We are delighted to share the news that a team of RPL’s Engineering Apprentices have been awarded the Judges “Highly Commended” Award at the Apprentice Automation Challenge Finals, which took place at the prestigious Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, on Friday 27th September 2024.
RPL’s team “Ricoh Pride” was made up of Josh Wynne, Lupin Brown, Lewis Heeley, Adam Briggs and George Chadwick.
Over the past 6 months, our apprentices have been working to design, manufacture and program a device which helps to automate an everyday process in the home, garden or workplace – which also helps to address key issues in today’s society. After exploring a number of possible ideas, our team have worked to develop an innovative “Personal Mobility Assistant” – a versatile device which can attach to a standard NHS manual push wheelchair, turning it into an electric wheelchair. The device also serves as a stand-on mobility aid and walking assistant device, offering more independence and support in daily life to those who may have mobility issues.
Alongside this, the team also had to produce CAD drawings of their device, as well as a design specification document, details of their manufacturing process, a user-friendly manual and a business case for the production, marketing and sales of their proposed product.
In total, eleven UK based teams took part in the Finals, with a wide variety of products developed for the 2024 competition ranging from a toothbrush cleaner, to an automatic tea making machine, a smart bin, Bluetooth water pumps and a fire suppression system for CNC/3D printing machines. During the Finals, a panel of volunteer judges (all Senior Engineers from across the Manufacturing industry) evaluated each team’s work, taking into consideration aspects such as the team’s depth of product knowledge, product functionality, design of product, build quality and project presentation. The team also had to provide a demonstration of their prototype device to the judging panel, and deliver a presentation based on their project. A “peer review” then also took place, where all competing teams were able to score/evaluate each other’s work which allowed for a networking opportunity across all teams.
After a day of project presentations and product demonstrations, the results were announced! RPL’s team were delighted to receive the Judges “Highly Commended” Award – the 2nd highest prize they could have received – only narrowly missing out on the top prize to NiftyLift, who developed a Self-Measuring Ingredient Device.
Alongside developing a number of professional skills including teamworking, communication, project management and working to a schedule/deadline, our team have also successfully developed a number of technical skills including electrical/electronic skills, programming, CAD design skills and sheet metal fabrication, all of which will be useful as our apprentices work towards completing their Engineering apprenticeships.
Read more about the Apprentice Automation Challenge Finals on the IMechE website: https://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/niftylift-crowned-winners-of-the-apprentice-automation-challenge-2024
Congratulations to the team for this fantastic achievement!
We would also like to say a big thank you to Mark Smith, Senior Engineer, for his incredible mentoring of this year’s team and for all of his guidance and support in this new competition, and to Ricoh 3D who supported in printing various parts for the device.
