Alida Ratteray

Mechanical Design at Farmshelf

In the DFM phase of the Farmshelf launch, I was tasked with redesigning the nursery for manufacturability, cost reduction, technical requirements, and usability. The nursery is a critical subassembly of the Farmshelf unit, where seedlings spend the first weeks of their grow cycle under highly controlled conditions. The nursery prototype used for preliminary plant testing was designed to establish and validate optimal environmental conditions for plant growth. However, the prototype was not designed for scaled manufacturing and had significant cost and usability concerns.

Mechanical Design at Farmshelf

I specialized in consumer-focused components that significantly improved the user experience in cleaning, harvesting, and refilling units. A key challenge was adapting my design process to be both user-centered and plant-centered, balancing ease of use with the strict biological needs of the plants. Cleanability was critical for plant health, as reducing contamination directly improved growth.

One example was the water level dams I designed for the grow shelves. These components had to be easy to remove and replace without getting lost during cleaning, while meeting strict mechanical and material requirements for a watertight seal and NSF food safety standards. I designed a unique over-molded gasket design to guarantee a reliable seal in case of tolerance issues, and the removable design cut cleaning time by 80%, ensuring customer and plant success.