It has taken many hours of design work over the course of this academic year for our three STEM club students Lylah B, Leon J and Jack B, to arrive at a solution to their chosen problem of how to deal with the increasing threat of Asian hornets on our British shores. This was the challenge they set themselves back in September when they were first thinking of a problem that needed solving. The journey has been one of ideas, mistakes, development and ultimately a solution that could be tested and offered as a prototype at the Chelmsford Engineering Society competition, held in the Marconi Building at Anglia Ruskin University in June of this year. With the use of Onshape 3D CAD and the 3D printing capabilities offered by the Design and Technology department all three students have had the opportunity to learn about 3D modelling and rapid prototyping.
It has been a tremendous team effort that pushed them through some early disappointments with design ideas, but on to a developed solution that would take account of outdoor weather conditions. They also discovered that the humble wasp is not all bad and does make an offering to our environment as a ‘decomposer’! This meant that the final solution was to focus on the Asian hornet without being detrimental to the wasp population.
Their early models showed some real enterprise, but the design needed improvement in terms of coping with the potential for rain, as well as some tweaks with the accuracy of separate components so that they would fit together properly. The holes that were included in the first design, to allow wasps to escape, would also let in water and dilute the liquid attractant so changes were needed.
Further development took place on Onshape 3D CAD until a roof was added and measurements were changed to create an accurate fit of the base to the top.
Finally, there was a working prototype that the team could test and then take along to the competition held in the Marconi building at Anglia Ruskin University. Judges would grill them about their design idea to which the team responded knowledgably.
The final solution to the problem took some 20 hours to 3D print within the Gosfield DT department, being manufactured from a black and transluscent PLA material.
The patience of the team was rewarded in the end with a very enjoyable competition day. Lunch was provided by the Chelmsford Engineering Society in a University canteen,… burger and chips! Yum!,… and then notification of an award one week later and the invite to the awards evening. It was so nice to see everyone in attendance on the awards evening with parents too, and a super result to receive a shield for ‘Best Design Execution’.
The final design shown to the right is being tested in the Gosfield grounds.
Congratulations to the team and we’ll look forward to next year to see what opportunities for problem solving can be found by our teams of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians.
Mick Pitts
Head of DT