste it on the board. 

Notice that more than one of these methods can be used at the same time. 

"CoolProp" fluid thermodynamic properties Excel add-in

After searching over the internet for "Engineering Equation Solver EES package for Excel", I came through some other alternatives for Engineering Equations Solver thermodynamic properties calculator:

RefProp: Open source (free)

CoolProp: Open source (free)

XProps: Commercial package

1. CoolProp

Download the package (zipped file) from the following link

http://sourceforge.net/projects/coolprop/files/CoolProp/

1.1. Installation in Excel:

Unpack the zip file you downloaded to any folder on your hard disk "New folder"

Open "New folder\dist_temp\windows_superpack\Excel and DLL" and copy its contents

Create a folder in your partition C: "C:\CoolProp". It should be placed in C: partition even if it is not your system (default) partition.

Paste the copied files to the folder "CoolProp" you have created

Copy CoolProp.xlam to the default directory of Excel add-ins. To know the default directory of Excel add-ins in your PC, just create a new book and save it as Excel add-in file (*.xlam). Copy the address and discard saving this file.

Open Excel options and select add-Ins

Press "Go..." button shown highlighted by the red box in the image above and you will get a window like below. Check the "CoolProp" add-In so it will be automatically loaded each time you open excel.

It is done...

This is a demo after installation of add-in (see equation in equation bar). You can use cell references instead of direct values for sure.

and this is a snapshot after I have implemented this add-in in my Ref Analysis add-in

1.2. Comparison with EES:

1.2.1 Fluid properties

For real fluids the following are the available properties in EES and CoolProp (units displayed are as displayed in EES):

Property name	EES	CoolProp
Accentric factor	●	●
Conductivity [W/m.K]	●	●
Cp [kJ/kg.K]	●	●
Cv [kJ/kg.K]	●	●
Density [kg/m3]	●	●
Dipole [debye]	●
Ek_Lj [K]	●
Enthalpy [kJ/kg.K]	●	●
Entropy [kJ/kg.K]	●	●
Fugacity [kPa]	●
IntEnergy [kJ/kg]	●	●
isIdealGas [-]	●
MolarMass [kg/kmol]	●	●
P_crit [kPa]	●	●
P_sat [kPa]	●	●
Phase$	●
Prandtl [-]	●
Pressure [kPa]	●	●
Quality [-]	●	●
Sigma_LJ [m]	●
SoundSpeed [m/s]	●	●
SpecHeat [kJ/kg.K]	●	●
SurfaceTension [N/m]	●	●
T_crit [C]	●	●
T_triple [C]	●	●
Temperature [C]	●	●
V_crit [m3/kg]	●	●
Viscosity [kg/m.s]	●	●
VolExpCoef [1/K]	●
Volume [m3/kg]	●

1.2.2 Reference state

The reference state used in CoolProp is International Institute of Refrigeration IIR reference which assumes that the specific enthalpy of saturated liquid fluid Q=0 at 0 C equals 200 kJ/kg and the specific entropy at the same conditions equals 1 kJ/kg.K . From the other side EES uses three reference states IIR, Normal Boiling Point NBP, and ASHRAE, but they can be manually-correlated by adding constants in CoolProp.

1.2.3 Properties abbreviations (names) in CoolProp

Property name	Properties CoolProp codes
Accentric factor	w
Thermal conductivity	L
Cp	C
Cv	O
Density	D
Specific enthalpy	H
Specific entropy	S
Internal energy	U
Molar mass	molemass
Critical pressure	pcrit
Pressure	P
Quality	Q
Sound speed	A
Gibbs function	G
Surface tension	I
Critical temperature	Tcrit
Triple temperature	Ttriple
Triple pressure	ptriple
Minimum temperature	Tmin
Ozone depletion potential	ODP
Temperature	T
Dynamic Viscosity	V

Later, I will update this post and illustrate the notations, units.

Hyundai Verna 2013 accessories fuse box

I was looking for the maximum current of cigarette lighter to use it to power a DC-powered device, so I decided to draw it and share it with others. 

Things that help you decide when to dispose a component or part

For engineers who have workshops in their homes or interested in DIY projects, the following is a survey to decide which component you have to dispose and which you have to keep and store.

This is a copy from an Excel sheet implementing this survey. After finishing this survey, you will be able to decide if you have to dispose the part or not:

Question	Answer	Considered answer	Point
Do you think you can use this part later?		Yes	0
Do you think this part may inspire you in your design? Car designers for example may be inspired by an old electric iron		Yes	0
Do you do lots of DIY projects?		Yes	0
Does this part contain toxic materials?		No	0
Does this part have flammable or explosive gases inside?		No	0
Is this part or component is a standard part		No	0
Do you have a CAD drawing for it?		No	0
Do you plan to draw a CAD model for it?		Yes	0
Is this part difficult to draw in CAD program using the simple measurement tools?		Yes	0
Do you have enough descriptive pictures for this part?		No	0
Do you the price of this part or component?		No	0
Did you get this part or component out from an expensive device, machine, …?		Yes	0
Is its material unique, rare, expensive, difficult to get easily?		Yes	0
Does this part have some unique physical or chemical properties? e.g. High hardness, unique color, low curie temperature, very high thermal conductivity, high transmitivity for certain wave length,… etc.?		Yes	0
Do you plan to make some destructive testing on it, so you need as many pieces as you can collect?		Yes	0
Did you finish all required tests on this component and documented them?		No	0
Is it rust-resistant?		Yes	0
Is this part available in your country? (or have you to buy it from other country)		No	0
Do you know its both commercial and scientific names, so you can search later for it on internet?		No	0
Does it have any label, name plate, model, serial, bar-cade, QR code, …?		No
Do you know its material? If no, so you have to keep it till you know its material		No	0
Is this part an extruded profile, so you can cut it and keep a small sample for the profile section		Yes	0
Will this part age with time, so it will loose its critical properties?		No	0
Is this part old, so it is no more produced nowadays?		Yes	0
Does this part have a small size?		Yes	0
Does this part have a regular shape so it can be stacked if you have many of it?		Yes	0
Is this part easy to clean?		Yes	0
Is this part easy to make in local workshops?		No	0
Is this part cheap to make in local workshops?		No
Do one or more of your friends have this part?		No	0
Do one or more of your friends know what is this part?		No	0
Did you produced this part, so you want to keep it for memory?		Yes	0
Do you know the full specifications of this part?		No	0
Do you know the contact information of the supplier or manufacturer producing this part? Do you have any chance to know?		No	0
Do you know how did you get or find this part?		No	0
Do you remember when did you get this part?		No	0
Does this part have a very nice or visual-pleasant cosmetic shape?		Yes	0
Is this part manufactured by a non-traditional manufacturing technique like 3d printing, CNC machining, ….?		Yes	0
Is this part is a fully-functional-prototype?		Yes	0
Is this part a mock-up?		Yes	0
Was this component a part in assembly? Does it have a potential to be assembled into new assembly design?		Yes	0
Is this part manufactured in your country?		No	0
Is this part manufactured in mass-production?		No	0
Is this part or component sortable or can it be stored in place that you can reach easily?		Yes	0
			0
			0
			0
			0
			0
			0
			0
			0
			0
			0
			0
			0
Total percentage	#DIV/0!