PneuDrive Challenge Secures SEW Eurodrive and Pneumax as Strategic Partners for 2013
The competition which was initially sponsored by SEW Eurodrive and FESTO now enters its 6th year and is changing its earlier focus of getting students to design applications for the manufacturing, packaging and production industries, and now presents students with challenges that are faced by the mining industry. This new focus now offers SEW Eurodrive and new sponsors Pneumax an opportunity to forge a relationship with students as they are encouraged to explore and resolve typical problems faced by mining operations.
With this year’s competition theme being “Greener Mining”, students will need to research and understand the range of products made available by SEW Eurodrive and Pneumax for the mining and water industry and how these can be used to address environmental problems that mines typically encounter. SEW Eurodrive General Manager Communications Rene Rose states that “the change in focus of the competition offers us a perfect opportunity to work with a partner who can strengthen our drive to focus on heavy industries. The fact that we are partnering with Pneumax, a company that has much experience in servicing this sector is exciting as we expect to discover new ways in bringing our two product ranges together and how this can result in more effective solutions for heavy industry”.
Pneumax Managing Director Adrian Buddingh adds that “being a part of the original team that conceived the engineering student competition more than five years ago, it is deeply rewarding to be able to once again partner with SEW Eurodrive as we participate in this powerful learning platform where students can apply their academic knowledge on a practical level”.
Focussing on Technology and Greener Mining
The management and disposal of mine waste is becoming an increasingly important subject worldwide. Applications and approaches that can improve the management and disposal of waste has for some time now been acknowledged as a very real business challenge for the mining industry. This year’s competition asks students to review typical problems that mines face, such as the problems and risks associated with slurry dams, rehabilitating tailings dams and how to improve water recycling on mines. The problems of extracting and finding a use for mining by-products and controlling dust emissions are also part of the problem set.
An important principle of the competition is to get students to understand existing business problems, incorporate specific products in their design solution and then show through a business proposal how their ideas can be used as real-life business solutions. In terms of products from SEW Eurodrive, the 2013 competition asks students to consider how their range of DR Motors, Movitrac LTP Inverters and X-Series Industrial Gear Units could be used to address the environmental impact of mining activity. The Pneumax products that students need to consider for their designs are their range of Dust Collector Valves, the Imperial Mine Cylinder and their Diaphragm Pump.
By presenting a business problem, alongside actual technology that could be used in an application that could resolve mining problems, the design competition guides the learning experience of the students and reveals to them the business reality of needing to design efficient and sustainable applications.
Reaffirming Critical Learning Platforms
Rose and Buddingh both concur that “we have long recognised the importance of business in partnering with higher education institutions to help address the enormous pressures that they are under to prepare skilled engineering students for the labour market. By bringing together universities that offer sound academic theory and our various business experiences, we have a platform that will certainly showcase the academic and innovative ability of South Africa’s engineering youth to take on the challenge of “engineering greener mining solutions”.
The winning team will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Germany and Italy where students will present their design at the head offices of SEW Eurodrive and Pneumax, as well as afford their university an opportunity to claim R 100 000 worth of SEW Eurodrive and Pneumax products.
Ends.
Contact address for editors and readers:
SEW EURODRIVE Marketing Department Rene Rose – General Manager - Communications Phone: (+27 11) 248 7000 rrose [at] sew [dot] co [dot] za pneudrive [at] sew [dot] co [dot] za |
Pneumax Marketing Department Eugene van der Lith – Regional Manager Phone: (+27 11) 573 0902 eugene [at] pneumax [dot] co [dot] za pneudrive [at] pneumax [dot] co [dot] za |
NGAGE
Media contact
Kelly Farthing – SEW Eurodrive Account Manager
Phone: (+2711) 867 7763
kelly [at] ngage [dot] co [dot] za