This past work week has been slower-paced than the previous few. I was put behind schedule a little bit, and this was due to a few things. Meetings got in the way of productivity, some parts of my assignments required the assistance of someone who was busy, and things just didn’t always go as expected. These were things that I prepared for, but I didn’t realize how much they would affect my assignment progress.
Despite these hiccups, work is beginning to pick up again. The unit (pictured below) with the bonded joint that I am testing is composed of two drive cables (silver) of different diameters, and within the drive cables are the corresponding coax cables (green). The two drive cables are joined together by an oven-cured adhesive, and this is the joint I am characterizing with the pull tests. I have completed the assembly of 50 test units, and the next steps before testing on the Instron include reviewing the General Operating Instructions (GOIs) for the Instron and other pull tests similar to the one I am conducting, as well as determining if I need to create any fixtures to ensure proper gripping and pulling of the units. Fixtures may be required if the drive cables cannot be gripped properly with the pneumatic grippers on the Instron due to the material or the small diameters of the drive cables. Although this joint may never experience any type of pulling force when it is being used in a patient, it is important to characterize critical components of a device, especially when similar components or devices do not exist, as is the case for the device I’m working on.
The testing unit with the drive and coax cables indicated, as well as the joint of interest.
In addition to testing my own units, I am helping test a different joint in the device using the Instron. Rather than testing for joint characterization, this other test is to identify what type of adhesive is superior for adhering the two components together. My team and I have been in contact with a vendor to try out different adhesives, and this test will help us decide which adhesive will be used for production.
On the topic of work progress being slower than usual, our weekend trip to Tamarindo in the Guanacaste province was nothing short of slow- in a good, relaxing way. We went to Playa Tamarindo and Playa Conchal, both of which were beautiful in their own way. Playa Tamarindo was more of a touristy beach with views that you would expect to see in a movie, and Playa Conchal was more of a local beach (also with views that you would expect to see in a movie) but was different because it had shells instead of sand, hence the name “conchal”. This trip consisted of sleeping on the beach and hanging out in the waves, which took some adjusting for me because I’m used to more activity-filled vacations. Thus, sitting on the beach for hours was not something I was used to. I’m not complaining, though. This trip was very much worth the long bus ride and slight sunburn on my back.
A view of Playa Tamarindo.
From this week, I have come to embrace that sometimes things will happen slower than anticipated. Usually, when I receive a task, I want to complete it as efficiently as possible, and if that doesn’t happen, I get impatient. This thought process may be a result of both my personality type and me being in “student mode”, wanting to complete assignments quickly, accurately, and of quality, but I am learning to understand that taking things slow may be inevitable and necessary, both at work and on vacation.