The project brief
This project brief was initially to design a suitable enclosure for a pre-clinical bench-top MRI magnet. The technology and design provided my client with funding that eventually led to the development of a range of superconducting magnets. Over the years, the form of the magnet changed several times progressing from what was a problem laden permanent magnet to a sophisticated compact superconducting magnet. As such, the enclosure of this unit went through several design iterations. The construction of the shell utilised GRP mouldings fitting together on-site. The scale of the magnet grew considerably in the course of its development. As such, unique ways had to be found to assemble the large covers over the magnet and its components.
Using rapid CNC processes, SLA, SLS and vacuum casting, several products were tried and tested throughout the years winning my client a huge growth of business that eventually led them to develop multi-modality systems to include PET & CT.
The project progressed to the design and development of animal handling systems as complications were identified using off-the-shelf solutions. These systems eventually progressed to mechanical automation which involved me designing and developing many heavy-duty mechanisms.
All the projects required a great deal of hands-on work involving countless assemblies, modifications by hand and mechanical testing on-site. As part of the development process, I visited several installation sites across Europe to identify issues and take note of required changes.
