 Problem statement:-

Design a screw jack to lift 3000kg pickup truck to a height of 850mm.

 Material choice and reasons for selection:-

1) The frame of the screw jack has complex shape. It is subjected to compressive stress. Grey
cast iron of grade FG 200 (Sut = 200 N/mm2) is selected as the material for the frame. Cast
iron is cheap and it can be given any complex shape without involving costly machining
operations. Cast iron has higher compressive strength compared with steel. Therefore, it is
technically and economically advantageous to use cast iron for the frame.
2) The screw is subjected to torsional moment, compressive force and bending
moment. From strength consideration, plain carbon steel of grade 30C8 (Syt = 400
N/mm2 and E = 207 000 N/mm2) is selected as material for the screw.
3) There is relative motion between the screw and the nut, which results in friction.
The friction causes wear at the contacting surfaces. When the same material is used
for these two components, the surfaces of both components get worn out, requiring
replacement. This is undesirable. The size and shape of the screw make it costly
compared with the nut. Therefore, if at all a component is to be replaced due to
wear, it should be the nut, which is less costly compared with the screw. The wear is
always restricted to a softer surface. Therefore, the nut should be made of softer
material. This protects the screw against wear. Cast variety of phosphor bronze of
Grade-1 (Sut = 190 N/mm2 ) is selected as the material for the nut. Phosphor bronze
is soft compared with hardened steel screw. In addition to this consideration,
phosphor bronze has low coefficient of friction, which reduces the torque to
overcome friction at the thread surface. It has excellent conformability and
machinability. Conformability is the ability of the material to yield and adopt its
shape to that of the screw. Cost is the main limitation of phosphor bronze. For steel
screw and phosphor bronze nut, the permissible bearing pressure (Sb) and
coefficient of friction (m) are taken as 10 N/mm2 and 0.1 respectively.
4) The handle is subjected to bending moment. The yield strength is the criterion for
the selection of material. Plain carbon steel of grade 30C8 (Syt = 400 N/mm2) is
selected as the material for the handle.
5) The shape and dimensions of the cup are such that it is easier and economical to
make it by the casting process. Grey cast iron of Grade FG 200 is used for the cup.
The complete part list of the screw jack is given in the following table.
Sr. No. Name of component Quantity Material
1 Frame 1 Grey cast iron FG 200 (IS: 210 – 1978)
2 Screw 1 Steel 30C8 (IS: 1570 – 1978)
3 Nut 1 Phosphor bronze Grade-1 (IS: 28 – 1975)
4 Handle 1 Steel 30C8 (IS: 1570 – 1978)
5 Cup 1 Grey cast iron FG 200 (IS: 210 – 1978)
6 Set Screw 1 Commercial steel
7 Washer 1 Commercial steel