The Melni Connector Story
“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”
― Aristotle
The Invention Story:
About six years ago I was in my garage and looked up at a package of miscellaneous electrical crimps and thought, “Here's something that hasn't been changed in over 60 years! There's got to be a better way to do this!” My idea came to me in a flash and I drew it up on the back of an old manual. When I showed this to my buddy (who's an electrician) he called me a derogatory name then told me that he thought I might have something....
Basically, my invention uses a metal spiral that contracts down on top of the conductor. Once the conductor is attached, any force that pulls the conductor away from the connector creates more pressure (Think Chinese finger trap). We use compression glands to tightly seal out all moisture, air, gas and oil. This is the first time in history electricians and lineman will be able to connect wires together and have them ready for burial, water and any type of environment in less than a minute. I know that's a mouthful but its true. Check out the video and decide for yourself.
My first patent was issued in 13 months, which is considered extraordinarily quick. We currently have 4 US patents issued and a PTC filing. An organization called "Kickstand" introduced me to a number of people that were very instrumental in the formative process of my invention. Kickstand is an organization that Promotes networking with other innovative people in industry. Tech help (which is part of Boise State University) allowed me to bring my inventions from drawings to reality using SLA technology. They are a 'fast prototyping' laboratory.
When I first came up with this idea, I imagined large companies like 3M or Burndy snatching it up and paying lots of money. Nothing could've been farther from the truth. Inventing has been the most rewarding and challenging thing I've ever done. The accomplishments (Idaho entrepreneur of the year 2010) are very cool but with that comes the reality that my invention is disruptive and will ultimately change the way that wires are being connected. Large corporations are set in their ways and they are very reluctant to change things. That will be one of the biggest hurdles I have to overcome.
Coming from completely outside of the electrical industry (Pianist, Computer Tech) I had to learn as much as I could about conductors and the theory behind electrical transfer. It became evident that crimps and the nature of crimping are very inefficient. The efficiency and the potential of my design were instantly apparent. A lot of the times when I would show the invention to people I truly had to go all the way down to a Chinese finger trap before it clicked. I began carrying them with me so that I could explain my invention better. Once people understood the principle they became avid supporters. We received tremendous support from the Idaho National Laboratory to help us progress through testing stages. Although it's difficult dealing with the commercialization of this product it’s tremendously exciting to hear the enthusiasm from the engineers of large companies.
In the past year I've had the opportunity to witness firsthand what linemen have to go through to make a crimp connection for burial. I was amazed. This job, under the best conditions, is difficult. I was invited to watch a utility company lineman make a 4/0 connection in 9 degree weather! After lugging his heavy crimp tool, dies, tapes, silicone gel and finishing insulators to the site and laying them out on a tarp, he began to prepare the conductors. The crimping tool was hydraulic and worked with a pump action. When the conductors were ready, he placed the dies in the crimping tool and began the crimping process. He did 3 crimps on each side of the splice then he applied the insulating material. During the process, he had to remove his gloves twice and put hand warmers in them. All in all that process took over 20 minutes to complete!
When the lineman finished, I showed my connectors to the crew. They were speechless. Minus the cable preparation, my connector could be installed in less than a minute - no heavy awkward tools or insulating material needed. It became obvious that this is my mission - to bring a device to market that will improve working conditions for linemen and electricians.
Consider this - in a disaster - If 1000 crimp connectors were down and each connector took 15 minutes to replace - the total time it would take would be roughly 250 hours. The Melni connector is completely installed and waterproof in less than 1 minute – roughly 16 hours for 1000 connections! That equals 2 eight hour days as opposed to 31! Crimps take so long because of the archaic tools, splices, insulating tapes and hot or cold shrink insulators. The Melni connector is already insulated and uses very simple tools. It’s fast!
I feel the most important part of my invention is that it will keep linemen and electricians safer. I had no idea when I invented this device that linemen sometimes make connections on live wires. The Melni connector can be placed over the ‘hot’ conductor and set with the gland cap. This temporarily isolates the conductor and lowers the workers risk of getting injured.
Overall Impact:
In the past couple of years it seems like there's been numerous catastrophes where the power has gone down and stays down for an extended period of time. My invention has the potential to minimize the time expended on these connections and make it so that stricken areas can get back on line much quicker. My hope is that with the Melni connector it will reduce that time immeasurably and make the lineman/electricians jobs extremely easier and safer.
I think Steve Westphal (a good friend and electrician) summed it up when he said "it's important to see this invention put into production, for my sons and their sons and all electricians."
Highlights of the 4/0 connector:
The Melni Butt Splice connector is the flagship product and the one that has been through the most development and testing. The Melni Butt Splice has several advantages over the butt splice connectors currently in use.
Ease of Installation: The Melni connector is easy to use. Just insert the stripped cable, twist the end caps to tighten the patented spiral insert, and then tighten the waterproofing caps.
Installation Time: In the larger sizes a crimp-style connector can take up to 15 minutes to fully install. The Melni connector can be installed in less than a minute.
Waterproof Connection: The Melni connector is waterproof with sealing caps that compress a neoprene bushing around the cable.
Available Clear body design: This enables electricians and linemen to quickly spot a faulty connector by allowing them to look at the copper insert through the clear polycarbonate body (standard connector is black).
The wire is saved when replacing a connector: Simply cut the connector in half using a cable cutting tool and the two ends of the connector will slip off leaving the wire untouched.
Works well on both stranded and solid conductors: It even works on ‘Ultra-flex’ cables that have many more strands.
Toolbox Simplification: It’s no longer necessary to keep a list of things needed to make a proper connection like the hydraulic crimper, proper dies, tapes and shrink wraps.
Competitive price and no expensive tools to buy: The anticipated retail price of a 4/0 Melni has not been set. However the Melni connector should sell for roughly $30. Considering the cost of materials and labor involved in the current crimp connections and the $30 to $45 cost of the current mechanical inline splice connectors, the Melni will be a bargain.
We would like to have your help in choosing a nick name for our ‘Butt-Splice’ connector (my daughter is having a hard time telling her friends about her dad’s “BUTT” Splice invention). It seems like electricians have nicknames for every type of connector so please send your suggestions to connector@melni.org we will email you back and let you know which one we chose, whichever one we select will get a special mention on our website and a T-Shirt that says…..’I named the Melni connector and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt!!!’
A Call for Help:
We have taken this invention from an idea to a physical product. The vast majority of our challenges have been ‘funding our efforts’. The economy shifted and funding dollars are few and far between. We are on the home stretch now and we really need your help. These connectors must be UL certified before we can ship them and that is the most expensive part of our adventure. Please help us get the word out if you know of any manufacturers or distributers that would be interested in our product. Please contact us through our website at www.melni.org or send an email directly to connector@melni.org. Your thoughts and opinions will be greatly appreciated.
Please check out our website at www.melni.org to see other connectors that we are working on.
Prayer, thankfulness and faith have brought us through many challenges, trials and tribulations. With your help we will be able to get the UL testing we need and have the connectors on the shelves by the end of the year. God Bless you all.
Mark Melni
Inventor
mark@melni.org
www.melni.org
