I am a strong supporter of the IMechE Engineering Heritage Award scheme. It highlights ‘good engineering’ that is either first of its kind or last in existence. I am writing an application for Eigg Electric as I think they should be recognised  for their forward thinking approach to renewable energy generation. 

“For the people who live on the Isle of Eigg, the noisy diesel generators that each house used to own are now are silent and suddenly they have leapt to the forefront of electricity generation using renewable energy resources.

The Eigg Electric project is a world leader in the integration of multiple renewable energy sources into a grid system to supply an isolated and scattered small community. Robin Smith a mechanical engineer whilst on holiday on Eigg with his family was inspired to produce this 4 min video to demonstrate what this community has achieved creating a micro grid that connects together hydroelectric, wind & sun into a battery bank and reserve generator.

This project has been conceived and driven by the enthusiasm of the whole community of the Isle of Eigg, and is the culmination of 10 years of achievement since the purchase of the island by the residents in 1997. It was recognised that conventional mains power was not a practicable proposition, the islanders decided to create and run their own all island electricity system; a system that was to depend as much as possible upon renewable resources.

The real story behind this project is an exemplary tale of project management and what a small number of highly motivated (and largely non technical) people can achieve when push comes to shove. The people off Eigg didn’t choose renewable energy because it was the cheap or ‘trendy’ option. They implemented this system because it was right for their environment. The limited capacity of the system requires that they limit demand, and with the approval of the residents, domestic and small business supplies have been capped at 5kW, and larger business supplies at 10kW. Everyone has adapted well to using power within these limits, and the concept make a very real contribution to energy economy and load spreading, a lesson that many of us power hungry ‘mainlanders’ should maybe absorb.”

What do you think of Eigg Electric?

Should the people behind Eigg Electric be given an Engineering Heritage Award ?  

I’d be interested in hearing your comments below…

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Landing an egg on Mars….Build it.

As promised, here is part two of the project to land the Curiosity Rover on Mars – or in our low-budget case, saving an egg from breaking when thrown out of a window.  Given the time of years we went for the creme rather than the hen variety.

Following on from the ideas session we’d picked out a few of our favourites to try and build and test, with two teams building a wing and a parachute.  I’d brought along a few bits ‘n’ bobs from the workshop, the kind of things we would normally knock up a quick prototype with – some wood, fabric, straws, string, elastic, card and of course duct tape.  Half an hour later and we had a couple of really good models to test.

With only a small bit of disruption to another class the models were flung out of an upstairs window.  Conditions weren’t ideal for the parachute with launch a little too close to the building for the parachute to properly deploy but it at least slowed the egg’s descent to some extent.  Next the wing, which caught the breeze and glided down quite elegantly, the egg safely concealed inside.

So if NASA are planning another Mars landing soon, we think the wing might be the way to go.  Although, maybe there is a little development work still to be done…..

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Landing an egg on Mars…

For the last couple of months I have been visiting a science class at Cardinal Winning secondary school in Glasgow.  They requested the help of a STEM (Science Technology Engineering Maths) Ambassador for their project looking at the Mars Rover Curiosity.  We started by attempting to build and control our own version of the Rover using the a LEGO Mindstorm kit.  The set contains motors, sensors and a small computer for running programs – we looked at the different sensors and how we could use them on our Rover.  The build went really well and before long we were able to send it off across the floor.

So next thing, how to land it on Mars?  Unfortunately we don’t have the budget of NASA so instead we considered the problem of protecting an egg dropped from a high window.  When faced with a problem like this at work we would often use a brainstorming workshop to generate ideas before taking the best ideas forward, so I thought I would try this out with the class at school.  Armed with post-its and pens, the class got stuck in and I was really pleased with how well they all responded to the session.  I suppose it is a bit different from their normal lesson and I was even asked, “Is this really what you do as part of your job?”

Some great ideas came out – although I’m not sure about the practicalities of the “Jump after it” concept.  However, in a brainstorm there is no such thing as a bad idea, so up it went with the rest of them.

Build it…

Next session, we are going to have a go at building some of our ideas so that we can find out which ones might work.

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Hands On…

We don’t just practise what we preach in business, but also in our spare time. There is no better way to get to know how things work, than pulling them apart every now and then. What started out as a ‘tidy up’ became a full on overhaul and re-paint on my Ducati 748.

Ever wondered how a sprag clutch works, or more specifically how to fix it? The list of jobs tackled were electrical gremlins, internal mechanical repairs, fixing & spraying cracked bodywork and improving brake performance. A slightly daunting, frustrating and ultimately satisfying project. 

Obviously it does help having a full workshop at your disposal, especially when it comes to building that ‘special’ tool to do that specific job, that no other tool will do!

It’s not a perfect restoration, nor was it ever meant to be. It just means that I can have another year of fun on the roads, knowing the thing is sorted! In fact to sum it up… After asking a colleague what he thought of the new paint job, he said: 

“well it’s what goes on underneath that really matters”

There’s always next winter!

The post Practise what you preach appeared first on 4c Design.

4c are running its Graduate Internship Scheme again for 2013. A fantastic opportunity for a graduate to experience what it’s like in a successful design engineering consultancy.

4c Design have been offering a graduate the opportunity to work and learn from us for the past few years. I (Michael) can personally vouch for the scheme and that it is an incredible opportunity for a lucky someone. If you put the effort in you will get a tremendous amount from this experience. This is a very popular internship, so we really recommend getting your application in early and doing what it takes to stand out from the crowd. Good luck to everyone.

What will you gain from it?

It is our intention to provide the successful applicant with a short burst of the much needed ‘industry experience’ required between leaving university and starting full time employment as a professional. We want to provide you with a foot up onto the ‘first rung on the ladder’ in your chosen career as a design engineer. As such we have structured the scheme around the 4 core areas of working within our consultancy, these are:-

• Business Skills
• Design Skills
• CAD Skills (Solidworks Certification)
• Modelmaking & Workshop Skills

We regard the scheme as a knowledge exchange.

4c Design will provide our time and experience to mentor the Apprentice who keeps a diary of what they have achieved each week. In return they provide their time to 4c Design to help out with jobs where appropriate. As such we will make a contribution towards the apprentice’s living costs, but it should be regarded as an unsalaried position for the duration of the scheme. See video below to explain more…

Internship Details…

Timeline

• We will accept applications until 12th April 2013
• Interviews will be conducted from 1st May 2013
• Intern’s start date will be mid June (although we are flexible to fit around your Uni schedule

When/Where

• The Design Hub, Glasgow, Scotland
• 3 months

Application

• Send your CV to graduates@4cdesign.co.uk as a PDF
• Additional materials such as portfolio, websites, blog and social media will strengthen your application.

Please follow us on Facebook or Twitter and we will let you know about all developments. Also see videos to see what previous interns have to say about the experience.

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In the Professional Engineer magazine this month, a reader makes the comment below on the subject of Making ‘Engineer’ a protected title (pg 11). We thought it was a good point that deserves consideration. What are your thoughts?

“And just when you thought it was all over… a reader makes a hitherto unconsidered point on protecting the status of engineers: namely that “engineer” is used as a collective noun for technical types in the UK in a way that it is not in European countries. Take, for example the use of ingenieur by the French. So a new designation for the role of engineer will be needed if the term is to be protected. We’ve seen Stemist mooted in these pages but it is, to be blunt, unsexy. So please send in your suggestions for the most appropriate name destined for protected status, either in the existing lexicon or of your own devising.”

Let us know what your thoughts on the matter are and we will be sure to pass them on…

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for the IMechE Young Members

The atmosphere is great and everyone is ready for the night ahead! Wait until we break into groups and the fun really begins.

The post Creating an Innovation Culture Event appeared first on 4c Design.

During my four month internship at 4c Design I worked on an individual pro bono project. Through the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Yorkhill, Glasgow, we were introduced to Lenny, a 10 year-old boy with interstitial lung disease; a life-long condition, which means he must carry around a constant supply tank of liquid oxygen when he is away from home.

 

The backpack given to Lenny by the hospital is made to fit a larger model of oxygen tank, and the bag itself is flimsy with little support, due to the fact that almost all users are elderly and less active. For Lenny, this means the straps are too long to fit his frame, the tank hits off of his lower back as he runs around, and sways from side to side uncomfortably.

Helios oxygen tank and bag supplied by NHS

I set out to design and make a bag better suited to a 10 year old child, which could carry the tank securely and fit Lenny more comfortably. The bag had to be suitable for running around outside, walking to primary (and soon secondary) school, long walks, as well as sitting on the sofa. After researching and further testing a range of bags, it appeared the most efficient option was to purchase and alter an existing bag. I opted for the Camelbak mini-mule and set to work cutting it up at the seams to alter it. It is safe to say my fingers were in pieces, but I am now a dab hand with the needle and thread! I think even my granny would be proud of the result!

We met with Lenny and his family last week to hand over the final bag. The video below shows a comparison of the old bag next to the new one I made. We hope Lenny enjoys playing outside with his new bag and showing it off at school!

Lenny’s family are involved with the charity Child Lung Foundation, raising awareness of these rare lung diseases as well as supporting the families of children affected. To see how you can get involved or donate, click here.

For anyone that wishes to read the full project report, including basic instructions for making your own bag please follow this link.

Password $Twe3d

Published Articles

• BBC News -  Hannah Jenkins design helps Lenny Yule with oxygen tank
• Daily Mail -  Boy who can’t leave house without oxygen can now enjoy running with his dog
• Daily Record – High-tech schoolbag helps brave lad overcome lung disease
• The Sun - Let’s hail a nation of great inventions
• Metro – Now Lenny’s up and running
• The Renfrew Gazette – Lenny’s backpack keeps him alive
• Russell Howard’s Good News – Series 7 Episode 10, clip at the end

The post Design of Oxygen Tank Bag for Lenny Yule appeared first on 4c Design.

Hannah Jenkins was one the summer interns this year at 4c Design. In the above video she summarizes her time at 4c, including the projects she was involved in and what she gained from the 16 week experience. Projects Hannah was involved in included:

• RFD Liferaft – Details Confidential
• Individual Project to develop a bag to carry a Liquid Oxygen tank for a child with interstitial lung disease
• And much much more…

Hannah proved to be a great asset during her time at 4c, Robin Smith (4c’s Director) had the following to say about her:

“Hannah’s CV speaks for itself, she is a high achiever and will be a superb asset to any company she works for. In the work environment Hannah has a professional, mature and considered approach to what she says and writes, she works in a structured and logical manner and understands the importance of recording her work and thus she makes designs clear and entirely transparent for decision making. Hannah is motivated, hard-working and requires little supervision. These attributes make Hannah a pleasure to work with and a big asset to team working. When we gave Hannah a design problem to look at or prototypes to build, she simply got on with it and it turned out right. You can’t ask for better than that!” October 19, 2012

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We took a trip down to London to the BEEAs (British Engineering Excellence Awards) last week. Like a parent watching their child walk up on stage at a school prize giving, a warm glow came over me as Michael Aldridge picked up his gong! It was a great success for Michael and just reward for all of us here at 4c Design that have invested hundreds of hours in Michael’s training and development over the years. It was proof to me that if you invest time in your people they will go on to achieve great things for themselves and their company.

Michael was the first graduate to come through our 3 month internship that we set up in 2009.

We wanted to use 4c’s innovation culture as a platform for talented, young design engineers to stretch their wings and show the world what they are capable of. The formal part of the internship focuses on the 4 attributes that we look for in a consultant design engineer:-

• Professional skills
• Design skills
• CAD skills 
• Workshop skills

Michael thrived during his internship in the 4c Design environment, he would regularly work long hours, by his own choosing, keen to learn and keen to impress absorbing the training and the experience. Here is a small example of an internal training project Michael took on and succeeded in less than a week. 

At the end of the 3 months Michael had made himself invaluable, he was offered full time employment with 4c and we haven’t looked back since.

At 4c, the range of services we offer clients is very diverse and hence we need people with a fundamental understanding of all things mechanical, technical and with an instinct for aesthetics.

From the outset Michael shown an aptitude to this diverse role; on his first day as an intern he was thrown into the deep end with a brainstorming session to develop a new life raft leisure case. He was able to contribute clear, concise and valuable suggestions in the meeting. Later followed up with detailed research, concepts, client meetings, detailed design, CAD and finally manufacture. Michael became integral to all these stages in what turned into a hugely successful project; increased function, improved aesthetics, reduced weight and lower manufacturing costs. This in turn led to repeat business from the client.

Moredun Bottling Machine; this project required the design of a machine to bottle a vaccine solution under sterile conditions. Due to the abstract nature of the bottles, this required custom mechanisms and processes to cope with the batch sizes required. Michael developed a highly innovated, yet simple mechanism for placing the aluminium caps onto the vaccine bottles. Costing only a few hundred pounds it has saved the client tens of thousands as the only solution other engineers (some twice Michaels age) could think of was a pick and place robot.

These projects are a few amongst many that Michael has contributed towards: Egger (logging solution), Equalizer (Smart tools for the oil industry), Tannoy (all industrial design is done by 4c), AWS Ocean Energy (Wave Power), Thales (defence contractors) and Tree of Knowledge (as featured on Dragons Den, innovative range of tools to promote personal development).

Whilst having a well-deserved pint at the airport coming back north I asked Mike how it felt to win, he said ‘he was shocked to be singled out, the projects he has worked on have always been a team effort’ he went on ‘Good design needs talented people (and clients) all pulling in the same direction and I’ve been lucky enough to find that at 4c’.

Enjoy the spotlight Michael. You’ve worked hard and you’ve worked smart.
You deserve it!

See Michael’s Blog from the Night Here

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