Help us design a cart for the Emflume1.

We live in a shark-filled capitalist world where people steal designs, and the thousands of hours it took to make them.

So our design process has to be kept under wraps.  Usually.

Today I have a chance to reveal our design process and ask you for help!

Our Emflume1 –the result of five years of design effort — was a big hit at ASEE 2014 last week.  We need a cart for it.  Design problems:

1.  The model should fit inside the cart for shipping protection and also for storage, which is a big deal for a lot of university departments.

2.  We could build the cart from “80/20” extrusions.  Cool stuff we already use.  Or weld up an aluminum frame in-house.  Not much difference in cost.  Which would be best environmentally?  We might make 100 a year.

3. For the top and shelf, I’m considering Corian (we have a local fabricator); Starbord, HDPE, and other stuff.  Has to be very strong, zero-maintenance, and tolerate water.  The top is the toughest part of the design.

I’ve scoured the Internet for carts that meet our needs, and none do.

LRRD’s Jim Nation at ASEE 2014 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA last week.