Looking for an Engineer in USA

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JVanste

Registered
Messages
33
Reaction score
4
Location
Panama City FL
# of dives
25 - 49
Good morning. My name is Jonathan and I have Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy. I have an idea for some new adaptive scuba and snorkel equipment for people with disabilities and I'm seeing if anyone can help me engineer it. You can go to Adaptive Equipment to read the full scope of my project. Message me if you can help me with this.
 
“You can take every tool and die maker in the United States and probably put them in a room that we’re currently sitting in,” Cook told 60 Minutes in a 2015 interview. “In China, you would have to have multiple football fields.”

 
Yo, Happy.... the guy is in the US, wants someone with the engineering credentials IN THE US to help work out some details... likely with less of a language barrier and time barrier of being half way around the world. Maybe they will go to China when it's time to manufacture but for now he is in the creation stage. Try to keep out of the way if you can't be helpful.
 
Yo, Happy.... the guy is in the US, wants someone with the engineering credentials IN THE US to help work out some details... likely with less of a language barrier and time barrier of being half way around the world. Maybe they will go to China when it's time to manufacture but for now he is in the creation stage. Try to keep out of the way if you can't be helpful.
THANK YOU! Did you read the full scope of my project?
 
I'm not an engineer, but I did read your project scope.

I'm not completely familiar with the challenges you are trying to address, but if I understand your project, you are looking for something that will improve regulator retention and seal without the individual being able to do this on their own.

As I was reading it, I was reminded of a regulator mouthpiece that I had seen previously that may help in this regard. Not by itself, but might be a step in the right direction. I was able to search and found this mouthpiece by Scuba Choice. It seems to include the Comfo-bite style mouthpiece, which many divers like. Rather than holding with the teeth, it uses the soft palate.

Scuba Choice⁦Scuba Choice Silicone Regulator Comfort Bite Mouthpiece with Lip Shield, Orange⁩In stock onlineFree delivery Feb 9 – 1430-day returnsSmall business$11.99

This version also includes a lip shield. This got me to think that you may be able to start with this, and use a neoprene strap to better secure it. Basically beefing up a regulator necklace with improved retention by using the lip shield portion of the above mouthpiece.

Just a thought. Might be able to quickly mock up a prototype to see if it is an improvement.
 
I read through your project scope and think you are looking to create something(s) that pretty much already exist. I also don't believe some of your premises to be correct....for instance your project scope states:

"Current solutions like a full-face dive or snorkel mask have airspace that increases the buoyance of your head but the rest of your body sinks which makes it difficult to be horizontal without equipment that increases the buoyancy of the lower portion of your body."

Whether or not the mask increases buoyancy, the composition (ratio of muscle, fat, bone, etc) of the rest of the body will impact the positive/negative buoyancy of the upper and lower body. The amount of buoyancy a facemask (full face mask or snorkel mask) adds can easily and readily be balanced with current off the shelf balasting products.

You also wrote:

"My adapted mouthpiece for scuba diving and snuba diving will be better than a traditional full face dive mask because the adapted mouthpiece will have no empty air space allowing the user to go into a horizontal face down swimming position without the need of a wetsuit and/or flippers."

I think you are putting way too much emphasis on the effect a traditional full face dive mask has on ones ability to attain/maintain body position in the water, and while a wetsuit and flippers can affect body position in the water, they are not employed for that purpose. As you may/may not know, a wet suit's primary function is to provide thermal protection, and flippers are primarily employed to provide a more efficient means of propulsion in the water compared to using bare feet or the arms and hands. The employment of a mask, whatever the type, would be independent of the decision to wear flippers and exposure suit.

Currently full facemasks exist, and so do straps to retain a mouthpiece in place.

There is already a limited market for much of SCUBA gear, and given much of what your project scope discusses already exists in some form or another, it would be more effective to adapt and use existing equipment than to engineer something with limited marketability that is designed to address perceived problems that don't really exist.

-Z
 
I read through your project scope and think you are looking to create something(s) that pretty much already exist. I also don't believe some of your premises to be correct....for instance your project scope states:

"Current solutions like a full-face dive or snorkel mask have airspace that increases the buoyance of your head but the rest of your body sinks which makes it difficult to be horizontal without equipment that increases the buoyancy of the lower portion of your body."

Whether or not the mask increases buoyancy, the composition (ratio of muscle, fat, bone, etc) of the rest of the body will impact the positive/negative buoyancy of the upper and lower body. The amount of buoyancy a facemask (full face mask or snorkel mask) adds can easily and readily be balanced with current off the shelf balasting products.

You also wrote:

"My adapted mouthpiece for scuba diving and snuba diving will be better than a traditional full face dive mask because the adapted mouthpiece will have no empty air space allowing the user to go into a horizontal face down swimming position without the need of a wetsuit and/or flippers."

I think you are putting way too much emphasis on the effect a traditional full face dive mask has on ones ability to attain/maintain body position in the water, and while a wetsuit and flippers can affect body position in the water, they are not employed for that purpose. As you may/may not know, a wet suit's primary function is to provide thermal protection, and flippers are primarily employed to provide a more efficient means of propulsion in the water compared to using bare feet or the arms and hands. The employment of a mask, whatever the type, would be independent of the decision to wear flippers and exposure suit.

Currently full facemasks exist, and so do straps to retain a mouthpiece in place.

There is already a limited market for much of SCUBA gear, and given much of what your project scope discusses already exists in some form or another, it would be more effective to adapt and use existing equipment than to engineer something with limited marketability that is designed to address perceived problems that don't really exist.

-Z
This is my own experiences and I want to solve them.
 
I think a draeger gag strap with a comfobite or moldable bite piece will get you quite close. From your site it kinda sounds like you are trying to make a full face with low volume and isolated eye pocket. Would be interested to see it.

I do think it would be more important to have an experienced person properly trim you out. I don't know a single human that is naturally trimmed and properly weighted. Probably 90% of divers aren't either. I am constantly working on mine and sometimes I changed something and it sucks again.

Getting the right amount of lead, or in rarer cases foam, adjusted and placed properly could make the world of difference in someone unable to move different limbs.

The positive pressure with full face mask would probably be the safest option, but scuba is full of risks. Choose yours wisely.

I R engineer! Not sure how much help I can be.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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