China
- Thread starter Tony Vargas
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OP
Waiting on some images for the next video.
Daniel@R2R
Living the Reef Life
FOLLOWING!
OP
OP
And now on to part two of the series.
The importance of departmentalization of the DC pump for quality control.
Tony:
So Daniel, looking around the Waveline facility I can’t help, but notice many little departments. Can you please explain why so many little divisions/departments just to manufacture a pump?
Daniel:
Well the manufacturing of the pump is simple believe it or not. What’s complicated is in the quality and control. We put in place different stations to standardize our manufacturing process. Each module is responsible for a specific task of the pump. Later we will tour the factory and you will see we have different modules throughout the company. It’s not one workshop that does everything. Each module is responsible and we can isolate each task. And this is following the ISO standard. What we are trying to do is to implement a standardize manufacturing process. We want to gear/structure our company to grow and manufacture large capacity of pumps. So, we’ll tour later and I’ll explain to you which module and what is the function of each module.
Tony:
Can you give us an example of some of these modules?
Daniel:
We’ll tour first with what is the design and engineering module, you’ll see all of the circuit designs and software development, done in one department and that’s the electrical engineering. Than we will go after to the mechanical engineering, it’s all the mold design, the impeller design, all of the mechanical sides of the pump. And then we will go through the manufacturing, the winding machine, epoxy filling, testing module, the longevity testing module and what’s the most important to all of that one is the documentation. Everything that we do along the line, we document every step of the way. So that we have a reference that we can go back and validate what we are doing.
In the next video of this interview we will take a deep look into the mechanics of a DC pump, and how they function.
The importance of departmentalization of the DC pump for quality control.
Tony:
So Daniel, looking around the Waveline facility I can’t help, but notice many little departments. Can you please explain why so many little divisions/departments just to manufacture a pump?
Daniel:
Well the manufacturing of the pump is simple believe it or not. What’s complicated is in the quality and control. We put in place different stations to standardize our manufacturing process. Each module is responsible for a specific task of the pump. Later we will tour the factory and you will see we have different modules throughout the company. It’s not one workshop that does everything. Each module is responsible and we can isolate each task. And this is following the ISO standard. What we are trying to do is to implement a standardize manufacturing process. We want to gear/structure our company to grow and manufacture large capacity of pumps. So, we’ll tour later and I’ll explain to you which module and what is the function of each module.
Tony:
Can you give us an example of some of these modules?
Daniel:
We’ll tour first with what is the design and engineering module, you’ll see all of the circuit designs and software development, done in one department and that’s the electrical engineering. Than we will go after to the mechanical engineering, it’s all the mold design, the impeller design, all of the mechanical sides of the pump. And then we will go through the manufacturing, the winding machine, epoxy filling, testing module, the longevity testing module and what’s the most important to all of that one is the documentation. Everything that we do along the line, we document every step of the way. So that we have a reference that we can go back and validate what we are doing.
In the next video of this interview we will take a deep look into the mechanics of a DC pump, and how they function.
OP
OP
And now on to part three of the series.
The creation process to a Waveline pump. Unfortunately, we were not able to discuss the Waveline Wavepuck, but more information on that product should be released soon.
Tony:
So Daniel, I see you bought a couple of goodies with you, you want to tell us a little bit about them?
Daniel:
Well Tony, I wanted to tell you about our creation process. Everything in our factory start with a piece of paper and a drawing. And we do schematics of all of the components before they even go to 3D print. That’s part of the documentation. If we don’t have a paper trail we cannot learn from our production process. Our engineers from the electrical and mechanical side will start drawing first, then we’ll go with a 3D print.
Once we have a 3D print, we can start to test the 3D print and calculate flow rate, energy consumption. We do our due diligence with our 3D print and then we go through a preproduction model. This is a model of a DC 10,000, and we break it down and calculate all of the components. So, in this case we have the impeller and it breaks down to the stator this one is not winded, but it should be winded. This is the pump body and from here we will create a mold.
Tony:
So Daniel, once the mold is created you inject the mold with some type of epoxy is that the deal?
Daniel:
That’s right! So the stator sits inside this is all the electronics, the epoxy is design to seal the water from the electronics. Once the stator goes in, we fill this up with epoxy, we add a circuit board in here, fill it up with epoxy, seal it. We have a machine that shakes to exhaust all the bubbles from the epoxy and then we start testing.
The whole production process, 50% of it is testing every step of the way.
Tony:
You’re saying that within the pump right there, there is a circuit board?
Daniel:
That’s a small circuit board to control the speed of the impeller, but the majority of our circuit board are sitting in the controller.
Tony:
Where do you apply the programming, do you apply the programming to the circuit boards or to the controllers?
Daniel:
Well the circuit boards sit inside the controller and the programming is the software that runs the programming logic of the pump. We write all that (software) in-house. The bulk part of a DC pump is all controlled from the software. It’s not a mechanical moving part like an AC pump. The key to success of any of these pumps, is all going to be relying on the software.
Tony:
Software is a really important part of the development of your pump?
Daniel:
Yes!
Tony:
Wonderful! Good to know, alright lets go take this tour.
The creation process to a Waveline pump. Unfortunately, we were not able to discuss the Waveline Wavepuck, but more information on that product should be released soon.
Tony:
So Daniel, I see you bought a couple of goodies with you, you want to tell us a little bit about them?
Daniel:
Well Tony, I wanted to tell you about our creation process. Everything in our factory start with a piece of paper and a drawing. And we do schematics of all of the components before they even go to 3D print. That’s part of the documentation. If we don’t have a paper trail we cannot learn from our production process. Our engineers from the electrical and mechanical side will start drawing first, then we’ll go with a 3D print.
Once we have a 3D print, we can start to test the 3D print and calculate flow rate, energy consumption. We do our due diligence with our 3D print and then we go through a preproduction model. This is a model of a DC 10,000, and we break it down and calculate all of the components. So, in this case we have the impeller and it breaks down to the stator this one is not winded, but it should be winded. This is the pump body and from here we will create a mold.
Tony:
So Daniel, once the mold is created you inject the mold with some type of epoxy is that the deal?
Daniel:
That’s right! So the stator sits inside this is all the electronics, the epoxy is design to seal the water from the electronics. Once the stator goes in, we fill this up with epoxy, we add a circuit board in here, fill it up with epoxy, seal it. We have a machine that shakes to exhaust all the bubbles from the epoxy and then we start testing.
The whole production process, 50% of it is testing every step of the way.
Tony:
You’re saying that within the pump right there, there is a circuit board?
Daniel:
That’s a small circuit board to control the speed of the impeller, but the majority of our circuit board are sitting in the controller.
Tony:
Where do you apply the programming, do you apply the programming to the circuit boards or to the controllers?
Daniel:
Well the circuit boards sit inside the controller and the programming is the software that runs the programming logic of the pump. We write all that (software) in-house. The bulk part of a DC pump is all controlled from the software. It’s not a mechanical moving part like an AC pump. The key to success of any of these pumps, is all going to be relying on the software.
Tony:
Software is a really important part of the development of your pump?
Daniel:
Yes!
Tony:
Wonderful! Good to know, alright lets go take this tour.
OP
OP
Sorry for the delay on our Chinese saga!
I’ve done three videos in a row about Waveline and I feel the need to take a small break and come back for the tour of their facility in the not so distant future. Examining the footage before editing, it seems like the tour will require the video to be broken down into two parts.
Let me take you down a different path, I planned this trip to China with very specific goals in mind. Knowing I would not be there for very long, I had a clearly defined yet set schedule. Well you can imagine what happen when I got to town, things changed. This situation did lead to some interesting surprises, which I consider a bonus and will share with you all.
One of the welcome changes, will allow me the opportunity to take you on a small tour of Hua Di Wan in Guangzhou. Hua Di Wan is considered the largest market place of its kind in China. Known too many as the fish and pet wholesale/retail market. Talk about being large, it took me two days to walk this place and left slightly disappointed knowing I did not walk it all. According to my pedometer, I walked nine miles each day.
Hua Di Wan is by all accounts multiple alleyways enclosed under one large roof. Each alleyway has an endless number of small stores closely situated to one another. Stores types vary from furniture, household items to wood carvings, but most importantly to us, aquatic animals.
A few of the shops prohibit anyone from taking photos, but what I found was if you ask nicely they give you the go ahead. One very big deal, no flash photography of the Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus).
With so many fish shops at Hua Di Wan it is easy to realize that Saltwater is just beginning to make an impact as a hobby. Freshwater shops outnumbered saltwater shops by at least 90%, by what I had seen. I came across one store that was selling Acropora corals and they had a line of people waiting to get in the store to purchase. Since I wasn’t purchasing anything they let me in to look around and ask questions. Pricing for these corals was similar to our local fish shops.
BTW, I will be posting photos of freshwater fish and critters on this saltwater forum, but there will be saltwater stuff as well.
Enjoy this fascinating approach to fish sales.
I’ve done three videos in a row about Waveline and I feel the need to take a small break and come back for the tour of their facility in the not so distant future. Examining the footage before editing, it seems like the tour will require the video to be broken down into two parts.
Let me take you down a different path, I planned this trip to China with very specific goals in mind. Knowing I would not be there for very long, I had a clearly defined yet set schedule. Well you can imagine what happen when I got to town, things changed. This situation did lead to some interesting surprises, which I consider a bonus and will share with you all.
One of the welcome changes, will allow me the opportunity to take you on a small tour of Hua Di Wan in Guangzhou. Hua Di Wan is considered the largest market place of its kind in China. Known too many as the fish and pet wholesale/retail market. Talk about being large, it took me two days to walk this place and left slightly disappointed knowing I did not walk it all. According to my pedometer, I walked nine miles each day.
Hua Di Wan is by all accounts multiple alleyways enclosed under one large roof. Each alleyway has an endless number of small stores closely situated to one another. Stores types vary from furniture, household items to wood carvings, but most importantly to us, aquatic animals.
A few of the shops prohibit anyone from taking photos, but what I found was if you ask nicely they give you the go ahead. One very big deal, no flash photography of the Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus).
With so many fish shops at Hua Di Wan it is easy to realize that Saltwater is just beginning to make an impact as a hobby. Freshwater shops outnumbered saltwater shops by at least 90%, by what I had seen. I came across one store that was selling Acropora corals and they had a line of people waiting to get in the store to purchase. Since I wasn’t purchasing anything they let me in to look around and ask questions. Pricing for these corals was similar to our local fish shops.
BTW, I will be posting photos of freshwater fish and critters on this saltwater forum, but there will be saltwater stuff as well.
Enjoy this fascinating approach to fish sales.
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Wow, how cool! When I was a student I spent 2 summers in China and 1 in Korea studying agriculture sustainability - so I stayed mostly in farms and rural communities with families. I would have LOVED to check out the reef/ornamental fishkeeping shops and factories. Can't wait to see more.
timkenagy
~Unashamed 116~
Many of the aquarium manufactures are located in Guangzhou and visiting Waveline was a priority for my visit to China. Eddie and Daniel greeted me with open arms and instantly made me feel welcomed in a place far from home. This was not my first meeting with Daniel, as we find ourselves at many of the trade shows throughout North America. Nevertheless, it was my first introduction to Eddie who treated me like family from the start, very inviting.
The first full hour of my visit I was introduced to as many of the employees as possible. We talked about the company’s early days and what we could discuss during the interviews. Some of the things my eyes and my camera may have seen were not ready for public awareness. From a glance you can see that the place was in high gear, as they were preparing for the China International Pet Show (CIPS) in Shanghai.
Eddie took some time to show me a few 3D illustrations of their booth for the CIPS show. They were all so busy preparing for the show that I was surprised how they found time for my intrusion and the interview.
Daniel agreed to the interview and here it is.
Tony:
Hi Daniel, I would like to thank you very much for allowing me to come and visit your facility. I now that most manufactures don’t like people coming by to see what they are doing. But I also like to thank you for allowing us to interview with you and to hear a little about the company’s history. So, if you can start from the very beginning and give us an idea of how you guys got stared.
Daniel:
Well Tony, in 2010 we had a vision of what the aquarium industry needed and we approached a few OEM factories to design us a pump. And, at that point we had an idea of using a DC power pump. We’ve asked a company to work with us, come up with a design to manufacture the DC 5000. We had the first few batch a very large success, but as the orders were coming in the quality of the product was not up to our standard and we asked the factory to put some check marks for us and we could not come to an agreement with them. In terms of quality and standardizing the product. At that point we decided to cut our ties with that factory and bought our own machines and used our own manufacturing methods following North American standards. Manufacturing what we have now is the DC 6000.
In the next video of this interview we will discuss the importance of departmentalization of the factory and how it effects quality control.
That's interesting,
I grew up in the manufacturing environment (Caterpillar country) and my family owns a plant that supplies Cat, Deere, and Case. All my life we've had it shoveled down our throats the Chinese and Japanese manufacturing processes (WCM, Six Sigma, Lean mfg etc..) I must say now that I've seen a lot of companies close from quality issues after applying these pressures it's good to see them saying they're adopting North American standards.
OP
OP
This is such a majestic fish, the Golden Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus). The Red Arowana use to be the most expensive fish in Asia and wait till you see the Red one I saw at the CIP show, photos to come when we get there.
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OP
OP
Was this a real fish??
That is a Giant Gourami (Osphronemus goramy) also known as Gourami Gourami.
OP
OP
Here are two display tanks from two different stores in Hua Di Wan. One is a well aged system and the other a semi-new system. The semi-new system is the store that sells just Acropora. Coming up soon, another display tank!
OP
OP
The Pig-nosed Turtle (Carettochelys insculpta), also known as the Pitted-shelled Turtle or the Fly River turtle. This is a very unique looking turtle with lots of personality, also seen a completely white variety!
