24/04/2015
In our latest instalment of our running series, we took a look at the Great Wall of China. Today we’ll be talking about how people have taken advantage of one of nature’s finest creations – the Grand Canyon.
The Grand Canyon is considered to be one of the wonders of the natural world, and it’s not hard to understand why. The incredible canyon was carved out of the rocks by the Colorado River which is thought to have established its course 17 million years ago. The canyon is 277 miles long and, in certain places, reaches a depth of 1 mile.
For thousands of years, humans have been fascinated by this incredible sight and have arrived in droves to view it for themselves. This is why, in 2004, production began on the Grand Canyon Skywalk that would offer a view like never before.
Construction
An entrepreneur named David Jin came up with the idea for the skywalk and employed the help of architect, Mark Ross Johnson to turn it into a reality. The walkway itself stretches out 70 feet from the edge of the canyon and looks as if it is floating. This is due to the fact that there are no direct supports from underneath.
The bridge is actually supported by beams that are anchored deep within the rock which act as counterweights. This means that the walkway is so strong that it is said to be able to withstand the weight of 71 fully loaded 747 planes or 800 people!
The walkway itself is made with four layers of Saint-Gobain Diamant low iron glass which has a protective layer over it to protect from scratches and marks as it can be removed and replaced with ease.
23/04/2015
Each year, a young wannabe-engineer is presented with the impressive title of UK Young Engineer of the Year, and 2015 was the year for Northern Ireland teenager, Colum McNally.
After demonstrating his invention in front of the judges at the Young Scientist and Engineers Fair in Birmingham this March, McNally saw off over 2000 other entrants and his practical and economic design was crowned best in show.
Colum McNally, from Newry, designed and built the Agri-Hammer – a hydraulic, multi-functional tool invented for the assistance of farmers in cutting logs and building fences. The innovations’ main aim is to prevent potential farm accidents, with the 18 year old stating that the machine will take “the safety off the farmers’ hands, rather than taking the hands off the farmer”.
The young engineer also expresses his interest in engineering from an early age, “I’ve been involved in engineering from a young age on the farm, just building bits and pieces as we needed them,”. So, where did the idea come from? The innovative machine originated from the idea of adapting grass-fed paddock grazing for his father’s new farm shops. “He was putting in lots of posts and when we looked at post drivers they were very expensive, and I wanted to create a machine that’s cheaper, more versatile and affordable for farmers.”
While log splitting and fence building normally takes two machines that are extremely dangerous to operate, the Agri-Hammer combines the functions of both in one easy-to-handle and well-designed single device. Whilst the slogan for the machine boasts a safety-free future for farmers’ hands, the teenager himself also demonstrates a clear passion for health and safety. The St. Colman’s College student wins £2,000 along with a trophy and an experience prize.
The future?
It’s young minds like McNally that, as a leading compression spring manufacturers keep driving us forward in our innovative services and advancements. As a company, we’re passionate about encouraging the youngsters of today in their interest for engineering, and, like the values of the Young Scientist and Engineers Fair, we too offer unique opportunities for the creative minds of the future.
From all here at European Springs, we’d like to say congratulations to Colum, and wish him all the best for his bright future as an ambassador of science and engineering!
For more information on any of our services, or to speak to one of our friendly and specialist team – please do not hesitate to contact us on 0208 663 1800 today!
European Springs
21/04/2015
In the latest instalment of our continuing series on the greatest feats of engineering, we’ll be looking at the truly remarkable Great Wall of China, which is viewed as one of mankind’s most amazing achievements in construction and engineering.
The Great Wall of China, which is located across the historical northern borders of China, is 5,500 miles long and was constructed over a period of approximately 2000 years. The Wall has many purposes, but was originally built as a defence mechanism against raids and invasions of the various nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steppe.
Construction
Construction of the wall began in 475 BC, with the purpose of protecting China against the invasions of the Huns, the story of which was somewhat captured in Disney’s Mulan. These early constructions were born out of the various states of Qin, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Yan and Zhongshan each constructing their own protective borders, which were built to withstand an attack from swords and spears.
Over time, these defences were repaired and reinforced, with the wall we know today beginning to take shape by the 12th Century. When the Ming dynasty came to power in the 14th Century, the Great Wall concept was revived in order to protect China from the Mongolian tribes.
Unlike the earlier walls, which were primarily constructed from tamped earth and wood, the Ming Great Wall was constructed out of bricks and stone. Up to 25,000 watch towers were built along the wall, which helped to defend China against numerous attacks from invaders.
Can You Really See It From Space?
One of the most common references to the Great Wall in popular culture is that it can be seen from the moon, although this myth has been debunked many times.
At its widest, the Great Wall extends to around 9.1 metres wide, with most of the wall being coloured to match its surroundings. Only an object or structure that was a significantly contrasting colour to its surroundings would be visible from the Moon with the naked eye, and with a viewing distance of 238,000 miles, the Great Wall would have the same visibility from the Moon as a human hair would if it was viewed from 3.2 miles away, however this makes it no less of an engineering miracle, and the famous landmark can be seen from a very low orbit.
We hope you enjoyed reading about yet another great feat of engineering. Here at European Springs, we love to celebrate any engineering triumph, and with our range of compression, tension and die springs, we can help to make your project a success. For more information, contact us today by calling 0208 663 1800.
European Springs
17/04/2015
Here in the second instalment of our series on accidental innovations, we'll be looking at more of the fascinating inventions that were stumbled upon by accident.
Some inventors can spend years attempting to perfect their products, going over and over every detail. Then, once in a while, brilliance just happens in a moment of pure luck.
That's why this series is celebrating those people who unintentionally discovered some of the greatest inventions in history.
Penicillin
Scientist Alexander Fleming accidently discovered penicillin in 1928. Whilst he was on holiday, he had left a stack of dirty petri dishes on his work station, as he hadn't had time to sort them out before he left.
Once he returned from his holiday, he discovered that most of the dishes had been contaminated, which was expected from being left unattended in a lab.
As he closely inspected the dishes, he noticed that a dish containing staphylococcus had been covered mostly in bacteria, apart from one area where mold had started to grow. The most surprising part was that all around the mold, there was no bacteria, which meant that this mold must have stopped it from growing.
From this, he realised that this could be used to kill different kinds of bacteria, and this was where the idea of penicillin was discovered.
We're all thankful that Alexandra was in a rush to go on holiday that day!
X-Rays
X-rays are widely used in hospitals and it's a machine that medical establishments heavily rely on. This is why it might come as a surprise to you that the X-ray machine was also an accidental invention.
It was created by a German physicist who invented it whilst he was messing around with a radiation cathode during an experiment in 1895.
Wilhelm Roentgen was looking into the path of electrical rays that were passed through an induction coil through a partially evacuated glass tube. This tube was covered in black paper, and the room he was in was pitch black. So he was pretty surprised to discover that a screen covered in fluorescent material was being illuminated by the rays.
He quickly carried out more experiments, in which it was discovered that these rays could pass through more substances and also cast shadows of objects on pieces of film.
A week after he made his discovery, he decided to take an X-ray photograph of his wife that clearly exposed her bones and wedding ring. The public were amazed and hence the first version of the X-ray machine had been discovered.
We hope that you enjoyed another run-down of some of the most fascinating accidental inventions of all time. As compression spring manufacturers , here at European Springs we are pretty clued up on all things inventive. After all, we create all of our springs, and are constantly looking to build on new ideas. If you'd like any information on our work then please contact us on 0208 663 1800 and a member of staff will be happy to help.
European Springs
15/04/2015
At European Springs, we're very proud of our team, and we love to celebrate their achievements. So, when our apprentices Peter McClymont (20) and Jack Hever (17) completed their apprenticeships in Performing Engineering Operations, we took the opportunity to give them a proper celebration.
Not that we told them about it in advance; for these hard workers it was just another day at our facility until the MP for Beckenham, Colonel Bob Stewart, arrived to present them with their certificates.
Pictured above, left to right: Stuart McSheehy, Managing Director, European Springs. Annette Nicholson, Managing Director, Soloman. Peter McClymont, Apprentice, European Springs. Colonel Bob Stewart, MP for Beckenham. Jack Hever, Apprentice, European Springs. Sarah Sutherland, Program Leader, Bromley Education Business Partnership. Janet Miles, Training Co-ordinator, Soloman. Howard Downs, Technical Director, European Springs.
The lads were able to undertake their apprenticeship with us thanks to a liaison between the Bromley Education Partnership and Soloman, The Society of London Manufacturers, promoting the placement of apprentices like Peter and Jack with industrial companies like ours. They've benefitted from the supervision and expertise of our team, alongside the knowledge of their trainer/assessor from Soloman, Paul Pestell, a former training manager at Ford's plant in Dagenham. This meant that the entire craft-based apprenticeship framework could be delivered at our plant – the first time that this has been done with an employer in London through Soloman's scheme.
Our surprise guest, Colonel Bob Stewart, is the current MP for Beckenham and a former British Army officer, who served as the first British Commanding Officer for the United Nations in Bosnia from September 1992 to May 1993 and was known by the media of the time as Bosnia Bob. He was charm personified on the day, putting the lads at ease with anecdotes about his life and adventures and chatting about their favourite sports – rugby in Peter's case, and kick-boxing in Jack's.
Like us, both of the lads are delighted with their achievements, and Jack's looking to move on to a higher apprenticeship in September.
At European Springs, the expertise of our team ensures that we always deliver high-quality products – from disc springs to compression springs or wire pressings. That's why we are so pleased to support our apprentices and shout about their achievements! For more information, get in touch with us today on +44 (0) 208 663 1800.
European Springs
14/04/2015
Sci-fi is fast becoming reality.
Nothing illustrates this better than the recent advances made in the revolutionary field of robotics, which have seen the line between human and machine become ever more blurry. Humanoid robots have long since been a feature in Hollywood blockbusters. But if recent reports are to be believed, then Blade Runner-like robots may one day be in our future too.
Intrigued? Then read on as we explore the wonderful world of 'feeling robots’.
Say Hello to Han
A humanoid robot capable of mimicking human expressions has been introduced to the world at the recent Hong Kong electronics fair. Nicknamed Han, the robot is able to interact with people in a way no robot has ever done before.
Controlled by a total of 40 motors, at the touch of a button Han can smile, laugh, frown and wink. Oh, and he can also act like he’s downed a beer or two as well!
This remarkable robot has a disconcertingly human-like appearance. This is largely owing to the innovative rubber-like material used to form the robots skin. Known as Frubber – flesh rubber – this specially designed engineering material is a kind of elastic polymer capable of mimicking human skin.
Han is a pretty clever chap too. He can answer simple questions, and has some rather awesome conversational powers – pretty amazing right? If you’re wondering what makes all this possible, it’s down to an innovative piece of technology known as pattern recognition software.
This, paired with an array of cameras located in the robot's eyes and chest, allow it to read human facial expressions and respond in kind with an assortment of its own. These cameras also allow the robot to determine both the age and gender of the person it’s talking to.
According to the developers behind the robot, Han represents a major breakthrough in the development of human-like robots.
Han’s a little creepy to be sure, but this latest foray into humanoid robots is definitely pretty awesome.
Meet Pepper
These days, robots can not only respond to our facial expressions, they can react to our moods too. Don’t believe us? Then meet Pepper :
This humanoid robot is designed to read – and even more amazingly respond – to a user's moods.
The robot uses an ’emotional engine’ – an artificial intelligence system that enables it to analyse human gestures, facial expressions and vocal tones.
What’s most remarkable about this robot is that, rather than being programmed to behave in a certain way, Pepper instead learns how to behave over time.
The robot also tailors its interactions based on the mood they observe a user to be experiencing. For example, if Pepper identifies that a person’s emotional state is sad then they can adapt to this by trying to cheer them up!
The robot can mirror a users emotional state too – a behaviour which increases our propensity to feel a bond with them.
As these awesome examples show, whilst robots don’t actually feel emotions – yet- they can definitely appear as if they do! So next time you’re thinking of calling someone a robot… think again.
Our pioneering spring products are used for a vast array of applications, including in the field of robotics, and who knows, maybe one day they might be used to make person-like artificial beings too!
Want to know more about our range of products and services ? Then contact us a member of our friendly team today, by giving us a call on 0208 663 1800.
European Springs
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