My name is Nicholas Merton. I am a Mechanical Engineer from South Africa who dabbles in some system administration, programming and a multitude of other small projects. I enjoy picking topics which solve problems I have or sometimes the topics are old interests which I revisit.
My History
Freelance Designer
Sadly SBT Laboratories did not survive COVID-19, and the job market has yet to recover. I have been able to keep myself somewhat busy and afloat by doing small design jobs. Among other things, I have designed an adapter plate to join a Nissan engine to a BMW gearbox and two billet exhaust manifolds, one for a 1994 Audi Quattro and the other for a Nissan GTR RB26 engine to be fitted inside a Datsun 280 body - so a normal branch manifold will not easily fit.
SBT Laboratories
At SBT Laboratories I was the Product Design Engineer responsible for any new Laboratory and Mortuary products and updating and upgrading existing products. I led a team of engineers and draughtsmen responsible for designing the equipment and generating the manufacturing drawing packs, creating the layout drawings and Bill of Quantities for new installations, and coordinating with external fabricators and sub-contractors.
While at SBT Laboratories, I was involved in several interesting projects. We designed all the mortuary fixtures for the the Groote Schuur Forensic Pathology Mortuary in Cape Town - the largest mortuary in the southern hemisphere as of 2020. As well as several other mortuaries around the country. On the laboratory side, we did installations at Sasol, the Vaal University of Technology, the Centre for Science, Technology and Research (CSIR), the National Institute of Occupational Hygiene (NIOH), the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS), and the National Centre for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
Ramsay Engineering
I completed two vacation work periods at Ramsay Engineering, a automotive manufacturer, Toyota was their largest customer. During my time there I worked in their fabrication workshop, building work in progress trollies to be used on the line, and jig trollies to hold jigs for their new CNC drilling machine. The second time I worked there, I designed a self tilting work in progress rack to improve the operator ergonomics while loading parts onto the automated weld cell.
Studies
I studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Achieving a Bachelors of Engineering Degree. I would like to return to my studies as soon as finances allow.
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