Category: Engineering

We’re well and truly in the midst of the festive season now, so it seems only right that we wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! As the end of the year approaches, we’ve been thinking a lot about what 2015 meant to European Springs IE, and we hope that your year has been just as fantastic as ours.

This year has seen us embarking on brand new projects, creating new springs and pressings, and continuing to help make your innovations a reality with the latest technology. Alongside this, we’ve continuously updated our blog with news from the engineering sector, and we hope has been interesting and informative for you.

We have even more fantastic content and updates planned for 2016, so make sure that you keep checking back throughout the New Year to keep up to date with the industry and learn all about some of the most fascinating news from Ireland, the world, and even further afield than that!

Here are some of our biggest updates from the past year, so enjoy sifting through the big engineering stories of 2015!

• Scientists invented an ‘ear worm’ robot that will assist surgeons with the removal of inner ear tumours.
• A teenager from Northern Ireland invented the Agri-Hammer; a hydraulic machine that champions health and safety on farms
• The world’s first 3D printed titanium sternum and rib cage operation was performed
• British astronaut Tim Peake embarks on his mission to space and arrives safely at the International Space Station

So whatever your plans are for the year ahead, whether you’re looking to embark on a career in engineering or have an invention that needs springs to become a reality, make sure you keep an eye on our blog to see what news and updates we will be serving up for another 12 months.

We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

If you’d like to work with us in 2016, or learn more about our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us by calling 028 9083 8605. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to keep up with our latest news throughout the New Year!

Here at European Springs Ireland, we love hearing about young people getting into engineering. After all, we do need the next generation to take up the torch and continue to produce some of the most integral engineering processes in the world –even our very own clock springs!

You can imagine how delighted we were when we came across the news that more people in the UK would encourage young people to become an engineer than be a doctor, accountant or a banker.

Although all these positions are integral in our society, we can’t help but be a little bit elated that engineering topped the list!

An Encouraging Outcome

These exciting results have been released as a result of a poll carried out by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, who asked a cross section of 1000 UK residents what career choices they would encourage young people to get into. They were given a choice between four options and were asked to choose the career that they would be most likely to encourage.

Of those 1000 people, 86% said that they would encourage a young person to become an engineer, with doctor coming in a close second at 80%.

The engineering industry has had so much pressure on it over the past few years to encourage more young people to join the sector, so these results are incredibly encouraging and it’s great to see that the general public are realising the importance of the future of engineering.

New Research Predicted

This poll was conducted ahead of new research which is being undertaken by the Institute looking at how more people can be encouraged to pursue STEM careers.

The research, named Big Ideas in Engineering Education, aims to determine what exactly needs to be done in the education system to make engineering a more popular career choice amongst young people, and more importantly a balance between boys and girls  when it comes to fostering the interest.

Peter Finegold is the head of education and skills at the Institute and has commented on the results of the poll, as well as discussing how the education system needs to encourage more interest in STEM careers.

“The results of this poll are both encouraging and surprising.We face a shortfall of 30,000 qualified engineers every year coming through our education system.This result suggests however that basic demand is there and that the public already has some understanding of the extraordinarily diverse and valuable careers available in engineering.”

“Much more needs to be done to ensure we get the growth in UK engineers this country needs, through better careers advice, establishing better links between schools and local employers, and a fundamental rethink in the education system to boost Science Engineering Technology and Maths (STEM) education in schools.”

We couldn’t agree more, and we can’t wait to see how the education system responds to this demand for more focus on STEM subjects and careers!

Engineering is a huge part of our process here at European Springs Ireland, and it is what allows us to make some of the best quality spring products available. If you would like to take advantage of our fantastic engineering experience, don’t hesitate to contact us and have a chat with our expert team today. Call us on 028 9083 8605 and a member of our team will be happy to help or hope on over to our Facebook, Twitter and Google+ pages to keep in the loop with all our latest news and updates!

To say that we are easily excited when we hear about any new engineering feat is an understatement, and one engineering project has been in the back of our mind for many months now; the Bloodhound SSC, an engineering masterpiece which is set to break the land speed record with speeds of up to 1,000 miles per hour in 2017.

This incredible project is headed by the same man who was behind the team who hold the current land speed record, Richard Nobel. However, 20 years since that record of reaching 763mph was set, the team are back and looking to quash the record by a huge 237mph by creating a supersonic car which is expected to cover a mile in just 3.6 seconds.

Exhilarating Engineering

Weighing in at 7.5 tonnes, you may not expect this ingenious hybrid vehicle to make much headway, but thanks to the design and ingenuity used by the team, the car is believed to be able to reach over supersonic speeds of up to 1,000 miles per hour.

The vehicle’s design takes inspiration from both a car and an aircraft; with a carbon fibre monocoque which is found in Formula 1 cars at the front of the machine and a network of carefully placed panels like an aircraft at the back.

Put it this way, the car is designed to be over six times the power of all the F1 cars on a starting grid!

EUROJET EJ200 Engine and Rocket Power

Usually found in the engine of a Eurofighter Typhoon, the EUROJET EJ200 engine is what gives around half of the Bloodhound’s thrust. Not only will this car incorporate the design of an aircraft, it will also incorporate its power too!

In addition to this extremely powerful engine, the Bloodhound SSC will also benefit from a further speed boost through the addition of a Nammo rocket.

Although the project aimed to be solely rocket powered in the beginning, the team behind this supersonic powerhouse realised that rockets aren’t easily controlled and that the addition of a jet engine would not only give a boost of extra power, but would also add a range of control to the vehicle, too.

Revealed to the world back in September ahead of its record attempt in South Africa in 2017, the eight years of research that has gone into this powerful land vehicle will have hopefully paid off. The team behind the vehicle is made up of various Formula 1 and aerospace technicians and engineers, so we’re excited to see where this next step in engineering takes us.

Although we can’t provide you with the means to build a machine that can reach speeds of up to 1,000mph, we can provide you with some of the best spring products available. From die springs to pressings and wireforms, we are sure to have a product or service to suit you.

For more information, get in touch with our expert team today by calling 028 9083 8605 and we will be more than happy to help you with your enquiries.

Technology is advancing at an alarming rate and with more people requiring prosthetic limbs to be able to get on with their daily lives, it’s crucial that every avenue is explored when it comes to creating artificial limbs which are durable and comfortable.

Now, thanks to a team of biomedical engineers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, prosthetic limbs may require less tuning during wear in order for them to remain working correctly.

Re-tuning Prosthesis

People who don’t need prosthesis may not understand how much work goes into maintaining the limb. Every so often, the wearer will be required to visit a prosthetist to “tune” the limb up to keep the patient walking and moving smoothly and comfortably.

This is an essential visit which can be quite time consuming and may even be quite costly as more often than not, adjustments will need to be made.

Due to the essential nature of a prosthetic limb, it isn’t a simple case of “one size fits all; much like a custom shoe, the limb must be modelled to the remaining portion of the limb and tuned up to the individual user. This usually takes into account the weight, strength and movement range of the wearer.

The Self-Tuning Algorithm

So how do these self-tuning prosthetic limbs work? It’s pretty simple in theory; a software algorithm is installed into a powered prosthesis and will be able to tune the power which moved the motors in the limb’s joints.

This allows for faster, real-time tuning, making it easier for the wearer to deal with activities which may have required extensive tuning, such as carrying heavy objects which would put more strain on the joints.

It also reduces the need to go and see a prosthetist as regularly, as the algorithm will be able to adapt the limb to any changes that may occur within the patient, such as weight loss or gain, and even adapt when the user becomes accustomed to the limb.

So will we be seeing these self-tuning limbs very soon? Associate professor of the biomedical engineering program at North Carolina State University and University of North Carolina says not just yet.

In a statement, she has reported that “We’re not yet able to replicate the prosthetist’s success in achieving those comfortable ‘trunk motions,’ but it’s something we’re working on.”

So, although it’s not happening just yet, it is something that we will hopefully be seeing implemented in the future of prosthetic limbs.

As leading spring manufacturers, we understand how much work and effort go into such life saving devices. That’s why we supply only the finest spring solutions for your needs, whatever they may be. For more information on our products, simply contact our expert team today by calling 028 9083 8605 and we will be more than happy to help you.