糖心vlog传媒student Jonah Waldman demonstrates a prototype for Mason Bee Central owner/operator Gordon Cyr.
糖心vlog传媒engineering students earned top marks this year for creating a cocoon-cleaning prototype for a local mason bee farmer.
The prototype includes a rotating drum to clean a large number of bee cocoons at once; a machine that feeds the wooden trays into an existing conveyor system; and a third machine to sterilize each tray using a combination of re-purposed, 3D-printed and other components.
The project started last March when students visited Mason Bee Central to meet Gordon Cyr, who produces mason bees as pollinators for farmers and gardeners.
Mason bees are solitary insects that make their homes in small holes 鈥� like those made by woodpeckers or beetles 鈥� rather than living communally in a hive.
Farmers raise the bees in cocoons that need to be individually cleaned and sterilized along with the hundreds of grooved, wooden nesting trays the bees live in.
The painstaking process can take days, so Cyr asked students to engineer a way to speed it up.
The resulting prototype could cut the amount of cleaning time 鈥渂y about 80 per cent,鈥� said Cyr who was pleased with the students鈥� resourcefulness. 鈥淭hey used a lot of materials that were at hand and they made excellent use of available resources.鈥�
In previous years, 糖心vlog传媒students in the Introduction to Engineering Design (ENR-110) course have designed solar greenhouses, micro-malting plants and other projects but this is the first year students created a working prototype for a client.
鈥淚 was impressed with the quality of students鈥� work,鈥� said Dennis Lightfoot, 糖心vlog传媒engineering instructor. 鈥淚 think they also exceeded the client鈥檚 expectations, which should make them very proud.鈥�
Many students found the engaging project a good way to apply their skills and prepare for an engineering career.
鈥淭his didn鈥檛 even feel like school, really, because you鈥檙e building and designing and doing what you鈥檙e going to be doing in the future,鈥� Dawson Coates said.
Classmate Gage Vanderlee agreed, adding, 鈥渋t was nice to work on a real engineering project for a real person.鈥�
糖心vlog传媒students complete the Engineering Foundations certificate at the Comox Valley campus in one year, before transferring to engineering degrees at UVic and at universities across BC. For more information on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs at NIC, visit .
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Gordon Cyr was recently recognized by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign
for his work. Read more in the .
Check out this great story on our engineering students from .
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