Experience

Alaris GP

Working with the in-house project team designing injection-moulded  internal structural components.

Development of the pumping mechanism incorporating a stepper motor drive system, injection-moulded and cast components.

Development part specifications, drawings to BS8888 and quality plans. Working with suppliers optimising designs for efficient and reliable mass production. Qualifying designs through testing and first article inspection. 

Analysis of the design and fits between components to determine the boundary conditions for part fits and pumping accuracy.

Welland Medical

Ileostomy product

The very fluid and gaseous output from an ileostomy stoma causes great inconvenience to the patient due to the need to regularly release gas from the bag at regular intervals.

This patented ileostomy product was the first to successfully eradicate this inconvenience as the design is capable of separating the gas from the liquid content of the bag and pass the gas through an active carbon filter without the filter becoming clogged.

Scientific Instruments:

Aspirated fire detection

Development of a V0 rated injection-moulded electronics enclosure.

Internal gas analysers are sealed within the enclosure allowing gases from other areas away from the enclosure to be transferred and analysed.

Developed the control module housing control electronics, alerter beacon, LCD display and data input interface.

SuperNEMO

Particle physics detector

Currently at the early prototype stage, SuperNEMO is a high energy physics project to measure the weight of a Neutrino using double beta decay theory.

SuperNEMO is an international project comprising scientists from around the world, each bringing specialist expertise to their given area of the project.

The detector will consist of up to 500,000 delrin and copper cells of 30mm diameter mounted within a stainless steel structure. The detector will be situated in an underground laboratory and be made from low radiation materials in order to minimise background radiation.

Gocher Design Ltd has been commissioned by University College London  to design the mass produced cell assembly and robot for attaching the 50um stainless steel wires between the cells mounted 4m apart. The cell consists of copper pressings, injection-moulded parts and tapered wire clamps.

Automated micro-plate processing

This was the first fully automated micro-plate processing system for testing blood samples for diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.

Mechanisms are driven by microprocessor controlled stepper motors. Samples and microplates are transported via magnetic linkages.

Responsibilities included the conceptual design for the entire instrument and the development of the incubators, micro-plate stacking mechanisms, transfer system for micro-plates between individual processing modules and the liquid handling systems.

SPIRE infra-red space telescope. 

One of 3 instruments being developed for the Hershel far-infrared space telescope.

Due for launch by ESA 2008, spire will make deep surveys for galaxies at high-redshift and will develop models for the formation and evolution of galaxies.

Responsibilities included the conceptual and detailed design of electrical interfaces, spectrometer and photometer covers, optical bench and mountings for the optical system of mirrors, dichroics, beam splitters and filters.

James Webb Space Telescope

Optical alignment mechanism.

Consisted of 3 newport nano-positioning motorised stages to provide controlled movements for a shack-hartmann detector and CCD camera. 

Concept design for the stage mechanism arrangement and design of the interchangeable mounting structure for the CCD camera and shack-Hartmann detector.

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Consumer Products:

DIY cable reels

Worked for an industrial designer to provide the mechanical design solution for a range of cable reels.

Rough models showing the design concept and styling were provided and the individual components re-modelled, engineered and toleranced into a production standard solution.

Tooling was  cut directly from the 3D CAD models in China.

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Development of various consumer products and electronic enclosures.