CASE STUDY | Collar Enclosure

AgResearch is the Crown Research Institute tasked with delivering leading agricultural science and innovation to benefit the wider New Zealand economy. AgResearch’s engineering department supplies many of the technical means to achieve the science. Their highly experienced engineering team have worked on a diverse array of projects, from sealed animal enclosures to measure exhaled gasses, optical sensing units to determine nitrogen content of cows urine, to in-field research and analytic measurement devices.

THE CHALLENGE

The project scope was to design the housing for an in-field research device intended to measure multiple sets of data to assist scientific studies. AgResearch’s inhouse engineering team were committed on another project, so they seconded a Caliber engineer to help.

The device was to be attached to an animal, so it needed to be sufficiently robust to handle the environmental conditions and stresses in the field, be light and low profile to minimise discomfort to the animal, and ergonomic for maintenance.

Time to delivery, supplier capability, uncertainty around material properties, and lack of time for rigourous testing were potential risks to the project.

THE SOLUTION

Caliber’s seconded engineering model means that our engineers are agile and able to quickly adopt client procedures and hit the ground running. In this case, our engineer was only onsite for 2 days prior to Covid lockdown, but that didn’t stop them understanding and adhering to AgResearch’s procedures.

A Design Failure Modes Effect Analysis (DFMEA) was developed to determine the best course of action, helping set the testing validation requirements and responsibilities in a transparent and unambiguous manner.

The AgResearch team and Caliber network proved invaluable in this project, especially given the complexities of the project and lockdown conditions. Drawing on team’s collective experience enabled creative solutions, particularly around 3D thread forming, sealing, and water-ingress preventative features. This wider input reduced potential development issues, time, and budget.

Weight and space were saved in comparison to earlier concepts, and the design was completed in a matter of weeks. The design team avoided using potentially troublesome features such as plastic clips, as there was no time to validate them. Instead, they stuck to robust mechanical fixings with appropriate tolerances to minimise troubleshooting. Due to low volume and tight timeframes, 3D printed rapid prototypes helped fast track the design.

Time for rigorous testing was limited, so the design team took a fluid approach and embedded fall-back options into the design … this enabled them to deliver a workable product within the project timeframe.

• The result—an unbelievably quick turnaround and an elegant design, 25% under the proposed budget.
• The project accomplished in 4 weeks what was estimated to be 5 weeks of work, all done remotely during the 2021 Covid lockdown.
• Sourcing of all parts, some testing, manufacturing, and assembly through China kept the costs down.
• Meeting the short timeframe allocated for the design and prototyping phase meant there was ample time left to assemble and trial the product.
• The Caliber team provided direction for further validation testing and support beyond the original secondment.
• AgResearch was impressed at the innovations that the Caliber team brought to the design; in particular a water-ingress prevention feature.