Hannah Snowden

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University of Nottingham > Engineering > Departments > Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering > PDM Exhibitions > 2024 > MEng students > Hannah Snowden

The XThemal Sealer is a semi-automatic microplate heat sealer for low to medium throughput laboratories in the US, China and Europe.

During my spare time at school, I could always be found in the product design workshops, developing my next project. This isn’t something I’ve grown out of, though I’d like to think I’m now tackling more challenging briefs. Therefore, it was no surprise that I chose to study Product Design and Manufacture (MEng) at university; I’ve always enjoyed solving problems.

Throughout university I’ve particularly appreciated developing CAD and renders towards the end of each design project. Being able to fully visualise and communicate a product that was previously just an idea is a rewarding feeling. As such, I have developed these skills further during my work experience at Bloc Digital in the 3D Modelling and Rendering team.

Throughout my early career, it has been my aim to gain a range of experiences to better equip me as a product designer. During my year in industry at Rolls-Royce Defence Aerospace, my role included project management in the Transformation team and continuous improvement of manufacturing operations in the investment casting foundry. During my placement I passed the APM Project Management Qualification and completed the exam and bootcamp to achieve Lean Six Sigma Green Belt accreditation after presenting improvement opportunities to management.

I truly believe that just because something works, doesn’t mean that it’s good enough. This is a mindset that I hope to demonstrate in the coming years, pursuing roles in the product design field that challenge and develop me professionally.

Hannah Snowden, MEng Product Design and Manufacture

XThemal Sealer

The XThemal Sealer is a semi-automatic microplate heat sealer for low to medium throughput laboratories in the US, China and Europe. Microplates are a standard tool in life science laboratories, they are flat plates with multiple cavities which serve as small test tubes for samples. To achieve long-term storage of samples, this product adheres thermal foils over plate wells by providing heat and pressure to the top of microplates. This has been a live project, carried out with guidance from XT Biomed.

During the development of this product, the needs of the user (life science technicians) was balanced with the needs of the client. This meant that the design required a reliable and easy to maintain sealing mechanism which was low cost to manufacture. This resulted in the design of a motor and lead screw driven linear mechanism to move the microplate towards and away from the heat source. It was recognised that over time wheels in the mechanism will wear down, as such an adjustable wheel axel was designed to ensure that by turning the screw, the wheels will tighten to the rail.

To combat limited space within life science laboratories, this product is sized competitively in comparison to existing designs. In addition, it is easier to move than competitors, weighing at 7.4kg (in comparison existing products weighing 9 – 12kg). To ensure the safety of users, standards such as BS EN 61010 were followed to prevent finger traps, burns and difficult to clean spillages.