Welcome back to my Drop Access blog everyone! Over the past week, I presented at the Drop Access Visit Day for Rice University iSEED students, used SolidWorks to redesign the walls of the VacciBox refrigerator, and helped the production team prepare for the installation of 2 VacciBox units. The iSEED Visit Day was fun and informative. The iSEED group consisted of 1 Rice University faculty member, 4 Rice University undergraduate students, and 2 Kenyatta University undergraduate students. The group received a tour of the entire Drop Access warehouse located in Nairobi. Then, each member of the Drop Access production team gave a brief speech about the Drop Access products they are working on and the electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering skills required for their projects. I spoke about my own work on the VacciBox and explained the VacciBox manufacturing process. My tech lead, Sam, gave a demonstration of how the insulation reagents are mixed and another production team member, Francisca, explained each component of the VacciBox circuit board. Each iSEED student presented their ideas on how the VacciBox can be improved and what verification and validation tests they are interested in performing on the refrigeration units. We ended the iSEED Visit Day with a group picture and some feedback on how we can improve future visit days for students. One student recommended finding a way to limit the Visit Day to 3 hours or less and spending more time demonstrating the verification tests for the VacciBox product. The other students said they enjoyed the warehouse tour and thought the insulation demonstration was interesting.
After the iSEED Visit Day, I spent the rest of the week redesigning the walls of the VacciBox refrigerator using SolidWorks. Speaking with my tech lead and looking at the design of the Drop Access Koyo refrigerator helped us to realize a potential way to increase the holding time for the VacciBox may involve creating a tight fitting indent for the refrigerator lid gasket. If the gasket does not form a tight seal with the body of the VacciBox, cold air will flow out of the internal fridge compartment, raising the temperature of the air surrounding the vaccines. In order to create an indent for the gasket, I had to use my SolidWorks skills to redesign the 4 walls of the VacciBox CAD. I hope to finish redesigning all 4 walls of the VacciBox by the end of this week. Once I finish the design in CAD, I can show the drawings to the Drop Access contractors who bend the aluminum for the VacciBox exterior. The contractors can inform me if the new wall design is manufacturable. If the contractors and my production team members approve of the new VacciBox design, I will start building a prototype of the refrigerator. Additionally, I am working with the Drop Access production team to install a VacciBox for the Wote medical center the week of June 23rd and install a VacciBox for the Kajiado medical center the week of June 30th.
I’m glad I had free time last weekend to relax and have fun with my roommates, Colin and Emma. We walked through the exhibits at the Nairobi Art Gallery, ate lunch at CJs restaurant, and explored the National Museum of Kenya on Saturday. On Sunday, we went on a hike in the Kaura Forest. Drinking a creamy peanut butter and chocolate milkshake at CJs, seeing the hundreds of taxidermy birds in the National Museum of Kenya, feeling a python slither up my arm at the Snake Park next to the museum, and hearing the roar of the Karura Forest waterfall were the most incredible aspects of the weekend. Each week I spend in Kenya reveals another hidden gem or memorable experience. I can’t wait to finally experience the beautiful beaches of Kenya next week. Thanks for reading my blog and stay tuned for my next post!
Group picture during the iSEED Drop Access Visit Day
Explaining the VacciBox manufacturing process to the iSEED students
Koyo fridge gasket indent that inspired VacciBox redesign
Posing in front of the National Museum of Kenya
Taxidermy storks in the museum
Taxidermy leopard at the museum
Man-eating python at Nairobi Snake Park
Karura Forest riverbank where we enjoyed a picnic
Admiring the Karura Forest waterfall