nbucska,
i was taught that the patent protected the claims covered in the patent, not the idea itself. The difficult part was (and is) ensuring the claims adequately reflect the idea (so as to protect it from infringing competitors, yet not allow it to infringe on anothers). I also seem to...
Rob,
Thanks for your great comments. I'll pick up the book next time i go stateside. I think one of the most difficult lines to walk is this IP protection and idea valuation.
Thanks to everyone else for their input as well. Now all I need to do is everything!
-islandeng
I am beginning to think the solution is to use a 904L pump & motor, and give the system some backpressure. I spoke with a new supplier yesterday and he mentioned that the pumps, which are stacked impellers, need to push against some head or backpressure, or the impellers will float around...
EdStainless,
The power coming to the motor is decently clean, three phase. The voltage doesn't vary enough for us to pick it up on our voltmeters, and the phase stays constant at 59 Hz. We don't have an ammeter on the line so I don't know what the amperage is doing, but i would expect it to...
Hydrae,
I have not yet measured the salinity of the water. We have a salinity meter coming in on our next shipment, which was suppossed to arrive last week, however it is stuck in customs (this happens a lot), and hopefully will arrive today or tomorrow....
I was actually using the formula...
Hydrae,
Thanks for your $0.02. I will install a check valve for the next round, however the pump was never stopped in the 3 weeks of operation which led to the pumps failure. There are a lot of less than ideal designs here, which, I believe, all contributed to the failure. Again thanks for...
Thanks nbucksa,
I am somewhat familiar with the patent process and patent laws. I took two patent classes and wrote three (fake) patent applications (for what that was worth). I have also taken a course on IP law.
The patent search is difficult as the general product has been around for a...
Rnd2,
I have gotten mixed answers, some people have said there have been lots of problems with this pump, and other people (especially the manufacturer) have said there are no problems with this pump, however none of it has been in writing, except through a few emails. The manufacturer...
Thank you both for your comments. To elaborate on the problem, there are no other signs of corrosion with exception to the small amount on the spline shaft. I am not sure what all the materials are, the pump is manufactured by Grundfos (along with the motor), so I would hope a well known...
Thanks 25362, I just posted this on the corrosion forum. We'll see what i get! I think i mentioned the temperature in the well is 89 deg F, which is about 31 or 32 deg C, so it is right around the 904L limit....
Greg,
Thanks for the advice about NDA's, I signed a bunch of those when I was interviewing for "real" jobs, and had heard through the grapevine that companies did not sign those (or did on a very limited basis).
Mac,
Regarding your last point, I know and understand that the majority of...
Hello,
I have been having a problem with the splines shearing on a shaft connecting a 2 hp motor to a pump. The pump is located in Brackish-salt water. It was suggested that I bring the forum to corrosion engineering and see what you materials guys can come up with. For full...
25362,
There is some slight corrosion, ie surface rust in the crevises of the splines. It is what I call "rust dust", the type of rust that with a moderate scrubbing comes off easily. I didn't bring this to corrosion engineering forum because my material choices are so limited (basically...
MacGyver,
Thank you for your input. I don't want to trivialize what you said, but you would recommend obtaining experience before going out, even if it means loosing the oppertunity. Is that what you were leaning toward?
Greg,
Thank you as well for your input. You are correct, I would...
Hello,
I am a recent grad just hopping around performing 'random' small engineering jobs. Basically, that just means I haven't been hired by any large engineering firms, and people that know me personally have been using my education and paying me for what I have learned. This has been...
PUMPDESIGNER,
There are no sensors hooked up to this system. The contactor is linked directly to the power switch which is held on, unless power is cut off, in which case it trips off and stays off.
As I noted before, the failure resembles more of a fatigue failure than an impact failure...
D23,
Thanks for the comments.
The water level is 15 feet below the top of the well, which means the water in the well is 105 feet deep. The pump is physically located 118 feet below the top of the well.
There are no indications of heat on the motor, which is why I don't believe our...
Pumpdesigner,
Nope, we don't have any check valves, other than the one on the Grundfos. However since the pump isn't cycling, that shouldn't be a problem...right? You are correct when i stated it is a formed stainless sheet metal pump. I like the suggestion of getting the heavier duty pump...
I like your thinking jay165...
So i got a bit curious and actually measured everything out myself. This is what I found:
Diameter: 2.5 inches
Verticle Head: 130 feet
Other minor losses: 4.3 feet (length of pvc, two valves, one partially closed, and a couple 90 deg bends).
Desired Flow rate...
Bob,
thanks for the questions, here are some answers that I've obtained through my own observations, or through speaking with our head engineer:
According to the head engineer, we do have a discharge control valve. However it controls the flow direction of the water, not the backpressure in...