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Frank Didik Design Development

Research and Development
Experimenting, trial and error and developing new materials.

Designing and testing new inventions, new techniques and new materials. Material science.

By Frank X. Didik, June, 2012

 

 

In order to convert an idea into reality that works and works well, it is necessary to explore what is the best materials to use and the best electronics. Numerous material science books exist that provide such things as the strength, durability, heat absorption, thermal conducting, electrical resistance, grounding effect, ability to endure UV light from the sun and many more characteristics of a particular material. Never the less, errors often can be found in material science books, thus it is important to always test the characteristics of a particular materiel before using it in a product. Curiously, even scientific formulas must be tested and retested to see how they hold up in actual working conditions. Other issues such as making a particular item at a low price, so that it is marketable, also comes into play. For example, almost all people know how a conventional light bulb works, however the know how in producing a light bulb so that the retail sales price is under a dollar is, is considered a major trade secret by various light bulb manufacturers. The same can probably be said of jet plane and engine technology. Most countries of the world have well trained chemists, engineers and scientists and can, in theory, build any type of engine. However the truth is that only a handful of countries have the advanced metallurgy that will make that engine last for years and other know-how. The same holds true for most manufactured products.

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In the above examples, I was attempting to develop a coating that would allow plastic to last longer under the UV rays of the sun. Each strip has a different coating and the plastic sheet was allowed to sit in the sun for many months. The result was that some coatings were considerably better than others.

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Methods and techniques must sometimes be developed so that large scale components can be manufactured quickly and cheaply. Almost anyone can build something, but it is essential in our competitive world, that what is built is economically viable to sell.

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My initial testing for the "Bubble Bunker" line of positive pressure clean rooms. (www.BubbleBunker.com)

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A larger scale test. In this case, even coated 8mil thick plastic was not sufficient. (www.BubbleBunker.com)

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The electrified cover safeguard is a line of products designed to alert the public, workers and pets, when a manhole cover, utility box or street lamp becomes dangerously electrified. (www.ContactVoltage.com or www.ManholeSafety.com). Three significant issues came about when I worked on the Electrified Cover Safeguard. First, the product had to last for many years, under particularly adverse conditions, including rain, snow, being run over by trucks, plows and more. Second, the device had to be grounded and be completely reliable for many years. Finally, the product had to be self powered for years and years, without any outside maintenance. Some of what I came up with is still considered a trade secret but I can tell you that special materials were found to ground in a superior way. The shell of all of the different Electrified Cover Safeguards were either built of a steel alloy or were encapsulated in a high impact plastic, and encircled with a steel sleeve. Several methods were devised to ensure years of self power.

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Each model of the Electrified Cover Safeguard presented different set of obstacles. For example, how do you make a siren work, when it is under a puddle or water? How do you transmit data, if the device is in a tunnel? How do you prevent the device from giving a false positive, even in a salt water environment? How do you make the devise as indestructible as possible? And there were many more such issues. Everything had to be tested and retested and often redesigned. (www.ContactVoltage.com or www.ManholeSafety.com).

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I developed a variety of Electrified Cover Safeguards. The above unit was designed to be attached to existing light fixtures and also had to endure years of service. In this case, the ventilated electronics are effectively encapsulated in solid plastic, with a steel sleeve.

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  The electronics also had to be developed for the Electrified Cover Safeguard. What I initially thought would work, based on published information regarding grounding, turned out not to work very well. Eventually, through testing and developing the electronics, the product was made to work very well.

Above and below are a few of the variations of the Electrified Cover Safeguard that were developed. Different models have different electronics, depending on the specific use and conditions.

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This extremely strong plastic shell proved ineffective for long term use on manhole covers.

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Techniques were developed for different applications.

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Would you care to charge your cell phone using an orange or a lemon?!!! Well a tiny charge is possible, but it is a little more complicated than what is illustrated below.

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Contact Frank Didik if you represent a company that needs product designed or developed.

Email Frank Didik

www.DIDIK.com

  Testing does not necessarily have to be very complicated or difficult. Below a 5lb/2kg pan of ice is being blown by a fan. The system actually cooled the room down, though only by a few degrees and only for a few minutes. Ventilation and cooling is another issue for many electronic devices.

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