MACHINING
PRACTICAL TEACHING
SPELSBERG
SPELSBERG HELPS TECQUIPMENT TO DELIVER
ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE IN STEM EDUCATION
TecQuipment, leading provider of
high quality educational equipment
for engineering disciplines across the
world, is using customised enclosures
from Spelsberg UK in its latest
sediment transport channel flume for
teaching engineering students about
fluid mechanics. To deliver suitable
enclosures quickly, the products were
produced via Spelsberg’s in-house CNC
machining service.
Many engineering departments
incorporate an element of practical
teaching into their syllabus, which over
the years has defined a global market
of engineering education equipment
providers.
It’s a competitive market place, with
TecQuipment positioning itself as
a leader in its sector by delivering
high quality products with a 5-year
warranty. The company, based in the
Midlands, has been established for 60
years and exports to over 100 countries
with more than 1500 customers.
One of TecQuipment’s core
competencies is the development and
manufacture of laboratory apparatus
for teaching fluid mechanics. In
particular, one of the most interesting
products developed recently focuses
on open flow channels. Peter Skinner,
Principal Mechanical Engineer at
TecQuipment, explained: “These are
used to simulate rivers and canals as
well as various features found that may
affect flow and current: such as weirs
and sluice gates.”
TecQuipment’s FC300 range of Open
Channel Flumes were built to provide
students and academics with the
opportunity for advanced research and
student study on a wide range of fluid
flow topics. The large open channels
that range from 5 to 15 metres long,
can simulate different naturally
occurring and man-made conditions
with some of these requiring the
functionality to incline to various
gradients. This calls for an ‘inclination
box’ that measures the tilt of the flume.
This contains a printed circuit board
(PCB) inclinometer, displaying the
angle of the flume.
The PCB is highly accurate and has a
resolution of 0.05 degrees. However,
the device is also extremely delicate,
and any water splashes or spills can
heavily damage it, compromising
the entire equipment. In addition, as
TecQuipment products are distributed
worldwide, any protections for the PCB
needs to meet international standards,
including European, U.S. and Canadian
regulations.
In need of a high-quality solution to
protect the PCB installed on the FC300
range, TecQuipment chose Spelsberg
UK as its enclosure supplier having
previously specified its enclosures for
the company’s very popular Digital
Hydraulic Bench.
In need of a high-quality solution to protect the PCB installed on the FC300 range, TecQuipment chose Spelsberg UK as its enclosure supplier
having previously specified its enclosures for the company’s very popular Digital Hydraulic Bench.
106
PECM Issue 36