{"id":13453,"date":"2026-02-25T08:40:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13453"},"modified":"2026-02-25T08:40:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:40:38","slug":"all-stacked-up-ashley-furniture-sponsored-project-results-in-better-product-developed-by-uw-stout-engineering-seniors","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/all-stacked-up-ashley-furniture-sponsored-project-results-in-better-product-developed-by-uw-stout-engineering-seniors\/","title":{"rendered":"All stacked up: Ashley Furniture-sponsored project results in \u2018better product\u2019 developed by UW-Stout engineering seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Photo<\/a>
Zachary Morgan (left) and Luke Mertens (right) present a prototype of the Ashley Furniture nonstandard pallet stacker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Student team builds functional nonstandard pallet stacker to be implemented, replicated in company\u2019s facilities
<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A team of engineering students at UW-Stout designed an innovative nonstandard pallet stacker for Arcadia-based Ashley Furniture<\/a>, which plans to quickly implement the machine in its facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within their Senior Design Experience II capstone course, the team was tasked with building a machine that could lift and hold 6-foot-long, 100-pound pallets off the ground until a stack of 12 was collected. Made of quarter-inch steel, the stacker can support 1,800 pounds, a 125% increase of Ashley\u2019s requested 1,400 maximum stack weight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the stack is complete, the system lowers it to the floor for removal with an electric pallet jack. The stacker \u2013 which is 10 feet long, 8 feet wide and 4 feet tall \u2013 can be operated by a single person and has a maximum cycle time of 40 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Erik
Erik Kramer, Chase Rodewald, Luke Mertens, Riley Stiehl and Zachary Morgan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The student team is Luke Mertens<\/strong>, a double major in manufacturing and mechanical engineering from Blue Earth, Minnesota; manufacturing engineering<\/a> major Zachary Morgan<\/strong> of Eau Claire; and mechanical engineering<\/a> majors Chase Rodewald<\/strong> of Lake City, Minnesota, and Riley Stiehl<\/strong> of Alma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Manufacturing Engineering & Mechanical Engineering Showcase on Dec. 16, they presented a scaled, controls-focused prototype to UW-Stout faculty and supporters, as well as Ashley representatives, including Manufacturing Engineer Erik Kramer, the team\u2019s project manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe UW-Stout team built a better system, a better product for us. And with a final product price of about $25,000, their solution offers us a cost reduction of about 60%,\u201d Kramer said. \u201cNow, with the team\u2019s documentation, our automation team can replicate their functional design to build six more stackers for our facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Riley
Riley Stiehl (left) and Chase Rodewald (right) present the Ashley Furniture nonstandard pallet stacker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The team will submit their accompanying documents and the full-size machine, which includes an emergency stop for user safety, to Ashley for integration into the company\u2019s operations. Final assembly will be completed at Ashley, when safety curtains will be installed around the machine as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reverse-engineering to build a better product<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The two-semester-long project<\/a> began last spring, when the team had a site visit to Ashley to meet with Kramer and other staff. Ashley had purchased a stacker from a third party, but there were aspects of the machine that Kramer and staff didn\u2019t like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe needed the Stout team to find a way to reverse-engineer the machine to have it function as we needed it to,\u201d Kramer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A digital SolidWorks model of the Ashley Furniture nonstandard pallet stacker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The team developed schematics in SolidWorks software and a small-scale model, which they presented to Ashley in May. Ashley purchased the materials needed to build the prototype as well as the final product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re no different than a real engineering team. Everyone is working together, but we each have niche roles based on our strengths,\u201d said Mertens, who led the team\u2019s controls and instrumentation. Morgan was the CNC machinist and completed the documentation and organization of project records. Rodewald and Stiehl managed the manual assembly, machining and welding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some of the parts were cut and machined at Ashley, the team also completed the machining and welding of parts in UW-Stout\u2019s Fryklund Hall labs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chase
Chase Rodewald (left) and Riley Stiehl (right) assemble the Ashley Furniture nonstandard pallet stacker prototype.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot to be done, so it\u2019s nice to have multiple people working on it together,\u201d Stiehl said. \u201cWe relied on Ashley\u2019s industry equipment and experience. Having them cut and machine parts, rather than going to a third source, was a lot more cost-effective and saved a lot of time. And we could also use our own skills right in the labs on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electrical and welding breakthroughs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

During the first phase of their project, the team\u2019s biggest challenge was how to meet one of the requirements set by Ashley: using electrical power, rather than pneumatics or hydraulics, to lift the pallets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause most electrical motors are rotational based, it limits your options for linear motion, or the straight-line and up-and-down motion we needed for the pallet stacker,\u201d Rodewald said. \u201cWe achieved this through a linear actuator, which is a device that converts a motor\u2019s rotational energy into linear motion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Luke
Luke Mertens works on the controls for the Ashley Furniture nonstandard pallet stacker prototype.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The electrical power matches Ashley\u2019s capabilities and can be implemented immediately on the shop floor by pulling in power from overhead sources, instead of the company having to install tanks to support a fluid power device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the project\u2019s second phase, the team was challenged by how to weld some of the individual pieces before final assembly. The gussets \u2013 a three-part support structure, for example \u2013 needed to self-align at a 90-degree-angle to make it easier for Rodewald and Stiehl when welding the pieces together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe devised a self-aligning slot and tab mechanism, so the parts would basically hold themselves in place,\u201d Stiehl said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A side-by-side comparison of a digital model and a welded gusset.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBreakthroughs often come just after the moment you feel you\u2019ve exhausted every option,\u201d Mertens added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engineering students use a project management methodology called a \u201cstage gate process,\u201d which includes built-in briefs and reviews at key points in the design and build process. It also allows for feedback from their classmates, professors and project sponsors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe process is very helpful because it allows you to review the current aspects of your design, so you never get too far down a rabbit hole,\u201d Mertens said. \u201cThe feedback allows for a varying array of perspectives from your rough draft to the final draft of your concept.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zachary
Zachary Morgan (left) and Luke Mertens (right) present a prototype of the Ashley Furniture nonstandard pallet stacker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This fall semester, the Ashley capstone team was just one of a dozen teams composed of about 50 engineering students working on Capstone I and II projects in Fryklund Hall labs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mertens, Morgan, Rodewald and Stiehl earned their degrees and crossed the commencement stage on Dec. 20, among a class of 527 Stout Proud graduates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the university\u2019s most recent First Destination Report<\/a>, 99% of 2023-24 graduates from the mechanical and manufacturing engineering programs reported they were either employed or continuing their education within six months, with an average starting salary of $72,000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UW-Stout\u2019s Robert F. Cervenka School of Engineering<\/a> is home to five ABET-accredited programs that also include computer and electrical engineering, engineering technology and plastics engineering, as well as a sixth bachelor\u2019s program in packaging. A master\u2019s in manufacturing engineering is available on campus or online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Written by Abbey Goers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwstout.edu\/about-us\/news-center\/all-stacked-ashley-furniture-sponsored-project-results-better-product-developed-engineering-seniors<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Student team builds functional nonstandard pallet stacker to be implemented, replicated in company\u2019s facilities A team of engineering students at UW-Stout designed an innovative nonstandard pallet stacker for Arcadia-based Ashley Furniture, which plans to quickly implement the machine in its facilities.  Within their Senior Design Experience II capstone course, the team was tasked with building a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":13454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[90],"story_category":[147,148,146],"class_list":["post-13453","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-stout","story_category-community","story_category-economy","story_category-research-innovation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/13453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=13453"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=13453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}