WATER & WASTEWATER
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
ENGINEERING THE CONDITIONS
FOR WATER TO RECOVER.
Robby Galletta Enterprises develops mechanical systems for water and wastewater applications. This division brings together mechanical design, hands-on development and testing to explore how equipment can be built and refined for these environments.
01 / THE PRINCIPLE
HENRY’S LAW
ROBBY GALLETTA / HENRY’S LAW DEMONSTRATION / 03:01
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO
WITH WASTEWATER TREATMENT?
EVERYTHING.
RGE LEGEND / UNVERIFIED
THE SIPPY-CUP
LEGEND.
According to an RGE legend, Robby’s young daughter was blowing bubbles in a sippy cup while he was studying.
The story says he covered the opening and blew into it — and the bubbles disappeared.
Nobody knows whether the account is literally true. It remains an unverified RGE legend, not established historical fact or scientific proof.
WHAT IF THE ANSWER
WASN’T MAKING
MORE BUBBLES?
THE DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE
IT MAY BE CALLED AN AERATOR.
BUT IT WAS ENGINEERED
TO DO MUCH MORE.
NOT JUST AERATION.
TREATMENT.
RGE’s development objective was to move beyond aeration toward a broader treatment system. Later chapters will examine the technical ideas and the evidence behind that objective.
01 / MATILDA DEVELOPMENT
THE CONCEPT
Matilda began as an idea on paper: a floating machine whose structure, drives and internal mechanism would have to work together. These original drawings show that idea taking an engineered form.
An illustrated concept for a covered floating machine, with its drives and platform shown in a pond setting.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
The annotated side view identifies the proposed drives, flotation, intake and water exit. The sheet carries the handwritten date November 20, 2004. It records design intentions—not demonstrated treatment performance.
Original annotated side-view drawing. Handwritten date: November 20, 2004.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
02 / MATILDA DEVELOPMENT
THE MECHANISM
The mechanism gave the concept its substance. Wheel geometry, parallel shafts and the internal arrangement had to be considered together. These drawings and patent figures reveal the thinking behind the machine.
Original drawing of adjacent radial wheels and a parallel shaft arrangement.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
Original plan drawing showing the proposed internal arrangement.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
US 7,427,058 B2 · September 23, 2008 · Figure 2. Covered machine and wheel arrangement.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
US 7,531,097 B2 · May 12, 2009 · Figures 4A / 4B. Wheel and shaft arrangements.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
These figure sheets document mechanical concepts. They are presented as historical design material, not as independent evidence of treatment effectiveness.
03 / MATILDA DEVELOPMENT
FROM DRAWING TO METAL
On the shop floor, lines on paper became fabricated parts. Welded sections, channels and connections brought the design into physical form—from individual details to substantial machine components.
Fabricated metal components in the foreground, with a large radial rotor and structural frame behind them.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
Fabricated channel pieces laid out on the bench. Visible image date stamp: 11/30/2010.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
Bolted hinge, mounting plates and welded connections on the housing.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
04 / MATILDA DEVELOPMENT
MACHINING AND FITTING
The larger machine depended on hands-on work at the bench. Machining, measuring and fitting connected the design to the parts being assembled. These photographs bring that work into close view.
Work at the milling machine. Visible image date stamp: 11/30/2010.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
The photographs record manufacturing and fitting work in progress. They do not establish machining dimensions, tolerances or operating specifications.
Shaft measurement or fitting at the gearbox. Visible image date stamp: 11/30/2010.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
A cylindrical sleeve being fitted around a shaft. Visible image date stamp: 11/30/2010.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
05 / MATILDA DEVELOPMENT
MATILDA TAKES SHAPE
The parts now begin to read as one machine. Shafts and bearings sit alongside motors, gearboxes and a large rotor, while the frame and housing give the assembly its structure. Matilda was taking physical shape.
Shafts, pillow-block bearings, motors and gearboxes beside a large fabricated rotor.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
Parallel shafts supported by pillow-block bearings on workshop stands.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
Structural frame and internal supports during workshop assembly.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
Open fabricated housing with its base visible during construction.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
06 / MATILDA DEVELOPMENT
BUILT TO BE TESTED
The idea on paper had become substantial hardware. Seen beside the original drawing, the fabricated rotor makes that progression tangible. The next step was to put the developing machine to the test.
The wheel arrangement as drawn. This is a design reference, not a numbered test stage.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
Fabricated rotor hardware beside a motor and gearbox in the workshop.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
Built equipment makes experimentation possible. What happened during testing—and what the results support—belongs to the next chapter. These photographs alone do not establish a test sequence or treatment outcome.
Rotor assembly supported in a timber handling frame.
SELECT IMAGE TO ENLARGE ↗
DESIGN → FABRICATION → ASSEMBLY → TESTING
07 / MATILDA / EARLY MECHANICAL TEST
FIRST, MAKE IT TURN.
Before the dome was built, Matilda’s exposed wheels and shaft were connected to the drive and put into motion. This early mechanical test shows the assembly operating in the shop—an important step before the swimming-pool test.
EARLY MECHANICAL TEST / EXPOSED WHEELS, SHAFT AND DRIVE / 01:00
08 / MATILDA DEVELOPMENT
OUT OF THE SHOP.
INTO THE WATER.
Before Matilda entered a wastewater treatment pond, it had to prove it could operate in water. The first testing ground wasn’t a laboratory or a treatment facility. It was Robby Galletta’s backyard swimming pool.
There, the machine could be observed in operation, away from the workshop floor and before its first field deployment.
EARLY SWIMMING-POOL EXPERIMENT / MATILDA DEVELOPMENT / 06:19