The DesiGators followed up their PDR presentation with an exciting week full of progress on multiple fronts. First on the list – the team earned their certificates for earning first place in the Six Sigma White Belt training! The certificates commemorate the teams’ achievement at the training and emphasizes their dedication to creating efficient workflows.

The rest of the week was punctuated by the team making massive leaps and bounds on the development side of things. To start off the week, Virginia headed over to Larry’s Lab and got to work soldering together the components needed to test the load cells that had arrived last week. Virginia’s hard work paid off and by the end of the week the team had a preliminary load cell setup that could consistently measure a set of calibrated weights!

In extremely exciting news, the first acrylic drying chamber arrived for testing! The team can now start modeling airflow through the chamber and begin modeling what the final chamber design will look like. The chamber exceeded all expectations; it was machined perfectly and crystal clear – perfect for the teams’ needs.

With the chamber delivered and prototype inspection day right around the corner, the team also began focusing their efforts on creating the trays to hold food within the chamber. The team developed some preliminary designs for the trays and how they would interact with the load cells, and made the determination that the final design would be side-loaded. The team also purchased various samples of wire mesh to help determine how various mesh sizes will impact the flow of air through the chambers.

What a productive week! The DesiGators made enormous progress and will continue to chug along on all fronts. Stay tuned for more updates as the DesiGators go full steam ahead!