TEDI-London
2024 winter school students working collaboratively on real-world challenges
Four teams of curious and creative UNSW students returned recently from the TEDI-London 2024 winter school.
Their time at TEDI-London culminated with a showcase day, which gave each team the opportunity to present their ideas and prototypes for the processing of urban timber to their peers, industry partners and TEDI-London staff and students. Here’s a rundown of the solutions they came up with:
Swiftrack BTS
For small businesses working with urban timber, current racking systems can cause problems during processing. They are often inefficient and can be difficult to load and unload. That is why the team behind Swiftrack BTS designed a prototype to make storage systems and racking technology more accessible and efficient for small businesses. Their solution combined traditional timber racking systems with a rotational storage system to create a vertical carousel rack that brings the material to the user, minimising complications associated with existing racking systems. Their product utilises a truss system that allows the shelves to rotate without becoming unbalanced, and businesses can choose between a hand-crank or integrated motor subsystem to rotate the shelves based on what they can afford. The shelves are also made out of cage material to allow the wood to air.
Sawn Off Structures
Yes Make often finds that, after processing urban timber, they are left with an excess of wood chips and dust, which they wish they could reuse rather than just discard as waste. The team behind Sawn Off Structures took up the challenge by creating a prototype of a wood board inspired by OSB and MDF timber which aims to be more sustainable than comparative products stemming from the particle board industry. Their product combines wood chips and sawdust with wood adhesives, which is then poured into moulds before applying pressure to it to turn it into a board. At the Showcase, the team showed 10 prototypes to illustrate the results they got based on the ratio of wood chips and adhesives, and on the pressure applied.
Pocket Probe
When working with urban or second-hand timber, small businesses and DIY enthusiasts often risk damaging their chainsaw blades when hitting against undetected nails or metal shrapnel, which means they need to spend extra energy and time resharpening them before they can get back to their project. To solve this issue, the team behind Pocket Probe has created a prototype of a cost-effective and portable metal detector, which can be used on a piece of wood to spot any hidden pieces of metal and prevent unexpected encounters before starting to saw it. To demo how their product worked, the team created a treasure hunt, hiding pieces of metal underneath a wood board. If you could find the pieces using their Pocket Probe prototype, you’d win a snack!
The Vacuum Kiln
Yes Make find that air drying timber can cause a bottleneck in the production process. That is because it is time consuming, causes inconsistent drying, and has limited control over the moisture content, slowing down the whole process and increasing risks of defects in the end product. The team behind The Vacuum Kiln created a prototype of, you guessed it, a vacuum kiln, to speed up the drying process, give more control in the drying process, and ensure more consistent results. A vacuum kiln works by lowering the pressure within a chamber with timber inside, and lowering the boiling point of water, therefore allowing the timber to dry at lower temperatures. Their prototype also had a control system coded on Arduino, which would allow the user to check the temperature and moisture within the kiln, and ultimately shut the system down when it becomes too hot.
Feedback from Industry Project Partner
“Working with the TEDI-London Winter School was an absolute pleasure from start to finish. The students that came to us were lively and engaged with great ideas and energy. Being part of giving them practical and hands-on experience in our field was a brilliant opportunity to start training up a new generation and give them a real-world working reference for a circular economy business model.
It was fantastic to see that in just three weeks the students came up with not one but two solutions which we plan to build and implement in our business right away, as these will help Yes Make provide even greater impact on the community and environment.”
Joel De Mowbray - Creative Director, Yes Make
UNSW student feedback
“The winter school provided a realistic insight into the future of the engineering workforce, blending both theory and practical application and challenging me to tackle real-world problems collaboratively. Staff shared their expertise and fostered a creative and engaging learning environment, with several industry experts also providing valuable feedback and advice. The course honed my technical skills and instilled in me a valuable problem-solving mindset, crucial for the dynamic field of design engineering.”
Nicholas - Winter School student from UNSW Canberra
“This program provided a unique educational experience, which I found enriching. The opportunity to apply my academic knowledge to create a prototype by the course’s conclusion was rewarding. The inclusion of industry experts as guest speakers, along with site visits to companies in Canada Water, contributed to a hands-on learning environment. This exposure facilitated the development of both my practical and soft skills. Participating in activities such as ideation and pitching allowed me to gain insights into the professional working environment, providing valuable skills applicable across various industries. Overall, my winter school experience at TEDI was exceptionally valuable and offered a unique learning opportunity.”
Rishika - Winter School student from UNSW Sydney
Apply for Summer School 2024
Join the next TEDI-London residential design sprint taking place in London in July 2024, centred on the challenge of mitigating the use of single use products. Open to undergraduates from all programs, because we know that great ideas come from diverse perspectives.