design of new industrial products

We develop and design new industrial tools and professional devices that people use in factories or building sites in extreme working conditions.

tools are great

We think that tools are great. We can get actually very enthusiastic about a hand-tool or a professional device. Maybe because ergonomics and performance are so important. Quite like a sports product in a sense.

strategy

We start off with research into the use of the product on location, observations of operators, working conditions, technological limits, innovation opportunities, company identity and many other factors that are important for a successful design project.

The research leads to a 60 – 80 pages strategy document with a clear innovation focus, potential risks and visual identity of the new product. This document serves as a strategic guide throughout the total project.

concept development

Through rapid cycles of sketching our industrial designers investigate many potential rough design idea’s and test these with early mock-ups.

We identify and choose the best concept design directions from all the possible ideas and always make choices based on testing, experience and strategy.

During the concept stages of the design of new industrial tools, we hold a ‘look-in-the-kitchen’ session with your team. We present directions in sketch-form, functional and technical solutions, manufacturing solutions and early prototypes.

Together with your team we discuss focus, risk, level of ambition and push the design direction further into a concept.

engineering

The first important milestone during the design of new industrial tools is to bring the concept to a first fully functional prototype. This first prototype we call P1.

In the next step we use powerful 3D CAD software to develop the product. We design all parts and integrate standard components. After that we select materials, production methods, treatments, possible coatings and colors.

In some cases we use 3D CAD simulations and tests with prototypes to achieve maximum performance in extreme situations.

In addition to a set of 3D CAD files, we create a bill of materials and a first set of 2D drawings to manufacture the P1 prototype.

prototyping

Both during the concept and engineering phases we build prototypes. Early prototypes are mostly more like mockups and could be 3D printed. We use them mainly for testing shapes, ergonomics and engineering solutions.

At the end of the engineering stage we build the first P1 full functional prototype. These prototypes are high quality, often CNC milled, coated, with graphics and fully functional.

When the prototype is ready, we use this P1 for testing, both on functional, ergonomic and performance aspects. We document all the learnings and develop improvements in stability, cost, weight and performance. Mostly this leads to an updated prototype P2.

After one or sometimes more cycles of improvements the product is ready for manufacturing on a larger scale.

solar hybrid inverter

The hybrid inverters from Solplanet bring solar energy to everybody. This powerful, reliable series of inverters delivers higher efficiency using advanced dual-phase shift control technology, an improved charge-discharge process and incredibly fast parallel-to-off-grid switching.

The precise intelligent EMS control continuously tracks and adjusts photovoltaic panel power, battery power, load power, and online power.

With an IP66 certification for indoor or outdoor installations, the performance is assured, no matter the weather conditions.

Mourik m-lance

Charging and discharging reactors is a critical job that demands the highest levels of safety and efficiency. Mourik is one of the few companies in the world that have mastered this task.

The M-lance is an highly complex automatic system for discharging reactors. The system reduces the down-time of the reactor by approximately half. Thanks to the M-lance, work in the reactor is much safer and we only need one quarter of the people compared to manual discharging.

Our design and engineering firm has developed the product from scratch. Starting with several proof of principle setups that were tested in chemical plants in the Netherlands and abroad, we made a first start with a pneumatic motor and controller system.

Later we developed more sophisticated prototypes, with fully in-house developed PLC automation, highly complex drive cassettes and air operated motors.

We manufactured a small series of machines in house and run tests in Qatar, the USA and Germany.

TOFD / PE ultrasonic measuring device

The TOFD / PE (time of flight diffraction and pulse echo) device is a very high quality ultrasonic measuring device, that testing engineers from TÜV Rheinland Sonovation use to check and certify the quality of welds. They use the device in heavy machine building, oil and gas industry and offshore activities.

The device uses ultrasonic sound pulses to create an insight view of welds, thus making it possible to assess the quality of welds in a non-destructive manner. The measuring data is send by means of a pre-amp to an industrial laptop for analyses.

Mourik M-ty

The M-Ty is a handheld device attached to the M-Lance. While the M-Lance is carrying out a run, the operator performs a cross-check of the previous batch of pipes with the M-Ty. This way of working eliminates the tedious and time-consuming manual check that used to be necessary after unloading the reactor. This saves valuable turnaround time and removes potential faults.

The M-Ty measures with a constant airflow whether the tubes are completely emptied. If this is the case, a green marker appears and the operator closes the tube with a green cap. If the tube is not completely emptied, a red marker appears and the operator shields the tube with a red cap.

When finishing unloading, the top tube sheet is covered with green and some red caps. The red spots needs to be reworked, until all of the top sheet is green. This way the M-ty contributes to an efficient and secure unloading process.

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