Objective: The design and manufacture of a modular unit for the transport of oil samples from power transformers.
Destination: Custom production of a modular unit - MIBox - for EDP Labelec's insulating materials lab.
Process: 3D CAD parametric design, rapid prototyping/digital manufacturing using additive/subtractive manufacturing techniques.
Development: Brainstorming for the new modular unit concept for transporting oil samples; 3D modeling in Solidworks and Rhinoceros CAD; CNC machining and ECO Panel bending for the casing and CNC machining of high density polystyrene for the interior; laser engraving of MIBox inscriptions and logos.
FabLab EDP designed and produced the MIBox which is a modular oil sample transport unit to use in EDP Labelec's insulation materials laboratory. This unit was completely conceived of by FabLab EDP under a LEAN initiative and has advantages over the previous wooden transportation boxes, such as being a compact, robust and modular system.
In this way, the oil samples of 40 transformers collected in the field for laboratory testing can be assembled in a single vehicle. The MIBox consists of a coating of aluminum and plastic composite and EPS interior (expanded polystyrene) with holes for the placement of 7 vials with the samples.
The MIBox has a serial number and a place to attach an identification tag.
In total, FabLab EDP produced 3 different revisions of MIBox with a total of 130 units of a low cost solution properly adjusted to the requirements of LAB-MI, in contrast to the available comercial solutions.