NALA Systems, a reverse osmosis water filtration company, uses crossflow systems to test filters during the prototyping process. Operating a crossflow requires frequently flushing and filling their tanks with low impurity water. An automatically-filling water reservoir was needed near the cross flows. I owned the design and fabrication of the new water system. I designed the system to use a tall, thin tank that would fit into otherwise unused space in the crossflow lab. The system uses sediment, charcoal, and reverse osmosis filters to clean incoming tap water. All filters and gauges are placed on the top front of the system so they can be easily read and replaced. The system can reduce tap water conductivity to less than 5 µS. A level switch at the top of the tank turns an electric valve off and on to always top off the tank. The system works reliably and can be left running overnight without risk of flooding the lab. Because the system would be used by all members of our lab team, I learned about the importance of creating an easy-to-use product that could easily be serviced long after my internship at the company was over.
Chris Knotek 