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Abstract
Compressed air is used for a wide variety of manufacturing processes, including a
thermoforming process at Berry Global which produces 30 ounce plastic cups. Currently, the
machine used to produce these plastic cups uses a substantial amount of 80 psig air, roughly
1400 gal/min, which is being exhausted to the atmosphere. It was determined that the cost to
provide the necessary air for this one machine is approximately $3.34 per hour. The objective of
this project is to design a system that is capable of recycling some of the air that is currently
being exhausted to the atmosphere. To begin the design process, previous solutions to this
problem were researched. The three preliminary designs developed by the team were inspired by
the previous solutions researched. The preliminary designs were all considered, and the final
design was chosen. The design chosen for critical design captures a portion of the exhausted air
and boosts the pressure back to 80 psig where it can be reused in the current system. This design
was divided into three main subsystems, each of these subsystems was designed, and a model for
the entire system was developed. The model was a key factor for determining the cost savings of
the system and the specifications of the different system components. Next, the determined
specifications were used to select the system components. These components, as well as the
installation costs, were arranged into a budget. The final system cost was then divided by the cost
savings to determine a Return on Investment period. Finally, future changes and improvements
to the design were discussed.