Four final year B.Eng students at took on a design brief from leading global water technology provider Xylem in a new initiative aimed at promoting closer links between industry and academic institutions.
Two teams of Brunel students elected to work on the challenge Xylem presented for their final year three-month project. The brief was to and develop a device to act as a safety mechanism to protect downstream equipment on oil rigs within a target production cost of £70 per unit.
The winning team was judged to have analysed the brief to come up with a practical product specification, applied CAD software tools in the most effective manner and utilized existing manufacturing techniques to meet all the criteria within budget.
Roger Bartlett, Head of UK Engineering at Xylem’s Flow Control business said, “The winners demonstrated outstanding depth of and commitment throughout, including generating several at the start of the project and selecting a pragmatic design which integrated the functions of two valves in a production-viable manner. The team’s reporting and adherence to budget were also excellent.”
* Brunel University is a member of the , a BDI initiative. It is the first formal alliance of its kind in the UK, created to bring the industrial design community and academia closer together to forge stronger links to address a number of issues affecting the growth and quality of the design industry.
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