Performance Analysis of Motorized Object Lifting Toggle Jack

Abstract

This study seeks to develop a motorized car jack with maximum lifting capacity of 1.5 tons. The principle of the existing car jack was modified by making adjustments and using a prime mover which is the electric motor to control the lifting operation of the jack. The design incorporates an electric motor that is powered by a 12-volt battery of a small vehicle and the device is connected through a cigarette lighter adapter in the vehicle. The common challenge with the currently available car jacks on the market is that they are manually operated and need a substantial amount of physical effort is required to lift the vehicle. In this work, human effort was eliminated in raising the jack by the use of the torque generated by the motor as it rotates. The use of long cablings to control the motorized operation assists the jack to be safe to use as the operator can use the jack in a comfortable position and as far away from the vehicle as possible. The performances of the machine at different loads were calculated. The approximate values and graphical relationships were established. Using MS Excel. It was established that, the machine had efficiency of about 53%. The investigation revealed that the minimal efficiency was as a result of the great frictional forces between the screw and the threaded base required to be overcome as well as the capacity of the DC motor and gear system.