 |
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
 |
Competing Universities
|
|
|
Entries have been submitted and our judging panel, besides their engineering knowledge and experience, are going to have to apply design and entrepreneurial analysis as well. The list of final submissions are:
1. Stellenbosch University - SunnySide Apple Packer
2. Tshwane University of Technology - Air Bot
3. University of the Witwatersrand - Automated Restaurant
4. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University - The Semi-Automatic Fish De-Scaler
5. Cape Peninsula University of Technology – Dispense-Here: Automated, large volume, high-speed beverage dispensing unit
6. Tshwane University of Technology - TUT Egg Sorter
7. University of Johannesburg - Blitz Burger
Additional Submission for Review and Comment
• CPUT – Kebab Machine
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
|
Stellenbosch University
|
|
|
|
SunnySide Apple Packer
Students Norval Geldenhuys, Hardus Scheepers, Cornel Liebenberg and Daniël Malan delivered a design report that is essentially a "high-speed, accurate and selective apple packer".
|
|
They noted that because apple packing is currently done by hand, many potential problems with labour – including inconsistent quality – are experienced by farms and distributors. Their proposed packing machine is designed to improve the marketability of first-grade boxed apples. This is accomplished by boxing “red” apples (any apples with some red colouring) with their best-looking and best-coloured side facing upwards.
Packing apples in this manner produces a much more desirable box than a randomly packed box, an obvious benefit to retailers.
Click here to view the technical and design summary on this website.
Click here to download a PDF copy of the technical and design summary.
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
University of the Witwatersrand
|
|
|
|
Automated Restaurant
Students from the WITS School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering, Mduduzi Masuku, Lefa Madire, Meshi Hamese and David Ndeveelo, presented a design that shows how an automated restaurant could replace waitrons by making use of a mechatronic system that automatically transfers food trays from the kitchen to the customer's table.
The design is composed of sub-systems that need to raise and convey loads from the chef to their designated locations in a restaurant. The design is space efficient in the sense that most of the mechanical components are isolated from the dining floor, unlike the Sushi and Michael Mack‘s fully automated restaurants and presents some interesting alternatives to delivering food in a restaurant.
|
|
Click here to view the technical and design summary on this website.
Click here to download a PDF copy of the technical and design summary.
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
|
|
|
| Dispense-Here: Automated, large volume, high-speed beverage dispensing unit |
|
The CPUT students, JP Pepler, Gideon Pool, Gareth Hardman and Willie van der Walt decided that a promising opportunity for development and expansion in the food and beverage industry (the theme for this year's competition), is that of the private sector offering efficient and effective purchasing and dispensing of beverages at special events.
|
|
They point out that over the last two years especially, there have been an increasing number of large scale events, concerts, music festivals and sporting related enterprises being held all around South Africa. The entertainment has been great, but far too often there are reports of disgruntled patrons having to queue for their preferred refreshments.
The design put forward within their report is intended to meet the shortcomings relating to the delays linked to beverage serving at these types of events by proposing a simple, intuitive machine that takes the minimum amount of time to serve the patron. The large capacity, high speed delivery system offers the potential to ensure that customers can receive service as fast as possible and without error. An interesting note is that their device is designed to be modular which means delivering appropriate sized and stocked machines for particular sizes of events.
A summary of the report will be loaded onto the website as soon as possible after judging.
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
Additional Entries for Review and Comment
|
|
|
An additional entry from CPUT, although not selected as their university's choice - thereby not for competition judging - was considered substantial enough to warrant some time from the judges for review and feedback.
CPUT – Kebab Machine
The CPUT submission by J Van Niekerk, J. Taljaard and J Roux considered a number of options to improve production in the food and beverage industry and came to the conclusion that the kebab making industry was in need of an automated machine to make kebabs for mass production companies.
Although some machines are already in use, their machine makes four kebabs at a time, reduces the need for physical labour and is easier to manage. Their machine is also designed to ensure durability and hygiene.
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
|
Tshwane University of Technology
|
|
|
TUT – Air Bot
|
The TUT submission by Izak Nel, Alfred Barnard, Coenraad Prinsloo and Christiaan Oosthuizen investigated the distribution of food and beverages on air flights, with a local airline company serving over 1.4 million meals a year. With only rudimentary and manual services in place, the airline service industry in general faces massive risk due to the losses of stock, revenue and time.
Recognising that there is no existing solution in the “air industry” at this stage is interesting. Their solution of a mechanical process to electronically monitor and distribute stock is "out of the box" thinking that will surely attract interesting comment.
|
 |
Click here to access the Technical and Design Summary.
Click here to download a PDF copy of the technical and design summary.
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
University of Johannesburg
|
|
|
|
Blitz Burger
The UJ team of Jason Berry, Warrick Kin, Izak Coetzee and Jules De Ponte came to the consensus that Festo and SEW Eurodrive could benefit from having a fully functional "food and beverage delivery, marketing and presentation showpiece" that showcases technical efficiency, precision and energy efficiency in a fun and engaging manner.
Their "Blitz Burger" is not only a good idea as a showpiece, but is also applicable in the "real fast food world".
Click here to access the Technical and Design Summary.
Click here to download a PDF copy of the technical and design summary.
|
|
A summary of the report will be loaded onto the website as soon as possible after judging.
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
|
|
|
|
The Semi-Automatic Fish De-Scaler
Kayleigh Bauer, Josh Hodgkinson, Dylan Prinsloo and Stefan van Aardt from NMMU identified the fishing industry as their target, since it contributes a great deal to employment and economic well-being in the Eastern Cape.
Research was conducted in the areas of preparing fish for the market and highlighted that although de-scaling by hand “offers good results”, this approach is extremely time-consuming and not always guaranteed.
|
|
Their design proposes to considerably improve the fishing industry in the Eastern Cape by optimizing a key stage in fish processing. Combining the use of conveyors and powered scaling rollers their Semi-Automatic Fish De-Scaler can quickly and efficiently scale a fish. The system can also be easily integrated into existing fishery processes without alteration of the overall processes or major disruptions of existing equipment.
A summary of the report will be loaded onto the website as soon as possible after judging.
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
Tshwane University of Technology
|
|
|
TUT Egg Sorter
Greta van der Walt, Charl Strydom, N Nkongolo and S F Baloyi from TUT focussed their attention on the "egg industry" and point out that with a gross turnover of R 6.658 billion at producer level, eggs take their place as the fourth largest animal-product sector in agriculture in South Africa.
|
|
They go on to explain that according to the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) a continued growth in egg production was maintained during 2010, and that based on previous statistics this growth will continue.
The problem they identified is that although emerging farmers can quickly sell their eggs to low-end retail and distribution channels, they come up against stringent and mostly restricting grading and packaging requirements when trying to penetrate highly regulated chain-stores.
Their competition design, an egg sorting and packing machine, finds the middle-road between inconsistent and unpredictable manual sorting and packing and automated packing machines valued at more than R 500,000. A solution that may offer entry level farmers a more efficient way of presenting and selling their produce.
A summary of the report will be loaded onto the website as soon as possible after judging.
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
|
|
|