TWO NOZZLE DESIGNS COMPLETE:

For our control system developments the Novus controller has been delivered, and despite difficulties with the user manual, an electrical engineer will assist with setup and preliminary testing. Testing is scheduled to start upon receiving the thermocouple. The testing will involve assessing the controller’s self-tuning capabilities by integrating it with heating pads and the thermocouple. A power supply cord is also being delivered to facilitate the testing process.

The testing will take place soon and will involve sticking the thermocouple and heaters to an aluminum piece (to mimic the nozzle) in a freezer or in an ice bucket to ensure below freezing temperatures. This will then test the controller’s ability to proportionally heat the metal to above freezing.

Regarding waste removal improvements, efforts to manufacture a suction tube out of polyurethane faced obstacles. However, testing with higher-strength plastics such as Nylon, UHMW Polyethylene, and PEEK showed promising results. Moving forward, the focus will be on testing the rigidity of the polyurethane tube when attached to a vacuum and performing adhesion tests with polyetherimide, PEEK, and Nylon.