Mechanical Engineering Services
About Alexis Labuschagne:
Currently I provide contract engineering services for De Beers Marines SA’s Mechanical Engineering department in the field of marine mining. In future my services may be available for other endeavors. You are welcome to contact me in this regard.
My career started with studying Mechanical Engineering and practical training at the Atomic Energy Corporation in South Africa in 1983. Thereafter I was employed at the R&D department for one and a half years.
In 1987 I joined the CSIR in Pretoria as a team member for the development of proto-type gun turrets for the South African Rooivalk Attack Helicopter. I also had the honour of being part of the development team for the South African 20mm shoulder fired NTW special forces rifle.
After 25 years of service at De Beers Marine in Cape Town South Africa I retired end February 2024. At retirement I held the position of lead Mechanical Engineer for the Engineering Department. Here I gained a vast amount of experience in marine mining systems research, design and development. See more details here: https://debmarine.com/operations/production-and-technology/technology
Pedal Harp Design and Build
Our youngest daughter Gabi started learning to play the harp at the age of 8. As a Mechanical Engineers I quickly found myself tinkering on all kinds of harps around Cape Town. It fascinated me how the pedal harp has such complex and finely adjusted mechanical systems for changing the pitch while playing. It was challenging to figure out all the fine adjustments and to do some basic mechanical and structural repairs.
As Gabi approached the end of her harp studies we realised that she had put in a huge amount of work to learn to play and master the pedal harp. We had rented a harp for her from the music school and she needed one to play on once she completed her tuition. There are very seldom secondhand pedal harps available in South Africa and a basic new one starts at fifteen to twenty thousand dollars before import costs.
I then made the leap of faith to build her a 47 string pedal harp. The design started with the strings imported from the UK. The soundboard’s Spruce wood was sourced from Italy.
It took 3 years to complete with many hours of calculations, design, CAD modelling / drawings, some wood work and having components fabricated. The design ended up with more than 800 unique parts! Then the assembly and de-bugging of the mechanisms! A real challenge. It is still not perfect but playable!
Visit the harp page for photos, a short video clip and some design details…..
My long term vision is to design and build a more cost effective lighter and smaller pedal harp. Something in-between a lever and Grecian harp with a level of automation for the pedals. Watch this space……
