"Aerospace endeavors by the first-year mechanical engineers from the School of Engineering"
Students at Pforzheim University's Faculty of Technology have taken flight, quite literally, with their recent first-year project for mechanical engineering students. Over a three-month period, these aspiring engineers spent months planning, tinkering, calculating, and practicing their constructions, all leading up to the "Flying Aluminum" competition held on December 21, 2017.
The challenge? To construct a flyable object made entirely of aluminum, capable of transporting an M10 nut as a flexible payload. The models had to fit within certain dimensions (500 x 500 x 500 mm) and weigh no more than one kilogram. The tasks given to the students were often tricky and humorous, designed to challenge their technical knowledge and craftsmanship.
A total of 17 groups presented their individual constructions at the competition. The winning model, created by an unnamed group, managed to stay in the air for an impressive 7.2 seconds. However, there is no publicly available information regarding the maximum flight duration of a flying aluminum object developed by first-year mechanical engineering students at Pforzheim University in 2017.
The study programs at Pforzheim University bring the topics of statistics and construction theory directly into practice. In this project, students worked on the chemical and mechanical properties of aluminum, as well as the design and construction of the drives for their models, all made of aluminum as well. The only additional material allowed was adhesive.
Group meetings took a significant amount of time in the project, as emphasized by Jessica Seckinger, a student in the Mechanical Engineering/Product Development program. She found the project to be a confirmation of her career choice, stating that her group worked harmoniously throughout.
The first-year project for mechanical engineering students at Pforzheim University is a tradition that has been ongoing for years. Seckinger learned a lot more than just the technical aspects of the project during her participation, calling it an elaborate research experience.
In conclusion, the "Flying Aluminum" project provided a unique and challenging opportunity for first-year mechanical engineering students at Pforzheim University to apply their knowledge in a practical setting, fostering teamwork, problem-solving skills, and a deeper understanding of the properties of aluminum.
