Online Support Centre
Aim Lab Automation Technologies
  • Our Services
  • Products
    • Pathology Automation
      • PathFinder 900 Plus
      • PathFinder 450S Sorter
      • PathFinder 350A Archiver
      • PathFinder 350D Plus Decapper Sorter
      • PathFinder 350D Decapper Sorter
    • PathFinder Racks
      • PathFinder Racks
    • Liquid Autosamplers
      • AIM3200 Autosampler
      • AIM3300 Autosampler
      • AIM3600 Autosampler
      • AIM4000 Autosampler
    • Automation Modules
      • Tube Sealer Module
      • Tube Decapper Module
  • Case Studies
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube

Delivering Value Through Design Engineering

You are here: Home1 / Design2 / Delivering Value Through Design Engineering

Delivering Value Through Design Engineering

At the request of a major OEM customer, Aim Lab engineers recently embarked on a project to take cost out of the liquid autosampler it supplies them without changing the aesthetic appearance, function or quality of the product.

“As the autosampler needs to withstand environments that use acids and organic solvents, this  added further complexity and limited the choice of materials we could use”, says Matt Grant, a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Aim Lab.

Aim Lab regularly evaluates and challenges the design of our products and our engineering practices to look at new and different ways to optimize the performance of our products and offer value to our customers.

After consideration of several different approaches to change the design, it was decided that the biggest impact on overall product cost could be achieved by:

  • changing the way the chassis is manufactured
  • combining the rack location mat and spill tray, which sit on the base of the autosampler, into a single moulded part.

These changes were not without their risk, particularly the moulded mat/spilltray, due to its size and the flatness tolerances required. Aim Lab approached  the task by investing significant engineering hours upfront to perfect the design before any off tool samples were generated. The risks were mitigated by working closely with:

  • An industrial design consultant who brought his design and expertise into the project.
  • our customer’s engineering team and leveraging off their experience and recommendations.
  • our moulding suppliers who worked tirelessly to get the design right. Using mould flow analysis, they were able to simulate different moulding conditions and use the corresponding analysis to optimise both the tooling design and how it was set up and used in the manufacturing process.

By following good design practices and leveraging off the synergies of working co-operatively as a group, the net result was both changes are being implemented into the product. Despite the associated risks, the moulded spill tray only required a minor iteration on the first off tool samples to get it to an acceptable standard to all parties. The project will achieve a 13% saving in the overall product cost to the customer – a remarkable achievement given the constraints.

PreviousNext
1234567
Matthew Grant - Senior Mechanical Engineer
High Precision Stainless Steel Digital Calipers
High Precision Stainless Steel Digital Calipers
Matthew Grant - Mould Flow Analysis
High Precision Stainless Steel Digital Calipers
Schematic Drawings
Measuring Chassis

Our Services

Design
Consulting Services
Manufacturing
After-Sales Support

 

Our Products

Pathology Automation
Liquid Autosamplers
Automation Modules

 

About Aim Lab

Company Information
Contact Us
Case Studies

Sustainability

Online Support Centre
Find a Distributor

Aim Lab Automation Technologies
15 Lisgar Street
Virginia, Queensland 4014
Australia

+61 7 3897 1600

© Copyright 2022 | Aim Lab Automation Technologies - Aim Lab® is the registered trade mark of Aim Lab Automation Technologies Pty Ltd
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
We’ve got something to show you… a new PathFinder rackA full PathFinder PFC50 Self Centering RackTube Sealing Module in the start positionCompact Tube Sealing Module
Scroll to top

Aim Lab Automation Technologies uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Accept settingsHide notification onlySettings

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Policy
Accept settingsHide notification only