Journey
The Arcswitch® Meter has come into existence due to an arc flash event, occurring in 2003 I was an apprentice Electrician at the time, working as a contractor in a cement plant, just starting out on my journey into the wonderful and exciting world of problem solving and working in the dark.
I remember that day very well, after a long shift on site I caught the local news report of a tragic electrical arcflash event in a nearby generation station. Sadly the accident injured one and claimed two precious lives. I’ve often thought of what happened on that day and how there had to be a safer way for the engineers to work.
Over the next few days I had many ideas but one idea kept coming back to me. Unfortunately life got in the way and that idea would pop back up and fade away over the years. Later on in my career, in 2012, that original idea came to me again, with renewed passion and vigour. By this time I had progressed into the high voltage world of Switchgear, Relays and Circuit breakers, I said to my self, ‘‘you have two options you either do something about it or you forget about it and move on’’.
I set about buying some electronics parts on the internet and teaching my self some basics in electronics. I read and researched everything I could get my hands on. After a lot of effort, and of course plenty of failures, I got a basic prototype (version 1.3) working in the field. Once I switched the first breaker remotely, I knew straight away that this would be the future of switching. I still had further to travel in my journey and more problems to solve so years came and went. Problems I taught I had solved kept rearing back up and leading to further research and learning.
All the while working a full time job, so the only time I could work and develop my idea was evenings, and weekends. When I had a setback I’d park the project, (codename Duttor) I would work some over time and use this extra money to improve and develop the project. I purchased more electronics and got some printed circuit boards engineered. Eventually, through testing and development, I designed different versions with each new design becoming more reliable and efficient then the last. I came to a turning point when I learned about the different regulations the design would need to abide by, such as IEC- 61010-1 and EMC directives. To my horror, I realized I would have to start all over again. Or quit.
I believed too much in the idea, the product and myself to stop, so resolved to problem solve. I decided to redesign and re-engineer everything to meet and surpass the regulations, so the product will be safe, robust and reliable.
In the Summer of 2019 I committed myself to get this NEW GROUND BREAKING TECHNOLOGY to market and get it into the hands of the Electricians and Engineers who really need it. I took the biggest leap of faith, quit my day job and ventured out on my own. I finalized the design and submitted the product for independent third party testing by an authorized testing lab in England. With testing now complete I am proud to announce the Arcswitch® Meter is launching in summer 2020.
The Arcswitch® Meter will be built in Ireland in a micro facility, primarily to keep the lead time to a minimum. Secondarily, I can control the quality and Intellectual property. It also allows a greater scope to grow as a company.
looking back on this journey, from 2003 to today, I know I made the right decision in pursuing this endeavour. It is and will be worth the enormous amount of effort, dedication and sacrifice to get the Arcswitch® Meter into the hands of those that need it most.