Innovative Sustainability Solution
Rainsurfer Limited are a Dublin based company who design and manufacture innovative and sustainable rainwater harvesting solutions. Their current Prototype the HiRiser® is an independently powered pumping unit designed to collect rainwater through domestic roof/gutter systems and pump it from ground level to a storage tank at a higher elevation for domestic re-use.
Refining the Rainsurfer Pump Prototype
The original prototype’s design utilised a coil of pipe connected to a plastic circular disk to form a spiral wheel which was used to pump the water, this was a component that Rainsurfer Limited felt could be improved significantly.
Once again, Rainsurfer Limited engaged with the PEM Technology Gateway at IT Sligo, this time to assist in designing and manufacturing a fully functional spiral component to replace the initial rudimentary design.
This included initial concept designs, final 3D CAD models, DFM (Design for Manufacture) considerations, manufacturing advice/consultation with a suitable manufacturer for the next generation spiral wheel and project management of the manufacturing process for the final product.
Rainsurfer Limited & PEM Partnership
The PEM Technology Gateway’s R&D Engineer designed a brand-new spiral wheel based on a cost-effective manufacturing technique (vacuum forming).
Given their manufacturing expertise, The PEM Technology Gateway PI was also the main point of contact with the manufacturing company on behalf of Rainsurfer Limited and oversaw the entire manufacturing process of the next generation prototype of the spiral component.
This was the second Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher collaboration between Rainsurfer Limited and the PEM Technology Gateway/IT Sligo – both parties’ are currently in discussions on how to progress with the next phase of this project.
