Stellenbosch University took the top spot for the third time in a row with the 'Tshabalala Soccer Ball Shooting Machine'. The design was done by four mechanical engineering students: Mr Deetlefs, Mr Mofokeng, Mr du Plessis and Mr Oelofse.
The overall aim of the PneuDrive Challenge competition is to feature design innovation in the field of mechatronics. Students are instructed to design an application using SEW Eurodrive and Festo products. The theme of this year’s competition was 'motion in sport'. The Stellenbosch team identified the training regimes of soccer teams as an opportunity to design a 'sporting solution with meaning'. The excitement and enthusiasm created by the 2010 FIFA World cup added an extra boost.
A possible shortcoming of soccer training sessions is goalkeeper and set-piece training. When goalkeeper training takes place, players are required to take kicks at goal and this limits their training time. Also their incoming shots are predictable, which contrasts with the reality of a soccer game. The machine designed by the Stellenbosch students simulates set-piece training and also generates random and unpredictable kicks at goal. This helps teams to maximise the training time of out-field players and heightens the effectiveness of goalkeeper training.
The user friendly application offered system control via a wireless console instead of a computer containing complicated software. This allowed the control interface to seem like something 'close to home' for a soccer coach. The report backed up the design with the relevant calculations, structural analysis and empirical data . Safety precautions were put in place, and energy efficiency, costing and business viability were discussed in great detail. The amount of detail in the design drawings, as well as the time and thought spent on the project plan, were two of the things which particularly impressed the judges.
The team worked under the capable leadership of Professor Anton Basson, who led the previous Stellenbosch teams to victory. Professor Basson said, “The judges were impressed by the level of detail in the design. I always tell the students that the secret is in the detail. It takes a lot of extra time and effort to pay attention to the smaller things but it is always worth the end result”.
The judges were also impressed by the overall standard. Dale Oosthuizen, technical director of Abtech, said, “The entries get better every year. The level of creativity is always the most interesting aspect of the judging for me.”
The judging panel included other leaders in business such as Antonie le Roux, project engineer, Bateman; Norman Maleka, electronics manager, SEW Eurodrive; Ken Nixon, SAIEE representative and senior lecturer; and Chris Oliver, Didactic consultant, Festo.
Members of the winning team will each receive an all expenses paid trip to Germany, membership to the SAIEE and R100 000 worth of SEW Eurodrive and Festo equipment for the university.
For more information contact Rene Rose, SEW Eurodrive, +27 (0) 11 248 7000, [email protected], www.sew.co.za
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