Drive technology company SEW Eurodrive and pneu- matic solutions provider Pneumax reports that they have officially opened their 2013 PneuDrive Challenge Engi-neering Design competition.

The yearly competition offers third- and fourth-year mechanical, electronic and mechatronic engineering students, from six South African universities, an opportunity to use their academic ability and creativity to design and propose innovative engineering solutions that can contribute towards greener mines.

The six universities that have been shortlisted are the Univer-sity of the Witwatersrand, North West University, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Stellenbosch Univer-sity and the Tshwane University of Technology.

The PneuDrive Challenge, now in its sixth year, is held to deal with the practical skills gap South African students face after completing their tertiary studies at university.

“We noted that students are entering the workplace with a significant comprehension gap. The modules that are taught in university and what is practised in business often differ signifi- cantly,” says SEW Eurodrive communications GM Rene Rose.

SEW Eurodrive has recognised the importance of business in partnering with higher education institutions to assist with the transition from student to skilled engineer. “By bringing together universities that offer sound academic theory and the reality of business, technology companies have a platform to showcase the academic and innovative talents of South Africa’s engineering youth,” says Rose.

Pneumax MD Adrian Buddingh adds that students, who often get the theoretical background at a tertiary level, get little exposure to the practicality of incorporating components into designs or designing realistic engineering solutions. “The PneuDrive Challenge, although a paper-based submission, gives students the opportunity to design realistic engineering solutions.”

The PneuDrive Challenge requires students to understand a business problem, incorporate specific products in their design solution and, through business proposals, provide ways in which their ideas can be used as real-life business solutions.

Green Theme
This year’s competition will be based on ways to green the mining industry.

“Greener mining seemed like a logical choice to the sponsors, as the management and disposal of mine waste is becoming an increasingly important subject worldwide,” says Rose.
Applications and approaches to manage and dispose waste in an environment-friendly way, as well as in a way that is sustainable on a business level, have been acknowledged as a real business challenge for the mining industry for quite some time, says Rose.

This year’s competition requires that students review typical challenges that mining companies face, such as risks associated with slurry dams, the rehabilitation of tailings dams and ways of improving water recycling on mines. The problems of extracting and finding useful applications for mining by-products and controlling dust emissions are also part of the challenge.

It is recommended that this project be incorporated as a compulsory module of the university’s curriculum. Most universities incorporate it into the curriculum as a compulsory project, but others include it as an optional project. The points and criteria of the PneuDrive Challenge are similar to the university’s standard design curriculum and the professor responsible for the module can adapt the design project to suit the university course, says Rose.

University professors were informed about the theme in November 2012 so that they could prepare and adapt the curriculum to make the necessary information about the competition available to students when they start at university this year. Entries for the competition have to be submitted by October.

Big Stakes
The sponsorship includes product and prize sponsorship of R1-million, as well as technical support from higher-level managers in the companies. The companies will also provide a support structure for the students by attending the PneuDrive Challenge roadshows, hosting technical presentations and meeting with students and lecturers, as well as providing mentorship and workshop programmes.

The competition also requires students to consider how SEW Eurodrive’s range of DR Motors, Movitrac LTP Inverters and X-Series Industrial Gear Units could be used to deal with the environmental impact of mining activity. The Pneumax products that students need to consider for their designs are their range of Dust Collector Valves, the Imperial Mine Cylinder and their Optyma-S Valve Terminal.

“By presenting a business problem with actual technology that could be used in an application to resolve mining problems, the design competition guides the learning experience of the students and exposes them to the business reality of needing to design efficient and sustainable applications,” notes Buddingh.

“The competition roadshows were completed in April. The Mining 101 workshop will be undertaken next and entails advisory presentations by mining experts on the five problem statements. The workshops will be held at the respective universities once they have decided which problem statement to address and once students have completed the initial design concept,” says Rose.

The workshops are designed to deal with the technical and practical questions that the students may have, such as those pertaining to design criteria, the use of design software and the relevance of the products in specific applications. The workshops will also provide an opportunity for technical experts to convey tips, clever manoeuvers and practical design skills.

Rose says the PneuDrive Challenge also enables sponsor companies to identify potential candidates for future positions at the companies.

It also provides an opportunity for the sponsor companies to gain future customers. By teaching the students about the products, these products may, in turn, become an automatic choice when the students enter the workplace, as they are already familiar with the products.

The judging panel comprises mining specialists, product specialists from the respective sponsors, academics, representatives from the South African Institution of Mechanical Engineering (SAIMechE), the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) and the South African Fluid Power Association (SAFPA).

Buddingh believes that endorsements by SAIMechE, the SAIEE and the SAFPA adds credibility to the competition, while the input of these associations provides exposure for the students at grass-roots level.

The winning team receives an all-expenses paid trip to Germany and Italy, where they will present their design at the head offices of SEW Eurodrive and Pneumax, as well as R100 000 of SEW Eurodrive and Pneumax products are donated to the winning university.