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Engineering Industry Developments and Awards
News Release from: Manufacturing Technologies Association
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 13 July 2004
Talented youngsters impress industry
Sound commercial sense was accompanied by innovative ideas at the Technology Design and Innovation competition final.
Sound commercial sense was accompanied by innovative ideas at the Technology Design and Innovation (TDi) competition final, run jointly by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) and the Technology Enhancement Programme (TEP) Among the judges were MTA President and Managing Director of StarragHeckert UK, Paul Maynard, and MTA Education and Training Committee Chairman and Personnel Director of Cincinnati Machine UK, Ian Good, who were both extremely impressed with what they saw
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 1 Dec 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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MTA President, Paul Maynard, commented: "I have been astounded by the work that I have seen here today".
"From ideas through to finished products, these young people show that manufacturing in the UK does have a bright future, and this is exactly the sort of talent that we must continue to support and nurture".
"The commercial viability of some of the projects is so high that I have recommended that these young people seriously consider patenting their products".
The overall winner was Alex Warren from John Hampden Grammar School in High Wycombe with his "fire fighter's ranging device".
The device has been designed to help fire fighters to navigate in dark or smoke-filled buildings.
It clips on to a standard breathing mask and uses ultrasound to detect nearby walls or obstructions.
The main input device is a standard ultrasonic ranging module and the output an array of bicolour LEDs, which indicate the range.
He used a variety of techniques to put his device together including CAD/CAM and PIC technology.
The judges were impressed, not only by the standard of the entry, but also that it has already been field tested by local fire fighters and was extremely well received.
Warren won a laptop computer and GBP 100 worth of TEP vouchers for his school.
The winner in the GCSE level category was Karl Wood from Parmiters School in Hertfordshire with his unique and fun "can crusher".
Wood designed his product for use by primary school children to encourage them to recycle their cans.
The crusher fits onto a standard council issue recycling container, making it easy to install, and special care was taken to make sure that it was easy and safe for younger children to use.
The judges were particularly impressed, not only with the manufacture of the product, but also Wood's environmental awareness.
Wood won a video camera and GBP 100 worth of TEP vouchers for his school.
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