Injection Molded Parts

Modelling Dynamic Water Technologies' products as-built and nourishing open communication with the production team gave me the exact perspective needed to make improvements to frequently used pieces in our systems.

Electrocoagulation Treatment Unit

Seeking ways to expand chemical-free treatment of wastewater, DWT expanded into the fairly new world of electrocoagulation. After purchasing a handful of EC treatment units from different vendors, I was provided the collective complaints and feedback to design a new (improved) unit of our own. FEA and flow simulation tools were used to ensure effective treatment and durability.

This pilot project afforded me the opportunity to work with Plasteel, a vendor boasting a long history of plastic fabrication and exceptionally talented team willing to their extensive collective experience with me. I have been happy to maintain a strong working relationship with Plasteel as my talents have continued beyond DWT.

I cannot showcase the manufacturing drawings for this unit, but I am proud to share the resulting product below. This unit is currently in use at Nestle's new factory and distribution center in Glendale, AZ. 

Vent Manifold

The PVC tee vent manifold seen below required several parts and took one or two fabricators away from doing more skilled work. Because one of these manifolds was used for every 4 reactor cells, an excess amount of time and money was being sunk into building these.

Next you can see the solution I engineered. This manifold is injection molded PVC, engages PVC pipe and NPT threaded fittings, and costs just $0.12 per unit ($0.24 per every 4 reactor cells). As a bonus, it showcases the company brand!

Reactor Manifold

The welded version of this assembly takes the most skilled fabricator 40 minutes to build and costs upwards of $150. Two of these manifolds are used for every 4 reactor cells; most units sold contain 8 or 16 reactor cells while larger, containerized units house 120 reactors cells...totaling 240 manifolds.

Following the success seen with the injection molded PVC vent manifold, I sought to outsource fabrication of this manifold and increase consistency between each unit produced. I engineered an injection molded HDPE manifold with reinforcing ribs as seen on most HDPE fittings. While a large lot of these units has not yet been received, a sample has been supplied that passes all fitment and pressure testing. In bulk, these manifolds were quoted to be ~$42 each.