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Research projects with companies
A modular batch washer for laundry
Conventional unitary (non-modular) batch washers are difficult to construct as well as being expensive to manufacture and repair.
01/10/2009
A batch washer is the main piece of equipment on a line of machines used to wash large volumes of laundry. Conventional unitary (non-modular) batch washers are difficult to construct as well as being expensive to manufacture and repair. Collaboration between the Industrial Equipment Design Center (CDEI-UPC) and Girbau, SA has led to the development of a new modular batch washer that gets around these problems—a strategic product that will enable the company to adapt to and meet market needs.
Cooperation between the design center and the firm has resulted in the creation of a batch washer that is much more economical to construct and that can be configured on a large scale (Meccano-style). The product has been patented worldwide and most of its subsystems and components can be prefabricated before sale. Another advantage of this washer is that delivery time is much shorter than in the case of conventional models.
In addition to the new modular batch washer, collaboration between the University and Girbau, SA has also led to a range of high-speed washing machines, a line of industrial irons, and a basic research project on a robotic laundry-handling system.
This framework for collaboration has also facilitated the transfer of employees from the CDEI-UPC to Girbau, SA, where they now work as engineers, project engineers and product managers.
The Industrial Equipment Design Center (CDEI-UPC), with its expertise in machine engineering, and Girbau, SA, which specializes in industrial laundry equipment, began working together 25 years ago. Girbau, SA is a Catalan company that is rapidly extending its international reach. The firm is present in China, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the United States and France. With professor Carles Riba, the director of the CDEI-UPC and a member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, acting as an adviser and driving force behind the project, Girbau, SA, together with other manufacturers of capital goods, has set up the CEQUIP Foundation to represent and boost this cross-cutting sector, which has a distinctive technology profile and sufficient capacity to contribute to innovation and production processes in other sectors, such as the hotel and hospital sectors.
Cooperation between the design center and the firm has resulted in the creation of a batch washer that is much more economical to construct and that can be configured on a large scale (Meccano-style). The product has been patented worldwide and most of its subsystems and components can be prefabricated before sale. Another advantage of this washer is that delivery time is much shorter than in the case of conventional models.
In addition to the new modular batch washer, collaboration between the University and Girbau, SA has also led to a range of high-speed washing machines, a line of industrial irons, and a basic research project on a robotic laundry-handling system.
This framework for collaboration has also facilitated the transfer of employees from the CDEI-UPC to Girbau, SA, where they now work as engineers, project engineers and product managers.
Industrial machines with a broad range of sectoral applications
The Industrial Equipment Design Center (CDEI-UPC), with its expertise in machine engineering, and Girbau, SA, which specializes in industrial laundry equipment, began working together 25 years ago. Girbau, SA is a Catalan company that is rapidly extending its international reach. The firm is present in China, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the United States and France. With professor Carles Riba, the director of the CDEI-UPC and a member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, acting as an adviser and driving force behind the project, Girbau, SA, together with other manufacturers of capital goods, has set up the CEQUIP Foundation to represent and boost this cross-cutting sector, which has a distinctive technology profile and sufficient capacity to contribute to innovation and production processes in other sectors, such as the hotel and hospital sectors.
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