ABSTRACT

Most hydraulic jacks in this country are designed to be manually operated, and the inherent challenges associated with this mode of operation – risk of hydraulic failure and difficulty for physically challenged people – makes it imperative to research alternative modes for easier and safer operation. This study aims to address this pain point by designing and fabricating a simplified prototype of a motorized hydraulic jack.

Material selection was done based on consideration of cost and their availability. Two design concepts were evaluated, and the final design was selected in favour of lower cost of production, portability, simplicity, and ease of operation. Materials were locally sourced as this was the most cost-effective approach. The main components of the selected design include a hydraulic jack, a battery-powered DC motor (designed to be powered by the car battery), a four-bar linkage system consisting of a cam disc and slider crank linked to the pump handle of the hydraulic jack, a wooden base on which the jack and linkage system were fixated on, and a metal housing unit to protect the motor and linkage assembly. A detailed design for each component was carried out and the computer aided design of the assembly was done. Fabrication and assembly of components was caried out in the engineering workshop and tests were carried out in Estate Department of the University of Benin.

The prototype was tested, and its performance was compared to manual operation of the hydraulic jack. The motorized operation was found to achieve consistently and considerably better lifting times, with minimal effort. The average lifting time, using manual operation, for a compact car of 1.3 tonnes was reduced to almost a third using the motorized hydraulic jack. The motorized hydraulic jack achieved an efficiency of 70.68%, and it is recommended for use by owners of lightweight cars of <= 1.8 tonnes and automobile workshops. Some recommendations were made for further research and improvement on the work.