Project details for 2007 to 2008

DENBIGHSHIRE

Team 1

School/College             Denbigh High School

Contact Teacher           Robin Jones

Company                     npower renewables plc

Project Engineer           John Baxendale

Student Names:            Josh Neal, Dane Hudson, Joe Farley, Tom Jones,

Phillip Marshall, Josh Williams

Project Brief:                The Garnedd Hydro Power station produces renewable electricity for the national grid. It contains a 594 KW generator and is fed by a river in the foothills of Snowdonia. The river is fed by a number of contributories including Llynau Diwaunedd. Suggest changes to the  extraction system that will improve the efficiency of the generation of green electricity         

Team 2

School/College Ysgol Uwchradd Glan Clwyd

Contact Teacher           T Glyn Jones

Company                     Anglesey Aluminium Metal Ltd

Project Engineer           Alberto Lagoa

Student Names:            Caeron Jones, Tom Brettell, Owain Hughes, Oliver Jones,

 Jack Roberts

Project Brief:                Design and manufacture a prototype model of the billet conveyor system that will enable Anglesey Aluminium to identify, monitor and record movements of each individual billet carrier

Team 3

School/College Prestatyn High School  

Contact Teacher           Tracy Vaughan

Company                     design reality limited

Project Engineer           Graham Wilson

Student Names:            Kirsty Louise Marsh, Samantha Vaughan, Peter Scott Wyn Edwards

Project Brief:                Design and build an aid to help disabled people. This will enable them to sit down and get up from a chair more easily,  removing  the need to buy an expensive, specialist chair

Team 4

School/College Ysgol Dinas Bran

Contact Teacher           Rhys Evans, Gethin Williams

Company                     Telescope Technologies Ltd

Project Engineer           Anthony Mansfield

Student Names:            George Jones, Gavin Scott, Sam Dodd

Project Brief:                Design and manufacture a ten inch Newtonian telescope that will have the capacity to photograph Saturn, defining its rings clearly. The final product must be suitable for use within the educational environment at Key stages 3 and 4. Consider the use of sustainable and recycled materials where possible without compromising on the quality of the product.

FLINTSHIRE

Team 5

School/College             Alun School

Contact Teacher           Graham Nutt

Company                     JCB TRANSMISSIONS

Project Engineer           Tom Wright

Student Names:            Grace Pongpitak, Jassica Craddock, Vicky Brown, Aled Rainer, Tom Mead, Alex Trinick, Ollie Butler

Project Brief:                Fuel emissions are one of the main causes of global warming, and so need to be lowered whenever possible. Design a test rig for a wet multiple clutch for a JCB vehicle.  The apparatus should test designs with a view to reducing drag in the clutch system. Reducing the drag will reduce the energy wasted, reducing fuel consumption and therefore emissions. This is important for the environment, and for cost saving to the customer

Team 6

School/College Alun School

Contact Teacher           Scot Owen

Company                     Toyota Motor Manufacturing(UK)Ltd

Project Engineer           Simon Foster

Student Names:            Kara Hughes, Alexandra Pares, Dan Walsh, Miles Aukland, Rhys Wainwright, Harry Harford, Graham Hughes, Mark McArdle

Project Brief:                Aluminium is an expensive metal but when it is included in a metal mix it can only be sold for the price of the metal that is present in the highest percentage. In this case mixed with iron, which is relatively cheap. So the aluminium can only be sold for the lower price of iron to an offsite company that recycles the aluminium and sells it back to Toyota. Find a way to separate the aluminium from the iron, so that it could be recycled on site. The system should fit into the existing process with little disruption and be both energy efficient and environmentally considerate.

Team 7

School/College Elfed High School

Contact Teacher           Peter Howard

Company                     Airbus (Broughton)

Project Engineer           Chris Williams

Student Names:            Ashley Tucker, Dicson Li, Ben James, Mark McQiston

Project Brief:                The main scope of the project is to research, design and manufacture a method for removing stringer parent material after machining. Various health and safety aspects for both employees and visitors to Airbus need to be taken into consideration. Maintaining the quality of the product is necessary e.g. excess heat may alter the properties of the material. The time factor for the removal process needs to be shortened but the cost of implementing a new method of removal must not be too high

Team 8

School/College Hawarden High School

Contact Teacher           Mark Taylor, Pam Lynch

Company                     Airbus (Broughton)

Project Engineer           Mark Shaw

Student Names:            Michele Parsonage, Ceri Hulme, Kristian Ciupa, Thomas Clarke, Christopher Ridgers

Project Brief:                This relates to production of an Airbus A380 wing. When aluminium panels are sealed and bolted together under pressure, a specific torque is applied. Over time the bolts loosen and torque needs to be reapplied. Design and make a solution to this problem that is durable, easy to use and non-electronic

Team 9

School/College Holywell High School

Contact Teacher           Peter McCann, Barry McGauty

Company                     Corus Colors (Shotton)

Project Engineer           Henry Russell

Student Names:            Joseph Murray, Jason Price, Sam Harrison, Liam Hatchett, Jack Jones, Ashley Evans

Project Brief:                After the steel strip has been galvanised, a very thin layer of chemical is sometimes added in order to provide additional protection against corrosion. This method is still in its infancy and new chemicals are frequently trialled to research their protective properties. Changing from one chemical to another can be time consuming. Design and build a prototype system for easily applying small trial patches of chemical solution to the metal strip

Team 10

School/College Holywell High School

Contact Teacher           Gareth Roberts

Company                     Corus Colors (Shotton)

Project Engineer           Tim Goodwin

Student Names:            Neil McCrae, Alistair Westerman, Tom McClean, Tom Roberts, Mathew Haley, Shaun Gibson

Project Brief:                Within the Corus Colors Shotton site, brakes are used to hold the line in a stop position while work is being carried out, and for the slowing down and stopping of cranes. The current braking system is causing problems and taking up extra maintenance time; a new one will therefore be required. Design/identify and build a new system for the operation of the brake units.

Team 11

School/College Ysgol Maes Garmon

Contact Teacher           Bryn Davies

Company                     Airbus (Broughton)

Project Engineer           Gareth Towlson

Student Names:            Megan Jones, Lowri Watson, Dyfrig Hills, Dafydd Gwillim, Gethin Jones, Andrew Chambers

Project Brief:                Sealant is required between butted components on aircraft wings. On application and during component assembly the sealant egresses into predrilled holes required to bolt the components together. This sealant, which can be semi solidified or solidified, needs to be removed without damage to the holes before the fasteners can be inserted. Produce a tool that will do the job.

POWYS

Team 12

School/College Llandrindod High School

Contact Teacher           Andrew Gentle

Company                     Control Techniques (Newtown)

Project Engineer           Bryan Richmond, Simon Bates, Nick Cotton

Student Names:            Rosie Knight, Bethan Coles, Mark Davies, James Powell, Phillip Venter, Jamie Venables

Project Brief:                Design and manufacture a working model of a fixture for SK subassembly using supplied data/assemblies/test pins. This is to enable a test operator to connect products to a ‘Drives Tester’ & ‘Batch Soak’ without having to use a screwdriver to connect 14 leads directly to the sub-assembly, because that slows down production. Materials used should withstand 50oC and must not vibrate loose. Maximum budget allowed £5000

Team 13

School/College Llanidloes High School

Contact Teacher           Steve Thomas, Simon Ealey-Fitzgerald

Company                     e.ON  (Rheidol)

Project Engineer           Gareth Jones, Gareth Barry

Student Names:            Myles Cook, Rowan Phillips, Mark Collington, Rhys Jenkins, Arwyn Jones

Project Brief:                Design and manufacture an accurate and reliable multi measurement anemometer, capable of measuring both wind speed and wind direction simultaneously. This should enable workers to remotely monitor the conditions at the windfarm from the stations offices. The anemometer must produce its output in the form of a 24V DC current ranging between 4 and 20 milliamps. This current may then be sent back to the Rheidol station and input into the company’s SCADA computer system

Team 14

School/College Newtown High School

Contact Teacher           Dick Richards

Company                     Makefast Engineering Ltd

Project Engineer           Bob Millard

Student Names:            Jodie Grosvenor, Kitty Laird, Luke Matthews, David Jones, Chris Price, Louis Varley, Steve Jones

Project Brief:                Makefast Ltd is a design and manufacturing business that specialises in buckles, clips and fittings for safety harnesses and the marine leisure market. Design and make a prototype machine/jig/process that will increase the efficiency of an assembly process currently carried out by hand. The solution must be reliable; lives can depend on these harnesses. Any other component introduced or substituted must be highly resistant to corrosion as it may have to be used in a marine environment.

WREXHAM

Team 15

School/College Ysgol Rhiwabon

Contact Teacher           Huw Hall Williams

Company                     SHARP MANUFACTURING COMPANY OF UK

Project Engineer           Steve Crewe

Student Names:            Terri Jones, Daniel Cooper, Daniel Davies

Project Brief:                Design and manufacture a prototype alternative energy generating system. This is a demonstrating, marketing unit using a solar panel to operate a pump to transfer water to a high level. The water is then released and powers a turbine to generate electricity. The project involves energy and power calculations to prove the viability of the design

YNYS MON-ANGLESEY

Team 16

School/College Ysgol David Hughes

Contact Teacher           Andrew Sharrock, Kevin Tulliver,

Company                     British Nuclear Group (Wylfa)

Project Engineer           Richard T Jones, John Idris Jones

Student Names:            Carys Bebb, Ffion Alaw Jones, Alex Cheung, Matthew Keeves, Harry Hughes, Sam Jones, Alex Mitchell

Project Brief:                Create a test unit for a photo- multiplier tube. A photo –multiplier picks up light particles and the signal is recorded on a pulse counter. It must be lightproof and possible to use with bulbs and L.E.Ds over a range of voltages.

MONMOUTHSHIRE

Team 17

School:                         Caldicot Comprehensive School ‘1’

Contact                        Teacher: Richard Scott

Company:                     InBev UK

Contact Engineer:         Paul Evans

Team members:            Kiaya Chivers, Matthew Hall, Thomas Moore, Jordan Powell, Kim Wallwin

Details of Project:         To establish whether re-insulating the maturation vessels at the Magor brewery site is cost effective.  If possible, determine alternative cost effective methods of keeping maturation vessels at optimum working temperature (2 degrees Celsius.).  The team evaluated decreasing the amount of solar radiation absorbed by maturation vessels during the five day maturation period via altering the reflective properties of each maturation vessel.

Team 18

School:                         Caldicot Comprehensive School ‘2’

Contact Teacher:          Richard Scott

Company:                     InBev UK

Contact Engineer:         John Rogers, Paul Evans

Team members:            Leigh Edworthy, Calum Greenhalgh, Robert Keates, Gavin Jones, Richard Stallard, Jason Wotherspoon

Details of Project:         The main aim was to investigate the relationship between the temperature/pressure and carbonation levels inside aluminium cans.  The team were also investigating the pasteurisation process and the effects of slight differences in this process that may result in defects in the products.  To do this they researched the carbonation levels at different temperatures and observed how this affects the pressure on the can.  The students proposed to work out the optimum temperature of a can, and see how this would affect the pressure.

Team 19

School:                         Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls

Contact Teacher:          Anne Kavanagh

Company:                     Alcatel-Lucent Ltd

Contact Engineer:         John Martin, Steve Trott

Team members:            Rachel Chu, Steph Clarke, Megan Davies, Octavia Zorab.

Details of Project:         To design and build a prototype low cost device for consumers and technicians to test DSL lines.  The objective is to have a hand-held piece of test equipment that will display the up-stream and down-stream DSL connection speed.  Develop this design though understanding of DSL technology, microprocessors and LCD displays.  Using development boards from various manufacturers, the students identified a method of communicating with a DSL modem chip via a serial (RS232) interface to obtain an ‘ascii’ interface.

TORFAEN

Team 20

School:                         Croesyceiliog Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:                      John Ivins

Company:                                 General Dynamics UK

Contact Engineer:                     Delwyn Morgan

Team members:            Daniel Cook, Joe Harris, Ryan Jones, Ben Lewis, Jon Walker, Richard Williams.

Details of Project:                     To improve the flexibility of the existing RF testing environment, the students were asked to research a cost effective programmable attenuation capability that would complement and enhance the existing range of testing equipment.  This new capability would need to cover the frequency ranges of the existing Bowman radios but also extend further to cover the lower end of the super high frequency range (3 to 6 GHz).  The specification provides a broad indication of the other parameters to which this new capability should aim to conform.

Team 21

School:                         Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw

Contact Teacher:          Dr Tony Vobe

Company:                     BAE Systems, Glascoed

Contact Engineer:         Derek Knight

Team members:            Rhys Berrow, Adam Davies, Rhodri Howley, Rhodri Kent, Rhys Norman, John O’Leary, Geraint Thomas

Details of Project:         The brief was to investigate how different fillings of a shell would impact on the moment of inertia which affects the stability and the flight path of the missile.  The conventional fillings of the shell have always been solid materials, but increasingly in modern munitions the materials used are becoming more ‘liquid-like’ in behaviour. The project is to produce a theoretically proven and a practical test method to understand how the different types of filling liquid affect the stability of the shell.  A test rig must be build to be used in an explosive environment and to withstand components filled with explosives and therefore no electrical equipment may be used.

NEWPORT

Team 22

School:                         Bassaleg School

Contact Teacher:          T Williams

Company:                     Halcrow Group

Contact Engineer:         Robert Seymour, Leigh Johnes

Team members:            Tom James, Will Pannell, Ben Price, Tristan Scott.

Details of Project:         To design a green bridge that will link Ty Llwyn and the overall development area.  The bridge will need to support pedestrians, cyclists, wildlife and the occasional maintenance vehicle.  The team designed a bridge with a large surface area of solar panels to gather energy.  The students propose to calculate rainfall / water flow rate, the amount it can support, how many supports it will need, how much it will cost and what it should be made from, the amount of energy collected from the solar panels, how many lights it will power and if there will be any excess energy.

Team 23

School:                         Caerleon Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          John Quarterman, Mr Jackaman

Company:                     Fairfield-Mabey

Contact Engineer:         Ian O’Leary

Team members:            Michael Dudson, Alexandra Fitzpatrick, David Hansford, James Hoar, Samuel Mills, Matthew Wright.

Details of Project:         The brief was to design a frame that will fit onto or work alongside a machine in the Fairfield-Mabey workshop.  The frame will be used to attach a harness onto it to ensure that any people working on top of the machine will not fall and harm themselves.  Solutions evaluated included the following:

·        A Frame which will attach onto the Farley Machine and move with the machine.

·        A Frame which will attach to the floor, meaning the Farley machine will have to be moved to a docking station to allow maintenance.

·        A crane with one arm which can swivel through 90° and be fitted to the floor.  The crane will support the harness, and will not take up much room.

The students completed prototypes of their ideas and presented all three ideas to the company.

Team 24

School:                         Rougemont School ‘1’

Contact Teacher:          Jane Goodwin

Company:                     Capita Symonds

Contact Engineer:         Antonio Di Caprio

Team members:            Sophie Chesney, Christian Davies, Huw Dobbs, James Fisher, Kate Owen, Namratha Pandalai, Holly Radwell, Dan Tang, Jon Thickens.

Details of Project:         The project was to evaluate the feasibility of constructing a public footpath and footbridge along the west bank of the River Usk, situated between the town of Caerleon and the site of the new Rider Cup Development.  The investigation included detailed ecological, topographical, historical, archaeological and flood analysis research.  The team have carried out extensive research into flood levels, trends of the river movement, ecological and environmental factors that may restrict the construction of the path, and also looked into suitable materials that can be used to construct the path and potential bridge.

Team 25

School:                         Rougemont School ‘2’

Contact Teacher:          Jane Goodwin

Company:                     Contour Premium Aircraft Seating

Contact Engineer:         Christopher Greensmith

Team members:            James Baynton, Sam Gower, Sol Hartley, Lily Joyce, Owain Morgan, Adam Turner.

Details of Project:         To design and build a fixing that will enable aircraft chair legs to be fixed into the aircraft without a tool; people during flights are not able to take the seat out, and then a tool must be made to remove the seat when necessary.  The students designed a clip and built a prototype so that two chair legs can be fitted without a tool and then can be removed using a specialist tool; the other two legs will be fitted with the existing spigot design.  The prototype will enable the team to asses which materials the actual mechanism should be made out of and they will then be able to calculate how well the mechanism would stand up in the event of a crash.

Team 26

School:                         Rougemont School ‘3’

Contact Teacher:          Jane Goodwin

Company:                     Contour Premium Aircraft Seating

Contact Engineer:         Simon Ewing

Team members:            James Brooks, Emma Cowburn, Chris Exley, Ella Keddie, Rosie Khehra.

Details of Project:         The team were asked to design a more efficient, faster and bigger static test rig for aeroplane seats and other aeroplane furniture.  They designed a square frame that tilts using a system of winch steel bars and pin joints.  This allows two rams, secured to a steel girder frame, to complete every force that needs to be applied.  The same winch is then used to rotate the seat where necessary.  The students plan to develop formulas to work out the most suitable materials, calculate the measurements of all the components, and finish a computer model.

Team 27

School:                         Rougemont School ‘4’

Contact Teacher:          Jane Goodwin

Company:                     International Rectifier

Contact Engineer:         Phil Parsonage

Team members:            Alexander Ballisat, Hari Griffiths, Huw Richards, Matt Stubbs, James Taylor, Zishaan Wasim.

Details of Project:         The brief was to design and create an educational display, which could easily show a 'non-technical' audience (e.g. younger children) the benefits of 'energy-saving' equipment.  The display will be taken to different schools, fairs etc., and considerations must be made in respect to weight, size and shape.  Designing with a non-technical audience in mind, the display must be eye-catching, interesting and easy to understand, yet still convey the idea of energy-saving products.  Together, the team decided upon a small display, ideal for transportation, in which two light bulbs are contained.  One light bulb would be tungsten and the other ‘energy-saving’.  As the lights are switched on, either two ammeters or two voltmeters would show the difference in power for each bulb.  

Team 28

School:                         St Joseph’s RC High School

Contact Teacher:          Stewart Holts

Company:                     Airbus UK

Contact Engineer:         Dr. Geoffrey Platts

Team members:            Jade Carton, Lewis Casey, Zhihang Cheng, Benedict Evans, Elliott James, Rory Quinn, Robert Musabe, Michael Yhnell.

Details of Project:         The team were asked to research a novel assembly method (barrel nuts) which is based on a method similar to that used to assemble flat pack furniture.  Although this has been identified as a viable alternative to the traditional bolted joint, there are problems that must first be overcome.  The team have been assigned the task to design and build a jig to ensure the fastener hole and barrel nut hole are always perpendicular to each other.  They used radical thinking to look at changing the overall process used to assemble the wings.  They also looked at more traditional means of solving the problem as it was a simpler concept compared to the complex nature of the radical design.

Team 29

School:                         St Julian’s Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          Leigh Price, Tim Davies

Company:                     Arvin Meritor

Contact Engineer:         Daniel Jones, Gareth Knox

Team members:            Bethany Louise Archer, Tomas Basham, David Berry, Katy Lauren Cox, Peter Dixon, Abnel Gurung, Sam Horton, Ross Alexander Josling, Kevin Lane, Morwenna Alice Laughlin, Leigh Murphy, Ryan Powell and Caroline Louise Price.

Details of Project:         The team were asked to design and develop a new pad spacer which separates the brake pads during transportation to prevent friction between the pads - which can cause damage.  The current pad spacer costs around eight pence per item and doesn’t always remain in the required location.  The students’ design specification was to create a more cost efficient and reliable component.  As a team, they created four possible solutions to the problem including different shapes and materials.

CARDIFF

Team 30

School:                         Cardiff High School

Contact teacher:           Anthony Toye

Company:                     Memory Lane Cakes

Contact engineer:          Anthony Donovan

Team members:            Tom Beamish, Omar Eltahir, Ilona Flanagan, Chris Jones, Martyn Lowder, Andrew Watts, Catrin Watts.

The Brief:                     The team were requested to examine two steam boilers used to produce the steam to heat water required for hand washing of the employees.  The boilers are used in rotation.  The brief is to calculate whether the current boilers are oversized for the job they are required to perform.  The team needed to calculate the efficiency of the boilers, the amount of steam produced, the amount of steam needed; and ultimately, whether the boilers should be replaced with more efficient, better performing boilers, more suited to the roles they are required to undertake.

Team 31

School:             Howell’s College Llandaff

Contact Teacher:          Rhian Chard, Dr A. Ford

Company:                     Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics

Contact Engineer:         Clive Williams

Team members:            Philippa Bradbury, Sam Capron, Sorcha Egan, Matthew Paines, Matthew Singh-Clark and Jenny Spiller

Details of Project:         The brief was to aid maintenance trouble shooting activities. The students were asked to design a system that would indicate the water level within a pre-treated water storage tank - the design must not affect the quality of the water. The students attended the workshop at Cardiff University where they analysed a number of possible solutions.

Team 32

School:                         Llanishen High School ‘1’

Contact Teacher:          Sam Barry

Company:                     Hyder Consulting

Contact Engineer:         George Smith

Team members:            Juliette Cross, David Gates, Megan Hart, Sarah Iddles, Vibha Selvaratnam, Danielle Winton.

Details of Project:         The brief was to make the school more environmentally friendly, looking at energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, insulation and recycling.  The students evaluated a range of options and looked into solar, micro-hydro electric, wind and geothermal energy; the materials used within the school for insulation and how effectively heating and lighting is used.  They proposed to research into waste schemes in the area and assess how they can decrease the waste produced by the school.

Team 33

School:                         Llanishen High School ‘2’

Contact Teacher:          Samantha Barry

Company:                     Costain Engineers

Contact Engineer:         Mark Jenkins

Team members:            Jonathan Evans, James Kelly, Joseph Hart, Andrew O’Toole, Adam Thompson

Details of Project:         As part of the 2010 Ryder cup infrastructure works, Newport County Council commissioned the construction of a new interchange on the A449 dual carriageway on the outskirts of Newport.  The construction works were subject to an initial ecological appraisal which led to the implementation of a mitigation strategy that was specific to dormice.  The students were asked to evaluate whether the mitigation strategy that was implemented on behalf of Newport County Council was successful, including an analysis of the future monitoring strategy for the dormice.

Team 34

School:                         St. David’s Catholic College ‘1’

Contact Teacher:          Peter Spear

Company:                     Huntleigh Health Care

Contact Engineer:         John Iles

Team members:            Besma Ali, Matthew Ashford, Sam Atwell, Nicholas Robson, Thomas Rookes, Alex Sadlier, Hannah Otmani.

Details of Project:         The brief was to design a device to test the durability of wires used with medical equipment e.g. a heart monitor.  The students developed 3 different ideas which involve a variety of different solutions incorporating concepts such as electronics, computing and pneumatics.  They are evaluating the possible solutions to decide on the best option to progress.

Team 35

School:                         St David’s Catholic College ‘2’

Contact Teacher:          Peter Spear

Company:                     Gallaher Ltd.

Contact Engineer:         Alan Gourlay

Team members:            Pooya Azarhoosh, Stephen Clee, Josie Duffy, Faye Morrison, Arman Salimian, Nicholas Sellen, Hannah Varaies.

Details of Project:         The team was asked to find a solution to the problem of warning beacons situated on forklift trucks.  Most of the vehicles operate in areas where pedestrian through traffic is unavoidable.  The brief was to design an innovative, effective, practical solution which provides an audio-visual warning to pedestrians without distracting the driver.  The students looked at location of light, colour of light, bulb type and multiple light uses.

Team 36

School:                         St. David’s Catholic College ‘3’

Contact Teacher:          Peter Spear

Company:                     Associated British Ports

Contact Engineer:         Gareth Perry

Team members:            Hamad Abdelkadir, Ashley Claridge, Keita Enfield, Ruchira Jones, Daniel Robins.

Details of Project:         The brief was to design apparatus to launch a rope line from one side of the ship lock to the other (3 meters).  This is required when there is an emergency breakdown of lock gate machinery and the lock gates need to be opened or closed by rope.  Failure to do so would prevent a ship from entering or leaving the port.  The students evaluated a number of possible solutions including a ballista type mechanism, crossbow, spring, water and compressed gas rocket.

Team 37

School:             Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf

Contact Teacher:          Meirion Powell

Company:                     BBC Wales

Contact Engineer:         David Williams

Team members:            Sophie Hughes, Gareth Morris, Elis Robinson

Details of Project:         The aim of the project is to retrieve/ receive pictures automatically and continuously from a remote site via a form of mobile technology.  The picture should be able to be received on a standard mobile phone.  The device created should be self contained and made mobile in a form that could easily be deployed without any connection for power or transmission such as an internet connection.  The device created would replace a standard server which would normally send the picture through an internal network connection using an ADSL connection.  The device would be usable when an internet connection is not available. The solution was found using a mobile phone with a built-in camera function.  The final solution used an 8-bit PIC controller, 5 relays placed on a bread board.

THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN

Team 38

School:                         Cowbridge Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          Robert Freeman

Company:                     RAF St Athan

Contact Engineer:         Billy Jamieson

Team members:            Benjamin Avery, Jack Penketh, Kieran Thomas.

Details of Project:         The team were asked to develop a cleaner solution for the draining of engine oil from RAF ground vehicles.  The oil when drained using normal methods is prone to splashing and contaminating surrounding areas.  The students evaluated solutions including draining the oil through a sump-valve and sucking the oil out of the dipstick using various pumping techniques.  At Cardiff University the students experimented with the optimum dimensions and pressures for the pump using an air supply.  The design still needs to be assembled and the aesthetics improved.  The main work will be to convert the plastic prototype eductor to a metal model of optimum proportions.

Team 39

School:                         Stanwell School ‘1’

Contact Teacher:          Kevin Pepper

Company:                     Dow Corning

Contact Engineer:         David Davey

Team members:            Nathan Ahmad, Beth Given, Sarah Hudson, Jonathan King, Poppy Simpson-Wells, David Woodford.

Details of Project:         The brief was to fill a 1000 litre storage container with a high viscosity (sticky) fluid.  Because of the time it takes to fill the container this process needs to be semi-automated – i.e. the operator locates the container, presses a button and walks away.  The students were asked to design an automatic method for detecting when the container is full to stop the container overfilling.  As part of the design process they needed to assess the risks to people and equipment and consider the legal regulations that may apply to the chemical industry.  Ideas considered were a moisture sensor, float ball mechanism (stop cock), hydraulic arm and a ball flotation device with circuitry.

Team 40

School:                         Stanwell School ‘2’

Contact Teachers:         Kevin Pepper, Miss Britt

Company:                     Atkins

Contact Engineer:         Ben Butler

Team members:            Myron Darlington, Daniel Locke, Callum Meredith, Florence Page, Matthew Soltys, Chloe Tuck.

Details of Project:         The brief was to investigate the optimum combination of road hump variables to improve current issues arising from traffic calming measures.  The students considered a number of options including retractable humps, electronic monitoring, alternative shapes, entry angles, hump spacing, etc.  They propose to construct some prototypes and then experiment with materials.

CAERPHILLY

Team 41

School:                         Lewis School Pengam ‘1’

Contact Teacher:          Neale Watkins

Company:                     Welsh Water / Laing O’Rourke

Contact Engineer:         Richard Codd

Team members:            Aled Angel, Amber-Louise Kellett-Hillier, Sebastian Toms, David Gil Welsh.

Details of Project:         The students were asked to design & construct a bridge to pass over a spillway that has to be capable of holding a pressurised pipe.  The team decided to take the pipe over the spillway rather than go under as it is less time consuming and will be more cost effective.  They are planning to complete a scale model of the area concerned and design a suitable cost effective solution which will then also be made to scale to fit the model.

Team 42

School:                         Lewis School Pengam ‘2’

Contact Teacher:          Neale. Watkins

Company:                     Welsh Water / Laing O’Rourke

Contact Engineer:         Richard Codd

Team members:            John Bowen, Christina Houlgreave, Lauren Hurford, Craig Regan, Eifion Summers

Details of Project:         The brief was to create a device that will pull apart press fitted mains pipes.  The team researched and evaluated several design ideas including:

• Modified forestry grab
• Horseshoe pressure pad, with hydraulic rams (and various ways of attachment)
• Explosives (e.g. C7 or C4)
• Lifting the joint via a pulley system, to cause the seal to break.
• Heating the pipe, to cause seal failure.
• Sawing the pipes into sections / plasma cutter

Team 43

School:                         Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni

Contact Teacher:          Ceri Angharad

Company:                     S4C

Contact Engineer:         Paul Davies

Team members:            Dylan Brooks - Jones, Rebecca Burrage, Thomas Colwill, Hugh John, Adam Jones, Hannah Way.

Details of Project:         The aim of this project is to assess the impact that equipment left on standby has on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide (CO²) emissions.  The findings may be beneficial to S4C, its viewers and the environment.  Audio and video (AV) equipment such as televisions, VHS, DVD, surround sound processors, Sky and other set top boxes even though switched off remain in standby mode consuming some power.  It is envisaged that much of this equipment could be turned off completely and play a part in the reduction of CO² emissions.  If this could be applied to S4C’s internal equipment and its viewers the benefits would be multiplied.  

MERTHYR TYDFIL

Team 44

School:                         Bishop Hedley RC High School

Contact Teacher:          Ian Griffiths

Company:                     Linde Heavy Truck Division, Merthyr Tydfil

Contact Engineer:         Christopher Aylward

Team members:            Dale Davies, Karl Emerson, Steven Evans, Peter Llewellyn.

Details of Project:         The design of the new three-tier masts on fork-lift trucks make it impossible for the driver to see whether the mast is at ninety degrees as he is driving.  This causes a safety issue as any variation in angle of the mast or the slope could cause instability of the truck.  The project was to think of a practical and affordable way to make a cabin display telling the driver the angle of the mast so that the truck and its load are stable.

RHONDDA CYNON TAFF

Team 45

School:                         Aberdare Girls’ Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          Geraint Thomas

Company:                     National Grid LNG

Contact Engineer:         Martin Bennett

Team members:            Chanel Bashir, Ria Landrygan, Jenny Ng, Hannah Thomas.

Project Brief:                To design a safe, user friendly method of storing and retrieving a range of blank pipe flanges.  These flanges are used to isolate sections of pipe work and allow maintenance to be carried out to the pipe work and/or fittings at the National Grid, Denyvor Arms LNG (liquid petroleum gas) storage plant.  The students used the time at the university to research into sizes and mass of the blank flanges.  They also researched Health and Safety Regulations especially those concerning Manual Handling.  They brainstormed ideas, discussed the merits of each idea and developed two of these as design proposals for discussion with the company engineer.

Team 46

School:                         Mountain Ash Comprehensive School

Contact Teachers:         Andy Williams, Jon Soden

Company:                     Nordam Europe Ltd

Contact Engineer:         Jim Overton

Team members:            Arran Atherton, Thomas Edwards, James Gricapizzi, Daniel Magro, Gary Parfitt, Steffan Rees, Luke Vincent, Corey Williams.

Details of Project:         Nordam use large amounts of sealant which must be mixed correctly to ensure it bonds successfully.  The team were challenged to produce a device which would mix this sealant within its cartridge before it is fitted into a caulking gun.  Although such a device is currently available, to purchase this in number would be prohibitively expensive.  The team has been tasked with devising an alternative which can be produced more economically and is both compact and portable.

Team 47

School:                         Tonypandy Community College

Contact Teacher:          Jim Mayne

Company:                     Silflex Hoses Ltd

Contact Engineer:         Darren Young

Team members:            Ieuan Ackerman, Peter Harris, Lawson Jones, Reece Morse.

Details of Project:         Silflex Hoses make specialist hose parts for performance cars, which are usually produced in small batches.  The company currently use a test rig to physically test samples to destruction before production can commence.  This method is time consuming and does not yield a lot of data for the engineers.  The team carried out some research into FEA software that would test the model hoses on-screen after being given parameters for various composite silicones and reinforcing materials.

Team 48

School:                         Treorchy Comprehensive School.

Contact Teacher:          Helen Francis

Company:                     British Airways Avionic Engineering.

Contact Engineer:         Gareth Thomas

Team members:            Elliot Anderson-Evans, Glen Davies, Jamie Davies, Aaron John, Susanne Kennedy, Timothy Meredith, Owen Morgan, Daniel Morris, Vimal Patel, Andrew Watkins.

Project brief:                 British Airways (BA) is currently undergoing a large project of upgrading the Business class cabin (known as “Club World”) in its fleet of long haul aircraft.  The project involves fitting new improved flat bed seats and an improved IN Flight Entertainment (IFE) system.  One of the significant upgrades to the IFE is size of the screen - the old seats had 8.4 inch screens, the new ones have 10.4 inch screens.  British Airways Avionic Engineering (BAAE) is responsible for repairing these screens should they fail or get damaged.  BAAE follow the manufacturer’s instructions to make the repairs and test the screens using a test rig supplied by the manufacturer.  To ensure that the screen is to the highest standard BAAE wish to carry out a soak test in addition to the manufacturer’s test.  The brief is to design and build a test rig for the soak test capable of operating a number of screens simultaneously.

Team 49

School:                         Y Pant Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          Mike Stephens

Company:                     Royal Mint

Project Engineer:          Graham Hartry

Student Names:            James Bannister, Matthew Green, Abbie Ingham, Matthew Pugh, Thomas Nation, Lloyd Williams.

Project Brief:                The brief was to incorporate an automated solution that will reduce the build up of calcium sulphate within the Effluent Plant mixing tanks at the Royal Mint.  The problem occurs within the mixing tanks.  The process used to reduce acidic levels of waste causes calcium sulphate to build up within the tanks and causes blockages.  The team examined the following solutions:

• Using an automated power washer, that incorporates a ‘magic beam’ to detect solids and liquids.  It could be used to identify the waste build up and remove any waste when it becomes too much.  The tank will rinse, removing waste safely through the water ways.
• Adding a Sacrificial Anode to the tank, this will attract waste material from within the tank and avoid it settling around the pipes and drainage areas.  Anode can be replaced when needed.
• Using a product such as Calgon.

Team 50

School:                         Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari

Contact Teacher:          Nerys Howells

Company:                     L’Oréal Manufacturing (UK) Ltd

Contact Engineer:         Martyn Price

Team members:            Joshua Harry, Robert Jenkins, Thomas Keepings, Thomas Mahoney, Alex Whitehead.

Details of Project:         The conservation of water and reduction in the amount used is an important consideration for any organisation.  At the present time, 20,000 litres of water are used every day in toilets at the L’Oréal factory, Talbot Green.  The brief was to examine affordable solutions to decrease any unnecessary use of water at the factory, for a greener future.

BRIDGEND

Team51

School:                         Brynteg Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          John Catton, Mr Davies

Company:                     SAS International

Contact Engineer:         Paul Smith

Team members:            Mike Hearne, Tom Newton, Alex Pugsley, Ben Thomas, Matthew Waterhouse.

Details of Project:         SAS International produce high quality ceiling tiles, through a range of various manufacturing techniques.  The team were asked to solve a number of problems associated with the electrostatic paint coating system relating to the efficiency of the machine.  These included finished paint quality of the product, and maintenance of the overhead conveyer system.  The team derived a range of possible solution ideas after some discussion and meetings with the company.  Engineering drawings were produced from which a range of prototype solutions were manufactured.  Each solution was tested and the advantages and disadvantages were identified to include the return on investment before the final solution was identified.  A plan for implementation was then agreed.

Team 52

School:                         Bryntirion Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          Lee Allinson, Miss Bidder

Company:                     Ford Motor Company Ltd.

Contact Engineer:         Neil Jarrett

Team members:            Gavin Bungay, Emily Franks, Catherine John, Matthew Orefice

Details of Project:         To universally rotate an engine at variable speeds as silently as possible, to aid in noise related fault diagnosis.  The solutions that the students evaluated included a compressed air gun, a hand-held drill, manual force, an electric motor and hydraulics.  The team planned to undertake further work to finalise the chosen solution, create a working prototype, and prepare a final presentation.

Team 53

School:                         Maesteg Comprehensive School ‘1’

Contact Teacher:          Steven James

Company:                     Wales & West Utilities

Contact Engineer:         Phil Pugh.

Team members:            Sean Cadogan, Joe Doble, Daniel Ford, Jordanne James, Nathan Lawler, David Miles, Chris Pomeroy.

Project Brief:                The aim of the project is to design and develop a system for finding gas leaks in underground pipes.  The existing system relies on repeatedly hitting the ground with a spike until a hole is made to the required depth, before readings can be taken.  Hitting the ground repeatedly could cause injury and the solution must improve the existing procedures.

Team 54

School:                         Maesteg Comprehensive School ‘2’

Contact Teacher:          Steven James

Company:                     Georgia-Pacific GB Ltd

Contact engineer:          Anthony Baker

Team members:            Lloyd Ham, Christian Jenkins, Owen Jones, Thomas McCann, Jack Price, Keeran Standing.

Project brief:                 The aim of the project is to design a system to reduce the waste produced by the lotion winder in the paper making process.  The lotion used degrades due to bacteria forming after a number of days.  The students have been asked to find either a new way to store the lotion or find a way to prevent the lotion degrading.

Team 55

School:                         Ogmore Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          Richard Baron

Company:                     Coppice Alupack

Contact Engineer:         James Lamin

Team members:            James Brown, Danielle Davies, Leonie Hill, Oliver Londero and Chris O’Neill

Details of Project:         The students were asked to evaluate methods to manage waste recycling.  They looked at hopper weighing and then feeding the data to a spreadsheet.  They also looked at mechanical bailer loading.

Team 56

School:                         Pencoed Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          Mark Avaient

Company:                     Sony Pencoed

Contact Engineer:         Kevin Edwards

Team members:            James Balchin, Ben Beddow, Graham Howell, Michael Howard, Rhys Lewis, Angharad Sully-Williams.

Details of Project:         To design and construct a system to accurately test a professional HDD camera for solar flares.  The camera needs to be moved through both x and y axis, at a controllable and steady pace.  The camera would weigh up to 20KG.  The camera will be moved through the x axis using a threaded screw and step motor. A base unit will then be mounted onto the threaded screw.  A y axis movement will also be developed that will be mounted to the moving x axis unit.  The students were evaluating servos with a cranking or cam system.

Team 57

School:                         Porthcawl Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          Steven Blanche

Company:                     Kimball Electronics

Contact Engineer:         David Cook

Team members:            Nathan Evans, Lewis John-Hall, Kieran Oakley, Alan Roberts, Matthew Vance-Daniel, Joseph Walters.

Details of Project:         Medical bottle caps contain an air tight wax seal. Occasionally this seal is missing and the project involved detecting whether or not the seal is present.  The bottle caps can be black, white and different sizes.  The students came up with an electronic solution to the problem.  The solution involved using light sensing photo diodes and light emitting diodes to detect how much light is being received underneath the bottle cap.  The wax seal on the inside of the cap is silver and can easily reflect the light from the diode back to the sensor.  If there is a wax seal present in the cap the conveyor belt will continue. However if there is no wax seal present, the conveyor belt is stopped and an alarm sounds, notifying a staff member to remove the cap.

NEATH PORT TALBOT

Team 58

School/College:            Neath Port Talbot College

Contact teacher:           Keith Waite

Company:                     corus, Port Talbot

Contact Engineer:         Cameron Doster

Team members:            Aaron Evans, Craig Gittins, Gareth Hughes, Gavin Jenner, Joseph Jones, James Whitney, Matthew Williams

Project brief:                 The CONCAST (Continuous Casting) plant produces steel slab from liquid steel at the site in Port Talbot.  There are three separate water treatment plants to process the machinery cooling waters.  The task is to design a concept for a facility that would process the waste sludge from these water treatment plants.  The design will include a tank that will allow the separation of free oils, emulsified oils, clean water and sludge.  Water is vital to the process of continuous casting.  A good clean water supply ensures cooling spray nozzles don’t get blocked and valves and pipe work have a longer life.  Water is used through out the machine to ensure temperatures stay within limits.  Most importantly water is used to cool the molten slab as it passes through the machine.  The quantity of water cooling the slab can effect the grade and quality of the slab being produced.

SWANSEA

Team 59

School:                         Bishop Vaughan RC Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          A Smith

Company:                     Western Power Distribution

Contact Engineer:         Gary Davies

Team members:            Dominic Barlow, Sarah Connelly, Alex Jones, Alex Mountfield, Natasha Mwenya, Victoria White.

Details of Project:         The task was to develop a realistic solution to a heating problem for Western Power, to be implemented in their sub stations.  The team were asked to find a way to transfer the heat from the transformers, to heat the switch room on the site.  The switch room needed to be kept above dew point, which will protect the equipment from ESD (Electrostatic Discharge).  Solutions evaluated included heat pump/heat exchanger; refrigeration cycles; vapour compression; steam turbines; stirling engines and solar panels.

Team 60

School:                         Gorseinon College

Contact Teacher:          Caroline Brangan

Company:                     C.R. Clarke & Co. Ltd

Contact Engineer:         Maurice Clarke

Team members:            Tomos Harris, Brynach Jones, Ben Thomas, Tom Townsend, Kevin Watt

Details of Project:         The team were assigned the task of creating an enclosure for a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and its various components.  The solution has to be easy for the end user to remove from machines powered by the PLCs and send for repair.  The components need to be cooled appropriately as the PLCs will be used in a variety of environments around the world.  For temperature control, the team considered fans for air flow as well as temperature sensors to control fan speeds and the use of Peltier devices and heat sinks, with and without fins, to dissipate heat.  For the safety aspect and ease of use, safe enclosures, safely secured components, various locking systems and rails to slide the components in and out, were considered.  For ease of connecting the components, various forms and paths of wiring were considered along with various types of connectors to make the process of changing components as easy as possible.

Team 61

School:             Gowerton Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          V Beynon

Company:                     White Young Green

Contact Engineer:         Tom Reynolds

Team members:            Alun Freem, Danielle Gardiner, Joseph John, Sarah Thomas

Details of Project:         The project is associated with the SA1 development in Swansea.  Buildings are being built on this site for both residential and office facilities.  The project is to reduce energy consumption within a building and to find a way of producing some of the energy needed for the everyday running of the building.  Solutions evaluated included an electronic system to reduce energy consumption by switching off the heating system when not needed.  The electronic system is essential to reduce energy consumption by switching off the lights when no one is in the room or if the light intensity is high and lights are not needed.  Also, a study into tidal power is required to take full advantage of the tides near the buildings.

Team 62

School:             Morriston Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          Mark Divers

Company:                     Mid and West Wales Fire & Rescue Service

Contact Engineer:         David Schuneman

Team members:            Joshua Burgess, Jonathan Davies, Lewis Gear, Gareth Jones, Jordan Morgan, Rhys Palmer, Luke Shepherd.

Details of Project:         When water for fire fighting is not readily available, any body of water is a considered source.  To access water from lakes, ditches, streams etc. requires the use of a lightweight, portable pumpset.  To be able to gather any water first requires the pump casing and suction hose to be full of water before the pump can pump!  There are 155 first generation pumpsets which have an exhaust gas priming system currently in use by the M&WWF&RS.  One vital priming system component is prone to seizing in its housing and this occurs infrequently, with little warning and mostly when the pumpset is on the scene of the emergency shout.  The project involved eradicating this operational failure.

Team 63

School:                         Olchfa Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          Mr Dunlop

Company:                     corus (Port Talbot)

Contact Engineer:         Andrew McLelland

Team members:            Victoria Beattie, Pete Coates, David Crabb, Mathew Elameer, Gareth Jones, Chris Pavlou, Amy Want, Chris Woodward.

Details of Project:         Corus currently manually process the waste slurry that accumulates in tanks from the gas plant.  The team were asked to design a suitable automatic processing system that will eliminate the need for manual intervention.

Team 64

School:                         Swansea College ‘1’

Contact: Teacher:         Steve Williams

Company:                     Trojan Electronics

Contact Engineer:         Jason Morgan

Team members:            Jim Grantham, Shaun Logan, Leighton Manning, Ian Ruse, Chris Smith, David Williams.

Details of Project:         To design and develop a monitor timer circuit.  The monitor timer tests an LCD screen for a picture using an LDR.  If a picture (light) is present the timer counts.  If there is no picture (light) the timer does not count. 

Team 65

School:                         Swansea College ‘2’

Contact Teacher:          Steve Williams

Company:                     Trojan Electronics

Contact Engineer:         Jason Morgan

Team members:            Matthew Doherty, Richard James, Daniel Pugh, Dharum Roth, John Silvestre, Joe Woodward.

Details of Project:         Improving upon a recent project undertaken by last year’s group in Swansea College.  The aim is to create a scart box that is able to amplify video signal that will reduce costs and save energy for Trojan Electronics.  The students built an amplifier that will be used for the scart box to boost the signal.  They also built the power supply that will be used for the scart box.  They propose to purchase and test an IC chip (7812) that works as a positive fixed linear voltage regulator.  The chip will help steady the output spikes in voltage that have been occurring.  They also plan to place a LED on the top of the box that will indicate whether the box is working properly or not.

Team 66

School:                         Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr

Contact Teacher:          David Wheeler

Company:                     Schaeffler UK Ltd.

Contact Engineer:         Derrick Lewis

Team Members:           Lauren Casey, Elisabeth Downey, Lewis Hayward, Kelly Louise Jones, Bethan Phillips, Jonathan Price, Georgia Thomas, Geraint Williams.

The problem that was presented to the students involved aligning and positioning tappets correctly into a die so that it could be drawn by the punch.  The machine consisted of a conveyor belt shaped like the bottom of the tappet which vibrated so that the tappet would align with the groove made in the conveyor belt.

CARMARTHENSHIRE

Team 67

School:                         Amman Valley School

Contact Teacher:          R Jones, Dr K Mackey

Company:                     C.R. Clarke & Co. (UK) Ltd

Project Engineer:          Maurice Clarke

Student Names:            Thomas Bartlett, Joshua Breen, Geraint Jones, Shaun Matthews, Ryan Morgan, Adam Watkin,

Project Brief                 The company manufacture a range of vacuum presses for dye diffusion printing onto contoured objects.  To obtain accurate registration of the image on the completed part, the film containing the image to be printed must be loaded consistently into the machine.  However, the inkjet printing stage has a tolerance of +/- 1.5 mm from the edge of the film. Therefore, using the film edge for registration does not provide sufficient accuracy for this purpose.  The project was to devise a new film loading system with the following characteristics - able to accommodate film of A3 size; light enough to be managed by one person; able to be retrofitted to existing machinery; incorporating a registration system which does not rely on the edge of the film and allows the film to be firmly clamped with ease.

Team 68

School:                         Dyffryn Taf School

Contact Teacher:          Dr. Mark Smith

Company:                     QinetiQ, Pendine

Contact Engineer:         Gareth Davies

Team members:            David Burger, Owen Davies, Tegid Edwards, Matthew Elms, Daniel Evans, Eleanor Stevens, Matthew Wilson

Details of Project:         QinetiQ Pendine currently test a range of explosive devices for shrapnel dispersal.  The data is recorded physically by packs of card placed in the firing line of the test device.  Holes are punched in the card by debris which penetrates to various depths and at a range of angles.  In order to process the data the position of all holes in the top card are currently measured by hand then entered onto a spreadsheet along with the depth of penetration into the remaining cards - a time consuming process.  The team were asked to produce a process for speeding up this procedure by facilitating the entry of the top card hole locations directly onto the spreadsheet.  Solutions evaluated included various types of pantograph linked to optical mice and visual basic macros for the spreadsheet.  The final device was prototyped whilst at Swansea University.

Team 69

School:                         Ysgol Gyfun Bro Myrddin

Contact Teacher:          Phillip Howells, Rhys Roberts

Company:                     Gravells Renault Dealers Kidwelly

Contact Engineer:         Jonathan Gravell

Team members:            Carwyn Davies, Myfi Jones, Sam Phillips, Greg Roberts, Gwyn Stacey, David Treharne.

Project Brief:                The team were asked to look at significantly reducing waste produced at the existing and new garage sites and then deciding on how the waste can be disposed of in the most efficient and environmentally friendly way.

Team 70

School:                         Ysgol Tre-Gib

Contact Teacher:          Ryan Thomas

Company:                     Brecon Beacons Natural Waters Ltd

Contact Engineer:         David Southgate

Team Members:           Rowan Griffin; Lee Milward; David Peters; Joseph Smythe; Matthew Watkins

Project Brief:                The brief was to design and build a system that will continuously count the number of bottles of mineral water that have been produced on the factory production line and display the running count.  The system will also simultaneously display the target number of bottles that would be produced on the production line at 100% efficiency.

CEREDIGION

Team 71

School:                         Ysgol Gyfun Dyffryn Teifi ‘1’

Contact Teacher:          Aled Dafis

Company:                     Protherics

Contact Engineer:         Richard Wray

Team members:            Wyn Lloyd Jones, Steffan Rhys Evans, Carwyn Evans, Charlotte Roworth.

Details of Project:         To design an effective method of removing flock from a settling tank, once a specific level has been built up, without disturbing the contents or causing the solids to drop out of the coagulated flock mat.  In addition, to process the flock such that water is removed and the resulting dry solid is made ready for collection by the waste disposal contractor.  The system should be user friendly, use the minimum of energy and resources and be suitable for handling potential chemical mixtures.  Where possible, all steps in the process should be automated to reduce the need for personnel to handle or be exposed to the recovered solids.  The students investigated a number of workable solutions including adapting the current system, electrolysis and installing a conveyor belt to remove the flock.

Team 72

School:                         Ysgol Gyfun Dyffryn Teifi ‘2’

Contact Teacher:          Aled Dafis

Company:                     QinetiQ, Aberporth

Contact Engineer:         Peter Jenkins

Team members:            Berian Davies, Osian Elias, Guto Jenkins, Cai Ladd, Dafydd Morgan.

Details of Project:         The brief was to power a remote MTI instrument using renewable energy.  The solution must be sufficiently reliable to require maintenance once a year or less.  The solution must not be obtrusive and must comply with planning regulations and airfield requirements.  The team investigated a number of solutions to the brief and are in the process of deciding which is most suitable to the requirements.

Team 73

School:                         Ysgol Gyfun Llanbedr Pont Steffan

Contact Teacher:          Roland Griffiths, David Hesketh

Company:                     Dragon Machinery Ltd

Contact Engineer:         David Wyatt

Team members:            Shawn Brown, Tony Chen, Gethin Jenkins, Edmund Merrow-Smith, Adam Templeman.

Details of Project:         The brief was to design a means of sensing the rate of change of current experienced when shredding different materials, and to manufacture a prototype test rig for use on a shredding machine.  If successful, the team propose to write a sub-programme that can be incorporated into an existing shredder programme to turn the machine off and sound an alarm when non-shredding is detected.

PEMBROKESHIRE

Team 74

School:                         Milford Haven Comprehensive School

Contact Teacher:          R.K. James

Company:                     Chevron Pembroke Refinery

Contact Engineer:         D. Mc Donough

Team members:            Jade Adams, James Brawn, Nathan Davies, Karl Griffiths, Kieran Griffiths, Damian Hood.

Details of Project:         The team are designing an underwater power generator to supplement the power requirements of the Texaco Chevron Refinery.  The generator must be located within the refineries terminal jetty, in an area not used by shipping or pleasure craft.  The team have investigated a variety of alternative power sources whilst looking at the possibility of creating an array of generating systems within the terminal jetty area.

Team 75

School/College:            Pembrokeshire College

Contact Teachers:         Jason Pointer

Company:                     Murco - Milford Haven Refinery

Project engineer:           Jonathan Crimmins

Team members:            Tom Jones, Gareth Merriman, Adam Morgan, Damian Morgan, James Phillips, Jason Ralph.

Project Brief                 To design and build a suitable test unit to allow the testing of GEMSTART 3 and 4 motor protection relays which are used throughout the refinery.  The tester will give a real life simulation to the working conditions of the relay and also to simulate faults          for the control units to recognise and respond with the necessary action.  The team proposed to design and build the circuitry and to design the tester to be ergonomic and mechanically safe.

Team 76

School:                         Ysgol Y Preseli

Contact Teacher:          Marie Williams

Company:                     Firwood Homes Limited / Manderwood Timber Engineering Limited

Contact Engineer:         Mike Edds, Chris Tansey

Team members:            Antony Cowburn, Tom Garnon, Jake Mowbray, Rhys Newton, Christopher White, Luc Wise.

Details of Project:         The team have been asked to develop the work started by last year’s team, namely designing environmentally friendly cost effective housing that meets the demands of the Stern report.  The students were looking in particular at the roof structure and were investigating ways to make the roof as energy efficient as possible, and the affects of changing the shape of the roof.