Tim Wrinch
Completed wind generator on boat
Year 12 student Tim Wrinch was keen to work on a project relating to the marine industry. His client (his father) needed to generate electricity for his boat by charging the batteries using a wind generator. Wind generators currently on the market spin around a horizontal axis and turn into the wind direction; this makes them noisy and potentially dangerous when spinning fast.
Tim and his client had seen wind generators that spin around on a vertical axis that takes wind from any direction, and wanted a blade system that could only ever go as fast as the wind – this making it quieter and safer.
The client also wanted the generator to be removable so that it could be charging when the boat was sitting around and be removed during sailing so that it didn't get in the way.
Tim drew some basic ideas, three of which he developed and took to his stakeholders. After discussions with his client he took a component from each of the three concepts and joined them together.
He then developed this idea, talking to outside experts and getting their input. He was fortunate in having a couple of family friends who were able to help; an electrical technician who helped with the generation of power and an engineer who assisted with the bearings and systems.
Tim working on the pole structure
Tim says he's pleased he approached the outside experts from the start, because his electrical mentor suggested using a stepper motor. If he hadn't done that he'd have used an alternator, which requires quite a high revolution speed, whereas a stepper motor can create current at very low revolutions per minute, which was vital. Tim found getting the constant feedback from his mentors was really useful. "I'm just pleased that it's worked. Initially I had a devil of a job persuading Mr Ronowicz that I could do it, because he didn't know me and thought it would be too difficult for me, so I'm relived it worked out."
Tim feels that he had the basic prequisite skill level and that he could have worked on areas where he was lacking if required. He comments that time constraints right through from the design stage meant compromises had to be made.
Tim Wrinch: "I like to be able to design and actually build something. Product Technology for me is a workshop subject which has a high level of thinking involved."
He always had planning in mind, ("How long will this take me? When do I need to have this done by? Am I going to need extra time?"), but had to work on recording it. One frustration he faced was working within the one-hour period structure, which meant a lot of time was wasted getting set up and packing up again each day.
Tim was awarded a New Zealand Scholarship for his project, one of two in the class. He plans to start an engineering degree at Auckland University in 2008. He feels that, having done this product technology course, he'll now have more understanding of what is involved.
Steve Ronowicz: "In the end I relented and allowed Tim to take the risk of developing a very complex product that was pushing my comfort zone as a teacher! I had a chat with his previous teachers and looked at the outside experts he had contacted. Developing products and risk-taking go hand in hand; Tim taught me that students can do fantastic things when they are determined to succed."
