From mid October to the end of November, Bosch in Stuttgart helped us with design optimization (DFMA). A team of engineers with different areas of expertise dismantled and documented a Nanocap, and did testing based on the company’s knowledge. They suggested a number of improvements regarding the product itself and the production. Their work gave very good results. By some 50 small adjustments in construction and internal design, the assembly time has been cut by more than 50%. Also, making smart choices when it comes to components, and finding a serial manufacturer that has the right purchase channels will help cut the cost of manufacturing by some 50% as well.
-“We are really happy with the service performed by Bosch. We have learnt a lot, and we have ensured that the design is robust enough to ensure that the Nanocap can be manufactured to very high quality”, says Andreas Tornblom CEO of Type1water.
Based on the work by Bosch we are currently searching for the right partner to manufacture the Nanocap. We started broad and have now shortlisted a handful potential partners for the task. We are comparing the partners on many different parameters such as production capacity, quality, distribution network, current framework agreements with suppliers and similar.
Cleaning duty
Keeping the Nanocap’s clean when sending it to different places for testing has proven to be quite challenging. We have strict requirements on what a user can do with the Nanocap and especially what the feedwater can contain. As it is built to polish already ultrapure water or create very pure water from drinking water, the Nanocap is built to work with a broad range of water qualities. Still, we need to ensure that it is absolutely pure inside before sending it off again. On its return, the Nanocap will be installed in our lab in Bromma where it’ll be thoroughly rinsed with water from another machine. The rinsing will run for days so that bacteria and as many particles as possible are flushed out before sending it to a new place for testing. Currently the “Bosch” machine will undergo cleaning over Christmas in order to be sent to Brussels in the beginning of next year.