Mechanical Technology

Mechanical Technology — November 2015

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Innovative engineering

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The Stellenbosch team – Reghardt Pretorius, Johannes Leuvennink, Madeli du Toit, Josua Blom and Jean

Swart – show a model of their winning Bottlebot design, which automates the transportation of empty beer

bottles to the capping machine.

An illustration of the automated warehouse cleaner system developed by Wits students: Vuledzani Madala,

Portia Sibambo, Nkosinathi Shongwe and Tisetso Ramolobe.

can be harmful to the environment and

potato peel waste is of zero value to

factories.

At a local chip factory in Gauteng, this

waste is presently under-utilised. This

project proposed that a system using

anaerobic digestion (AD) be employed

to dispose of the solid waste and clean

the waste water, while producing biogas

as a by-product to supplement existing

systems in the heating of the chip cook-

ers, hence reducing energy costs.

This design report suggests that a low-

cost process, namely anaerobic digestion

(AD), is a possible solution for the effec-

tive and profitable use of these waste

products. In the South African processing

industry, however, AD technology is not

readily available, so a gap in the market

certainly exists for such a system.

This highly technical and interesting

study was presented by students Micha

Dedekind, Craig Daniel and Richard

Grieves, under guidance from lecturer

Joao Nobre.

WITS University’s – Automated

Warehouse Cleaner

This team from WITS identified a health

and safety risk: broken bottles and

spillage on the Rosslyn brewery factory

floor. While conveying or packing, filled

bottles of beer often break due to the

high pressures applied during the filling

process. These broken bottles fall off the

conveyor lines and pose a substantial

safety hazard for employees. Added to

this problem is the fact that conveyors

in the factory use soap and water lubri-

cants, which increase the danger of a

slippery floor.

The team observed that an external

contractor cleans the floor three times

a day to reduce the health and safety

risk. However, when cleaners are not

present, the floor remains filled with

glass shards and water. They proposed

an autonomous cleaning machine as

their solution to this obviously unac-

ceptable problem.

Competing students

Vuledzani

Madala, Portia Sibambo, Nkosinathi

Shongwe, and Tisetso Ramolobe under

guidance of lecturer Joao Nobre, won

third prize for their entry, as well as the

Innovation prize.

The formal prize-giving for this com-

petition will take place in January 2016,

while the theme for 2016’s Pneudrive

challenge will be announced before the

end of 2015.

The potato game changer

developed by Wits students:

Micha Dedekind, Craig Daniel

and Richard Grieves, proposes

using anaerobic digestion

(AD) to produce bio-gas from

starch-laden wastewater.