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Control The Flow

Miniature flow control valve that regulates / measures water flow and reports the data via wifi or Bluetooth to a digital system

This challenge is closed

stage:
Won
prize:
$3,000

This challenge is closed

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Summary
Timeline
Updates4
Forum7
Teams36
FAQ
Summary

Overview

About the Flow Control Challenge

Your mission is to design a miniature control valve for water that meets the following standards.

Round in shape with the OD (Outside Diameter) no bigger than 1” and no longer than 3” (including the threads) with ½” NPT (National Pipe Threads) female threads on both ends. 

The valve must allow for a dynamically settable flow (between 1 to 5 gpm) and continually measure this flow, periodically reporting the flow to a central digital system (PC, Tablet, cloud).

The desired flow change setting will occur on average 1 – 5 times per week and shall also be controlled through a remote device / app. 

The water will only flow between 2 – 20 minutes every day or twice a day. The valve shall be battery powered, the battery should last a minimum of 1-year. Due to its location, the valve cannot rely on solar panels or any other source of electricity. No electrical components shall come in contact with water. Valve must be able to maintain the flow in 20% accuracy.

Design criteria should include allowances for differential pressure between 40 to 80 PSID, maximum inline pressure 100 PSI. Temperature range 95F - 200F.

 

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

  • OD 1" and 3" long brass body;
  • Total cost < $40 assembled;
  • The battery should last 1 year minimum (easy to change);
  • The valve should last minimum 2 years (warranty);
  • Valve is able to maintain the flow in 20% accuracy;
  • WiFi/Bluetooth communication;

 

JUDGING CRITERIA

  • Cost of manufacturing (entries with lower cost receive more votes);
  • Number of parts (entries with less number of parts receive more votes);
  • Ease of manufacturing (entries which require common methods receive more votes);
  • Adherence to technical requirements

Guidelines

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

  • OD 1" and 3" long brass body;
  • Total cost < $40 assembled;
  • The battery should last 1 year minimum (easy to change);
  • The valve should last minimum 2 years (warranty);
  • Valve is able to maintain the flow in 20% accuracy;
  • WiFi/Bluetooth communication;

 

JUDGING CRITERIA

  • Cost of manufacturing (entries with lower cost receive more votes);
  • Number of parts (entries with less number of parts receive more votes);
  • Ease of manufacturing (entries which require common methods receive more votes);
  • Adherence to technical requirements (listed above)
Timeline
Updates4

Challenge Updates

Winners Announced!

Aug. 9, 2017, 1:30 p.m. PDT by Liz Treadwell

The MicroTechnologies team is thrilled to announce the winners of their Control the Flow challenge! They are very pleased with the solutions received and appreciate everyone who submitted an entry.

You can view the winners here: https://herox.com/controltheflow


Judging Update: Part 2!

June 30, 2017, 4 p.m. PDT by Liz Treadwell

Greetings,

Just wanted to follow up with everyone that the MicroTechnologies team is still in the process of reviewing the submissions they received. We sincerely appreciate your patience as they come to a final decision.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact the HeroX team at gethelp@herox.com

Have a wonderful weekend!

Liz

HeroX Crowdsourcing Success team


Judging Update

June 6, 2017, 1 p.m. PDT by Liz Treadwell

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to provide an update that the MicroTechnologies team is still in the process of reviewing the submissions. We appreciate your patience during this judging stage. They will hopefully have a decision soon so stay tuned!

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact the HeroX team at

 


Time is running out!

April 24, 2017, 3:12 p.m. PDT by Liz Treadwell

Greetings Control the Flow innovators!

There are just about 5 days left until the submission deadline, so I'm sending along a friendly reminder to get your solutions in prior to April 29th at 11 p.m. PDT. After that time, no additional submissions will be accepted so don't wait until the last minute! If you've already submitted your solution, you can go back and edit/re-submit it up until the deadline.

If you have any questions or if you're running into technical issues, you can contact the HeroX team at gethelp@herox.com

Good luck!


Forum7
Teams36
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