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Aqualytical Case Study

Redesigning for Functionality and Manufacturability

Aqualytical was founded to resolve water monitoring issues in relation to current field sampling techniques. The company now provides environmental testing laboratories with revolutionary devices for analytical water testing.

Challenge

The founders of Aqualytical determined traditional water sampling methods to be problematic in multiple areas. Grab sampling and automatic sampling both require the transport of bottles of water. Depending on the sample size, this can be heavy and expensive to ship, especially when considering that coolers are needed to keep the water at the desired temperature. Water samples like this are also only usable for an average of seven days after being taken from the field, so expedited shipping is often needed. With passive sampling, the need for bottles of water is negated, but this method can still weigh several pounds and need multiple days to set up.

Aqualytical wanted to revolutionize water testing by changing how water samples were collected, essentially solving all of these problems with traditional sampling techniques. Their answer to this was the Continuous Low-Level Aquatic Monitoring (or C.L.A.M.) device. This device would filter water through a solid phase extraction (SPE) disk and sequester pollutants for testing. Only the disk would need to be sent to testing facilities, eliminating the need for bottles, coolers, and more.

While the concept of the C.L.A.M. was solid on its own, Aqualytical soon encountered a problem. Their design could not be cost-effectively produced in mass numbers as designed. They then sought a vendor that could redesign, manufacture, and drop ship the device, which led them to find the perfect partner in 3 Space.

Solution

Using our team of engineers, in-house FDM 3D printers, and an injection molding partner, 3 Space was able to provide Aqualytical with a redesign that fulfilled all the requirements for their revolutionary C.L.A.M. project. We reworked the design and 3D printed as many prototype iterations as needed to bring the structure to perfection. Once the design was finalized, it was sent to be injection molded. Orders were processed and fulfilled by 3 Space.

Redesign

The primary goal of the C.L.A.M. redesign was to make it possible to massmanufacture the units cost-effectively. The original prototypes that Aqualytical
provided were pill-shaped and machined from plastic. Given the requirements of the project, however, it was decided that injection molding would be a better
route. The provided design was not made for injection molding though and needed a ground-up redesign, which included changing the shape of the shell and rearranging many internal electrical components. Aqualytical also required that the device be designed to be waterproof, transparent, and lightweight.

The engineers at 3 Space met each of these needs through a careful design process. The unit’s shell was changed from oblong to spherical, and handles were attached to make handling and securing the C.L.A.M. for deployment easier. The bottom shell half was designed to cradle the internal electrical components in a certain arrangement to control weight distribution while also assuring the proper placement of two buttons, a totalizer display, and a USB port. The internal components, which also included a lithium ion battery and a pump, would be potted with epoxy resin in post-processing assembly, and the two shell halves would be screwed and glued together. To make the unit even simpler to use, it was designed to never be disassembled. A cylinder was attached to the bottom shell half. This compartment would be where the SPE disks were placed, making them easily accessible without the need to open the shell.