A final year WelTec engineering student has designed a prototype electronic control unit for Hutt Valley fire appliance manufacturer Fraser Engineering, that allows fire fighters to direct hoses from the safety of their cab.
George Francis designed the prototype electronic control unit for a remote control fire fighting nozzle known as a Monitor which mounted to the front bumper of a fire fighting appliance.
“It’s been sold to an Australian customer and by the end of this project will be in service ready for the busy bushfire season,” says Francis
Fraser Engineering general manager Martin Simpson says the Monitor is relevant to all fire fighting situations.
“We aim to see one on every fire truck, especially in Australia where there are huge safety benefits from being able to fight fires from inside the cab of a fire engine.
“This device drives a fire engine’s water cannon through the use of a joystick. We have produced this cost effective unit which exemplifies the type of smart engineering technology that our company produces.”
Francis’ work is one of a range of projects being showcased as part of the final year projects by WelTec Bachelor of Engineering students at WelTec’s Petone campus on Monday 1 December between 2pm and 8pm.
Other projects students have worked on have resulted in better tasting beer, faster storm water runoff systems, a hydrogen fuelled hob, a device which sieves fossils from rock samples, modern train signals for KiwiRail, developing a screen which assists the Kaitoke Intake to extract significantly more litres of water per day.
