Mechatronic Circus 2018

Welcome to the Mechatronic Circus to see the most baffling smart devices built by students!

During the spring students have been working hard on their mechatronic projects to build smart devices that they will showcase on Thursday 5 April at the annual Mechatronic Circus. Crab a cone of popcorn and start exploring! 

• Mechatronic Circus at Puumiehenkuja 5 E is open from 10am to 4pm
• Pea soup lunch served outside on the courtyard during 11am - 2pm 

Pop by when you have the chance, no registration is needed.

School classes are very welcome to the event that is best suited for upper and high school children. Teachers can sign up here. 

Demos 

Field Robot for Farming
Farming requires a lot of manual work. While animals have had an important role as help in farming a new era has begun where robots are in the forefront. This project demonstrates an autonomous field robot, which can perform complex navigation and other tasks on a corn field on its own.

Device for studying the flow capabilities of powders in 3D printing
There are several different techniques for 3D printing. One common technique is to use material in powder form, which can be fused with a laser layer-by-layer. Between each layer the powder needs to be redistributed on top of the previous layer. The way this powder flows strongly influences the printing accuracy. Students develop a device that enables efficient study of the flowability of powders. 

Measuring heart functions through the hospital bed
When measuring your heart, doctors have to typically attach sensors onto your body. This can be difficult or even impossible in some situations like surgery. Students build a device that measures a patient’s heart functions from sensors attached to the hospital bed instead of the body.

High accuracy lifing
Cranes are widely used in industry but they are imprecise and lack automated features. A device is developed, which can have even a 0.5mm positioning accuracy and move objects without an operator. 

Crane condition monitoring with a robotic arm
Almost every factory in the world has a crane. Safe operation requires regular inspections by an operator or maintenance person. Students develop a robotic hand attached to a smart crane that enables remotely operated monitoring.

Linear motor assisted ball game "Smart Bounce" 
Linear motor is a very fast actuator for linear movements. Combined with a camera and fast, efficient software, the ball game built by students demonstrates the accurate and rapid control of the linear motor.

Laboratory pulp dryer
Wood fibres are used to produce many different products, most notably paper. In some products, such as diapers, it is necessary to separate the fibres from each other to make them absorb more water. Students develop a device, which uses hot air to separate the fibres from each other.

Laboratory dewatering device for nanocellulose
Nanocellulose has remarkable properties in terms of strength and stiffness making it a great additive in e.g. paper. It is, however, difficult to process because it can retain a considerable amount of water. Students develop a device that uses hydraulic pulsations to enable more efficient removal of water from the nanocellulose suspension.

Superfinishing (online shape grinding for rolls) 
Uneven surface geometry in paper machine rolls may cause vibration, runnability problems and quality problems in the produced paper. These problems can be reduced by grinding the roll surface. A device is built that can accurately grind desired form on the the surface of a large roll.

Also nearly 20 other mechatronic excersices like a drone, a robot and camera stabilizers on show! 

Open Doors during 11am-2pm

The following research groups located at the proximity of Mechatronic Circus will host Open Doors: Engineering Design, Engineering Materials, Production Engineering, Solid Mechanics, Energy Efficiency and Systems, Thermodynamics and Combustion Technology.