Student design addresses critical national problems

Students

Original story

With an estimated 7,3 million people in need of houses and a further 25,5% unemployed, a Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) student’s innovation briGado, a smart brick making kit, has been recognised for addressing two of the country’s most critical problems – unemployment and housing.

Rotenda Nevhutalo (20), a second-year Industrial Design student at the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, developed a  cost-effective project that landed him a position as finalist in the Better living challenge. According to him, this solution will address a vital need by helping poor communities to make their own bricks and build better shelters at their own pace.

“Not only does this product equip people to make bricks for personal use, it also gives business minded people an opportunity to create a better living for themselves,” Rotenda explained in an interview with Better Living.

The aim of the Better Living challenge is to find green home solutions that are affordable, and that will contribute to improving living conditions and the quality of South Africans, and it seems Rotenda’s brick making kit has just that.
One such drug that is easy to get to and is a well-mannered option for males to heal their impotency to a certain level is cheap Forzest online 100 mg for erotic disorder this is the pills that can give you betterment in your life, how sex can give viagra professional you betterment in your life, how sex can make you smile and shine the next day, hampering your work, ruining. There are patients who also claim to have hormone type effect of cheap Kamagra rather than any other medicine.Kamagra enables you tadalafil side effects to achieve natural manhood and retain it for longer. The causes of untimely ejaculation maybe due to physical or buy viagra psychological factors such as: stress, anxiousness, relationship problems, erectile malfunction, thyroid issues or junk imbalances. It should be taken an hour prior to engaging free viagra samples into sexual intercourse as directed for better functioning of this medicine.
Rotenda’s design was inspired by the need to ease difficult traditional brick making methods, which he was exposed to growing up in Limpopo. People did not have suitable tools to make bricks and as a result resorted to using their feet to mix mud.

The 100% recycled plastic briGado kit comprises of a brick mould, concrete mixer and brick carrier that allow users to operate comfortably. The mould has panels which can be used as a clay mixing system and each mould is designed to make six bricks. The panel can also be used as an alternative to a wheel barrow, making it convenient to carry bricks from one point to another. briGado is a cost-effective solution that does not require expensive maintenance and service plan; it is washed with only water.

The young inventors, along with 22 others, entered the challenge in March this year and were chosen among 130 entrants. Part of the selection process included heated debates and discussions. The 23 finalists were reviewed by a panel of 47 judges and will be notified of who the winners are next month.

Rotenda also appeared on SABC 2’s Hectic 99 to showcase his innovation.

Read More →

TUT Industrial Design students save endangered bird

Community Engagement, Special Projects, Students

Original Story

Heinrich Olwage, second-year Industrial Design student adding
some final touches to the nest before placement.

Second-year Industrial Design (3D Design) students at the Tshwane University of Technology, with the help of their lecturer, Kyle Brand, recently took part in an exciting project aimed at saving the Southern Ground Hornbill birds from extinction. The project involved developing a range of concepts for an artificial nest for the birds.

“Initially, students visited the Mabula Private Game Reserve to develop their understanding of the project, the Southern Ground Hornbills and the context where these nests would be used,” says Brand, Industrial Design (3D Design) lecturer. Lucy Kemp, Head of the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, gave them a presentation on the current situation regarding the Southern Ground Hornbills as well as the existing work on the artificial nests.

After the visit, the students worked in groups to develop various concepts using models, drawings and 3D-digital computer models. Upon developing and refining the models, they gave a final presentation with proposed solutions. Elements of the various concepts were then combined to form a single design for the artificial nest.

It was then delivered to the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, where the final touches were added and it was mounted in a tree. The nest was made using a foam core covered with a composite layer of hessian (sack-cloth) and Material 1, a specialised resin and powder supplied by AMT Composites (they sponsored the material for this prototype). Hessian was chosen instead of fiberglass to avoid any adverse effects, s

hould the birds be exposed to it. The durability and strength of the hessian is still being tested with this prototype.

Buy cheap kamagra only from a trustworthy viagra pharmacy human services supplier. It can relieve super active viagra some symptoms like urgency and frequency, pain urination in the beginning. The center gives state approved and certified find out that order generic cialis courses and driver education classes in Texas, and has trained 200,000 people to date. Whether an ED viagra 50 mg patient has healthy heart or not, in every case one needs to follow some guidelines so that possible adverse side effects can be controlled. “As a programme, we aim to develop graduates who can find creative solutions to real word problems,” adds Brand.
Brand adds that exposing students to new and different contexts one would not typically associate with design is not only exciting, but a great learning curve. This project was an opportunity to harness the creativity and energy of students to help a non-profit organisation. This is a great way to contribute to conservation and also develop well- rounded graduates.

So far, the prototype appears to be doing quite well. The afternoon after the nest was delivered, the family of ground hornbills living near the Mabula Ground Hornbill project started moving leaves into the nest, indicating that they wanted to move in. Staff decided to remove the nest in order to do further tests before letting the birds move in. Recently, elephants knocked the nest off its platform, and appeared to ‘play soccer’ with it. Luckily the nest was still intact, suffering only a minor tusk dent.

Sydwell Mamabolo, a second-year Industrial Design (3D Design) student who was involved in the project, adds how great the experience was for students: “It was an amazing opportunity to learn. The experience wasn’t only focused on design, but also on animal life. Through our research we got to know the Hornbill bird pretty well. Immediately after the trip we were back into our studio, doing some ground work. It wasn’t easy to design a nest for a bird that big and it meant that a lot had to be taken into consideration. We did it through teamwork.”

Currently, the aim is to further refine and test the nest before developing a system for it to be used all over Southern Africa.

The Industrial Design (3D Design) team at the Mabula
Private Game Reserve studying the Ground Hornbill bird
in order to see how to accommodate its shape and size
when building the nests.

Kyle placing the finished nest safely in a tree.

Kyle Brand, Industrial Design (3D Design) lecturer (left),
working on the nests with his students

Read More →