Driving an excavator is for adults only....no way!

Wayne Engineering has grade 5 students test its new controller and shows how automation can simplify things. Driving an excavator thus becomes a piece of cake.

May I introduce myself? I make wind turbines.

And you?

The Wind Lift 1, the service and installation vessel of Bard Engineering Group, has a lot to do.

Alone the foundation of a commercial installation in an offshore park weighs more than 1000 tons. In addition, the piles with a length of approx. 70 metres weigh about 210 tons each. Therefore suitable transport and assembly must be ensured. For this, Bard Engineering Group has an appropriate answer. With the Wind Lift 1 the company in Bremen developed a vessel which meets the requirements for offshore installations.

Plenty of tests and simulations were done. Using models on a scale of 1:40 the new foundation structure and the vessel were exposed to much stress in the wave tunnel of the Technische Universität Berlin - and found to be good.

Even wave heights are no problem any more. The Wind Lift 1 can lift itself with its legs of 72 metres. Despite its high balance point and a draught of only 3.5 metres the 103.8 metre long ship, which is relatively wide with its 36 metres, can travel at up to 10.1 knots even with a wind force of 11.


Image source: Bard Engineering Group

More information:

http://www.bard-offshore.de/en/~

The magazine Wirtschaftswoche writes on the company Bard Engineering GmbH: "Hardly anybody believed that the company Bard in Bremen, newly founded in the wind business area in 2003, could pioneer in wind farms. All the more so that nobody could assess the entrepreneurial abilities of the then 68 year old founder Arngolt Bekker."

The function control in the Panther can be like this

The controller is programmed by the vehicle manufacturer because only he has the system-specific know-how. For this, a programmable controller is clearly an advantage. It would be helpful if the controller manufacturer already provides finished function blocks allowing a quick implementation of the vehicle functions.

Here are examples of the functions to be controlled: modern airfield fire-fighting vehicles have several water/foam cannons which are usually remote-controlled by joysticks. Operating modules for pumps, mixture rates, winches, flashing blue light, horn, door and alarm start controls are further components requiring electronic controllers.

For pumps these electronic modules are often used to display levels and to control electric valves. The extensive lighting system including the powerful airfield floodlights is also controlled and monitored via electronic control devices. The high performance engines (up to 1000 hp) and gearboxes have electronic control devices and are usually networked via one or several CAN bus systems.

And if you want to test this:

»»» http://www.awesomediecast.com/


Image source: Wiking

And even if...

It even has an educational value.



»»» http://www.lego.com/eng/education/mindstorms/



»»» http://www.legoengineering.com/

Elektor’s DIY self-balancing vehicle

I found an interesting magazine: ELEKTOR



Everyone agrees; the internal combustion engine is coming to the end of its life cycle. However you don’t need to go to the expense of a Prius or Tesla to experience the future of transportation devices. If you would prefer something more personal (and don’t mind turning a few heads) why not build the astonishing ElektorWheelie? First take two electric motors, two rechargeable batteries and two sensors, now add two microcontrollers and the ElektorWheelie is ready to transport you in style to your destination.

»»» www.elektor.com/projects

What’s next?

Lunabotics Mining Competition



The purpose of the Lunabotics Mining Competition is to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, in a competitive environment that may result in innovative ideas and solutions, which could be applied to actual lunar excavation for NASA.

»»» www.nasa.gov