Redesign and Development of Oxygen Recharging Coil Spring; Battery Tray for MOD Application

The work comprised two projects: the first required the redesign of a specific component within a medical oxygen recharge unit. This allows the filling of portable oxygen bottles used within hospitals and ambulances. The component was a high-precision capillary tube that allows the transfer of oxygen through a recharging unit (connected to a bulk storage tank) into the bottles. 

The second project required the development of a battery tray for use in highly specialised MOD vehicles. The battery would supply an ancillary power supply for equipment on the vehicle. We sought to develop the device and also to create an improved manufacturing process.

The nature of the two projects was such that it needed to be manufactured by precision engineers. R&D was necessary to fully develop the designs, to create custom fixturing, and to optimise the performance of the manufacturing process. Technological uncertainties were encountered, and these had to be resolved before the project objectives could be completed.

The work carried out was both the creation of new devices and the development of a manufacturing process. Given the novel nature of the projects, off-the-shelf solutions were not available. In other words, we would have to use our ingenuity in order to overcome the various designs and manufacturing challenges. Due to the difficulty of design and manufacturing the tooling, as well as making it possible to manufacture the component within the required tolerances, the result could not be guaranteed. 

Product testing

We carried out numerous tests throughout the development of the project. Such testing demonstrated a number of key areas in which the creation of designs and manufacturing process could be improved. Once testing was carried out, these modifications were made, and further tests were conducted. Such was the nature of the projects; it was only once the projects were entirely complete that testing was concluded.

We gained a significant amount of institutional knowledge from this work. Such knowledge had not been previously available. We incorporated the research and development carried out and will be able to use it in future projects. 
 

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