N8tely, et al. With regard to design, as an old mechanical engineer I can get excited about these sort of questions! Fun thing to think about...
Have you identified the design goals beyond, I assume, cost of materials? Even with the rise in raw polymer materials this thing could be built pretty cheap. Is anybody going to try and make a bit of money with this?
1) Functionality. This is likely where Cecil's and Bill's designs speak to durability, size, accessability, etc.
2) Transportability. Size & weight. Clearly a collapsible design would be in everybody's interest. But then you have to design for...
3) Ease of assembly. The tie wraps used in both Cecil's and Bill's designs are relatively cumbersome, take a bit of time to assemble, and discourage quick break down during the off season. If you're designing the system, could a series of lightweight pins be used at the joints? Better yet, how about a snap system - as used in some children's lego-type toys where joints come together? I recently bought an outdoor shed made of synthetic polymer material and the whole thing just snapped together. No screws, bolts, etc. This also reduces part count.
4) Modularity. From Cecil's and Bill's discussion this is not a one-size-fits-all problem. But you'd like a one-size-fits-all solution, at least as much as possible. You should accommodate depth, length, width, size of mesh, etc. So could you build a simple 2x2' or 4x4' design that could be configured to any other compounded size?
5) Last, can it be accessorized! And that's where you make the money. I'm sorta joking here, but not much. Temp probes and displays. Lights. Easy access panels. Cameras. Whatever. Since I'm relatively new to this forum, I won't name the specific people that will buy this stuff... But you guys know who you are
Fun concept! If you describe the above to any of the manufacturing shops, I bet they'll have in-house people that could come up with some great concepts.
As for the material, I wonder if there is any option for algae-resistance. And is there a concern about adverse leeching of chemicals from any of the available materials?
