Canesh Karrunavannan

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University of Nottingham > Engineering > Departments > Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering > PDM Exhibitions > 2023 > MEng students > Canesh Karrunavannan

A deep fat fryer designed to encourage people to fry foods themselves by guiding consumers through the frying process.

I'm Canesh, a Design Engineer, who enjoys taking on complex challenges to create well designed, thoughtful, and intuitive solutions that work to put the user needs first.

I decided to study Product Design and Manufacture as I have always had a strong interest in design – working to create a beautifully-solved product that fits the needs of the user. With the completion of the course, I have become a well-rounded design engineer capable of creating innovative solutions that both comfortably fit the user and solve the issue.

With the degree, I also able to complete a 13-month placement at Brett Martin Daylight Systems, where I predominately worked on bespoke rooflight ranges where opportunities arose for redevelopment. With the completion of my course, I will now be returning to Brett Martin Daylight Systems as a Design and Support Engineer.

Canesh Karrunavannan, MEng Product Design and Manufacture

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Poriyal

Introducing “Poriyal”, a deep fat fryer designed to encourage people to fry foods themselves by guiding consumers through the frying process.

A key feature of the device is the fry pot. This component holds the hot oil and other key components like the heating element. As such it is important the part is capable to operate and withstand hot oil up to 200 degrees celsius, leading to it being made from Stainless Steel 316. The fry pot is also capable of being fully removed from the main body to aid with cleaning. To secure in place while cooking, the fry pot has a bent lip to sit over the main body’s edge. An associated cut-out is also place on the main body to aid the user in correctly locating the fry pot onto the main body.

The main user interface of “Poriyal” will be with the control interface. The interface is designed to be simple and easy to understand. The right control knob sets the temperature, while the left control knob controls the draining and filtering of the fry pot and the lifting and lowering of the wire basket. Simple icons were used to communicate this intent to the user.

One of the main features of “Poriyal” is the lead screw drive. Using a stepper motor and lead screw, the wire basket base plate is raised via the T8 nut, which converts rotational movement to linear movement of the base plate. A 10mm guide rod and nylon brushing is used to give frictionless support to the movement.

The other main feature of “Poriyal” is the filter. The filter has two functions: to clean the oil of debris, and to drain the fry pot. This is achieved by a centrifugal pump that can draw in oil from the pot and push it through filter paper catch debris. "Poriyal’s" ability to drain the fry pot of oil is an essential feature of the device as it stops users from having to lift a heavy pot containing 3.5L of oil. Should they spill when draining the pot, it will take them hours to clean.

"Poriyal" is designed for the home and put the user first. The powered lifting of the base plate and draining of pot removes the more hazardous activities involved with frying.