For the thermal comfort sub team, we need to manufacture the transitional piece going from the heat exchanger our thermal storage team is making to the air duct thermal comfort system. This is because our heat exchanger has an irregular (6×21)” output size which can’t be found in most commercial ducting products. We first looked up how typical transitional pieces are made, then consulted Marv and his technician team to understand our machine shop’s capabilities to create this design.
Marv showed us the tools he has to construct our designs with sheet metal. We intended to weld the sheet metal together on the seams. With the extra time needed to weld in comparison to other fastening methods, Marv suggested riveting the seam together. The same complications also led us to buy a low-cost flange that can be bent to fasten onto our transition piece rather than welding it on. Marv also showed us the size of the brake, which is a machine used to bend sheet metal, that he had, which was smaller than anticipated. With the smaller brake, our team alongside Marv’s help, we also decided to split our design into two pieces and then rivet the seams.