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Team:UCL E/Business/Manufacturing
From 2013.igem.org
Contents |
Company Overview
Prototype Design
PCR machine
The PCR machine design went through several iterations to maximise heat transfer. Our prototype is made of aluminium. Aluminium has a low specific heat capacity and good conductance, which makes it well suited for the PCR machine, in addition to being easy to machine during manufacture. The PCR machine is designed to contain a maximum number of tubes in the heater block with the same footprint as the Peltier that powers the heat transfer. As the number tube holes increase, there is less block material hence less thermal mass to heat and cool which ensures faster heat transitions.
Centrifuge The centrifuge is powered by a fan and can reach up to 3000 RPM. A fan is a cost-effective alternative to a brushless motor, while non-brushless motors are noisy. Our hardware are researching the most effective relative centrifugal force for our design.
Gel Electrophoresis and Transilluminator
The key element of the gel box is the power supply. As our design is targeted towards a younger audience, we aim to avoid high voltage. While our current prototype reaches 120V, our team are researching a 40V power supply as a safer alternative.
Design Application
What are next steps to take the prototype to manufacturing? What are our major technical milestones? As our circuit design is unique to our product, this will require several rounds of testing. Our team is new to scaling up manufacture.
Regulations and Safety Requirements
To manufacture electrical equipment in the UK, we must meet the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 which covers all equipment designed for the workplace and domestic electrical equipment. Our responsibility as the manufacturer is to ensure the Darwin Toolbox meets the safety requirements, and declaring this with 3 key components:
- Technical documentation
- a European Conformity Declaration of Conformity
- a European Conformity (CE) mark.
Technical documentation
Manufacturers of new products subject to European product safety Directives must collect and be able to assemble comprehensive information covering the design, construction, conformity assessment and use of the product to demonstrate how their product complies with all applicable Directives. This is known as a technical file. It should be in one or more of the official Community languages and kept available for at least the time specified in the relevant Directive (eg for machinery this means for at least 10 years since last production of the product range).
European Conformity Declaration of Conformity
Our product must be supplied with an European Conformity Declaration of Conformity. This is a written certificate that show that we, as the manufacturer, formally declare that our CE marked equipment meets the requirements of the regulations. In this document we must state:
- identify the manufacturer or the authorised representative
- describe the electrical equipment to which it relates
- where appropriate, specify the harmonised standard(s) or other specifications with which conformity with the safety requirements is declared
- where appropriate, refer to the specifications with which conformity is declared
- identify any signatory empowered to enter into commitments within the EC on behalf of the manufacturer or his authorised representative
- include the last two digits of the year in which the CE marking was affixed
We are not required to provide a copy of the EC DoC with each product, however a copy must be kept with the technical documentation, and within the territory of the EEA by the manufacturer, the authorised representative, or failing that, the importer who first places the equipment on the market in the EEA.
Adapted from Electrical equipment manufacturers: regulations and responsibilities
European Conformity (CE) marking
The CE marking
