Sandia engineer shows results of outside-the-box efforts
Mar. 4—The small things really do matter, and sometimes it's worth it to go above and beyond. That's the lesson learned from the work of Sandia National Laboratories systems engineer Robert Petterborg and his colleagues.
According to a news release from the labs, Petterborg used his spare time to design, with the help of other engineers, a new cable connector that eliminates misalignments that could interfere with testing defense systems hardware.
"I wasn't assigned this work," Petterborg said. "This was a multifaceted and multidisciplinary project that I voluntarily took on to address a problem. If everyone did things the way we've always done them, we wouldn't have innovation. We would never have anything better than what we have now."
The problemThe previous connector — used to connect various cables on weapons systems to be tested — had many individual pieces, creating a risk of either a poor connection or damaging the cable. Such cables are difficult and costly to manufacture.
The solutionWith the support of his management and the help and input of many others at Sandia, Petterborg designed the new connector in about a year and a half using 3D printing and model-based design. Petterborg called on the expertise of machinists across the labs. He said the input he received from colleagues helped him optimize the design of the connector. The team tested a variety of materials for the connector and rapidly fabricated multiple design iterations, saving time and money.
One significant change is that the old connector's many individual pieces were replaced by a seamless unit made of correctly fitting metal parts that were manufactured by 3D printing, thus eliminating misalignments that could result from manually setting up the parts.
"Instead of having multiple pieces that need to be assembled in the correct order, you're now working with just one unit," said Michelle Pang, a human factors engineer who worked with Petterborg on the newly designed connector.
The new connector has a transparent window at the top, an opening on the side to slide in the cable, and a single lever that moves the parts of the connector.
"The window allows the user to visually align the cable in the adapter and then make a reliable repeatable connection by lowering the lever," Petterborg said.
The outside-the-box approach expedited the process. Petterborg estimates it could have taken a dedicated team three to five years to develop the connector were it not for this combined effort. Instead, it only took a year and a half.
Lessons learnedThere were important lessons learned, and not just scientific or engineering lessons.
"This was unorthodox and a risk to do something out of the norm. I knew I had the capability, and Sandia has the diverse resources to make it happen. I took the risk knowing it had a high likelihood of success," Petterborg said.
The unorthodox approach "allowed me to fail and iterate quickly and improve on previous designs," he said.
"Failing is a natural part of the design process. Failing quickly, learning and improving on the previous failures faster means a better end result."
