Norelem promotes student projects to support the next generation

As part of the promotion of young talent, Norelem is supporting the FiberFusion and Hyerloop student projects with numerous components.

Supporting young talent is an integral part of Norelem's corporate philosophy. Once again, this is demonstrated by two current student projects, which Norelem supports through the 3D printing of fibre-reinforced polymers and the development of a high-speed transport system.

The systematic communication of topics relevant to mechanical engineering is the goal and task of the Norelem ACADEMY. The formats for passing on know-how include product training on standard parts as well as technical training on a wide variety of design topics.

At the same time, the Norelem ACADEMY realises a pillar of the corporate philosophy with the targeted promotion of young talent. An important part of this is the promotion of school and student projects, for which Norelem provides components free of charge – including invaluable technical advice from Norelem experts.

Two projects that Norelem has recently supported are FiberFusion and Hyperloop. FiberFusion is a two-semester project at ETH Zurich that aims to develop an additive manufacturing process and implement it with high precision as continuous 3D printing of fibre-reinforced polymers.

For this, Norelem provided the project team with a number of components. These included pillow block bearings made of stainless steel and grey cast iron that accommodate shafts and enable rotation with little resistance. Norelem also provided idler pulleys that guarantee a force-fit connection of the belt drive, keyless locking couplings that ensure the correct tensioning of the fibres, and plain bearings for smooth and low-resistance rotation of the fibre rollers.

Simple and safe assembly is possible thanks to the combination of angle bracket and spherical seat. The pivot point of the gas spring is mounted on a ball, so that twisting is possible during opening and closing. The gas spring thus makes it easy to open and close the bonnet.

Another project Norelem supported with innovative technology, is the development and optimisation of a high-speed transport system based on the Hyperloop principle. Around 60 students from the interdisciplinary ‘mu-zero Hyperloop’ group first developed the prototype of a transport capsule including a novel drive system. In the second step, a new team developed the transport capsule further, which is driven by a linear induction motor, and optimised it for higher speeds.

Norelem supported the Hyperloop projects with a range of components. From parallel keys that positively connect wheels and shafts and thus prevent twisting to circlips which secure wheels and bearings in axial direction, Norelem’s components played a vital part in the project.

Norelem also supplied dowel pins which help facilitate the exact positioning and assembly of the various assemblies, as well as damping elastomer springs that decoupled the magnets from the rest of the structure, connected them to the retaining plates by means of threaded rods and thus ensured trouble-free operation.