The professional magazine IRT3000, in cooperation with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UL and EIT Manufacturing Hub, Slovenia, and with the support of Spirit, Slovenia, has once again organised the “Student Idea with Business Potential“ competition. At the conclusion of the competition, which took place as part of the IRT Forum in Portorož, participating students presented their ideas and innovations to this year’s committee. A team of two students from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering – Vid Nemec and Tim Guzelj – won the grand prize of €1500 with an idea entitled Pressure optimisation system. Second place went to Filip Ljevar from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maribor, with an idea of Innovative 5-axis machine vice. Third place also went to a student of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at UL, Vid Gostiša, for his idea of CounterFlow 3D, a 3D printed local counterflow heat exchanger, for which he received a €1000 prize.
Tyre pressure is an important factor for safety and driving quality. Our only point of contact with the surface is the tyre, whose grip is directly related to tyre pressure. That’s why Vid and Tim at Peskovnik, the Open Laboratory of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, have developed an intelligent tyre pressure monitoring and optimisation system that enables faster and more accurate tyre pressure monitoring using a small device that can be easily stowed in the boot of a car. In addition to the cash prize, the two innovators will also receive additional support to join European platforms for innovative ideas.
With indoor air quality having a major impact on people’s health, wellbeing and productivity, Vid Gostiša has developed a solution in the form of a 3D-printed local recuperator with a counter-current heat exchanger that enables extremely efficient heat transfer while ensuring low production costs. The manufacturing technology also allows modular adaptation of the heat exchanger geometry, resulting in an efficient, quiet and user-friendly product.
We congratulate the winners and wish them all the best in turning their business ideas into reality!
