Mechanical Engineering Projects
Mechanical Engineering Projects
Better Pumps
Project Manager: Tim Burdett
Student Project Manager: Rory Iwaneczko
Approximately 90 million people in Africa lack access to safe drinking water, despite having water infrastructure installed in their community. The Better Pumps team of the Collaboratory provides engineering support for partners working to sustain reliable water infrastructure for everyone. The team tests improvements to the Afridev and India Mark II hand pumps, two of the most common pumps installed.
BUV Crimper
Project Manager: Chris Becking
Student Project Manager: Alaina Prekup
Partner: Institute for Affordable Transportation/Sports Outreach
The BUV Crimper team will be partnered with the Institute for Affordable Transportation (IAT) to develop an agricultural crimper attachment for a basic utility vehicle (BUV). This crimper attachment will help manage a cover crop to protect soil in small to medium-sized farms in Uganda.
Cashew Shelling
Project Manager: Chris Becking
Student Project Manager: Caleb Naylor
Partner: Beer Sheba
Manual cashew shelling is a labor-intensive process and large-scale processing is economically unviable for agricultural farmers in Senegal. Our student team is working to create an automated process which will speed shelling cashews to make it more economically viable for small farmers. Beer Sheba is an agricultural center in Senegal that provides training and education for young local farmers.
Modular Mobility
Project Manager: David Vader
Student Project Manager: Bella DiMarco
Many people living with disability around the world are marginalized because they are perceived to be unable to participate in and contribute to community life. Furthermore, people living with disability in hard-to-reach places due to issues such as political unrest and terrorism often have no one to turn to for help. Our three-wheel, off-road, electric wheelchair is a personal transportation device that empowers persons with disabilities to travel to school and work and to more fully participate in family and community life. The design may be fabricated by local partners without the involvement of Messiah University personnel. We are increasing hope and quality of life by enabling local fabricators anywhere to sustainably produce and distribute our tricycles to persons with disabilities.
Nepal Wheelchair
Project Manager: Tim Van Dyke
Student Project Manager: Cody Souders
Persons with disabilities in developing countries often lack the basic equipment needed to assist them in their daily lives. International Nepal Fellowship (INF) is a Christian medical organization in Nepal providing assistance to people with disabilities and other conditions. INF has expressed a desire for a wheelchair that is designed specifically for the challenges of Nepal and would be able to be made from local materials.
Racing Wheelchair
Project Manager: Tim Van Dyke
Student Project Manager: Simon Kyllonen
Ability Sports Africa works to promote adaptive sports for children and youth with disabilities in Gulu, Uganda. The Racing Wheelchair team will be partnering with Ability Sports Africa and Adapt-X to design a lightweight wheelchair suitable for competitions such as the Gulu Unified 5k race held by Adapt-X.
Streamlining Wind Turbines
Project Manager: Tim Burdett
Student Project Manager: Eliza Crawford
Approximately 11 million people in Latin America and 481 million people in the least developed countries (United Nations classification) lack access to electricity, according to 2021 data from the World Bank. This is often due to rural and remote living conditions without power grid connectivity. Many of these locations, especially in mountainous regions or on the coasts, have ample wind resources that can be used to generate electricity on or off the grid. The Streamlining Wind Turbines team at the Collaboratory provides engineering support to WindAid in Peru. As blade repair and replacement is crucial to providing consistent power generation, the team is currently designing improvements to streamline blade maintenance. Additionally, a performance monitoring system is being designed to capture a baseline for turbine performance.
Mechanized Seeder
Project Manager: Camilo Giraldo
Student Project Manager: Micah Skaggs
Partnering with Messiah Alum and SIM worker, Matt Walsh, the Mechanized Seeder team will develop a motorized walk-behind no-till, single row seeder for SIM mission work in Senegal. There is a need for a planting method that will limit the disruption of mulch cover while increasing efficiency in planting.
Zambia Seeder
Project Manager: Camilo Giraldo
Student Project Manager: Jonathan Seeberger
Farming is one of the largest forms of employment in Zambia; however, efficient and innovative forms of farming are not available to the community due to cost and lack of awareness. The Zambia Seeder team is working with Tony Beers (Brethren in Christ Church) to design and implement a low-cost manual seeder. The project's final product will allow Zambian farmers to cover more ground when farming, as well as plant their seeds more accurate which increases yield.
Manual Washing Machine
Project Manager: Rob Ebner and Matt Wilkins
Student Project Manager: Nathan Kovalcik
Eurorelief aims to give hope and restore dignity by providing emergency relief services to refugees living in Greece. Within the camps, there is limited access to laundering facilities. The team will investigate the most efficient method for manually washing clothes and then design a hand-powered washing machine using materials that are available in the refugee camp.
Mechanical Engineering Projects Gallery
