The engineering students of the HTCC morning program are still walking around when the first visitors to the open day are ready for a guided tour at 1 p.m. Recognizable by his red Resato polo shirt, director and co-owner Ton Driessen enthusiastically leads the first interested people through his factory. Especially the spectacular waterjet cutter attracts attention. Driessen explains. ,,With a pressure of no less than 4,000 bar, the water ‘cuts’ almost any material. Think aluminum, steel, copper and titanium.’’ But glass, plastics and composite materials can also be worked well with the water jet cutter because it does not release any heat or harmful vapor. ’’What cannot be done with the strongest diamond cutters, we get done.'' The waterjet cutter from Resato goes all over the world and can be found at the bottom of the car industry and where sheet metal and plastics are cut for the assembly of machines, for example.
dash
Further on, children play with dash, a floor robot that is operated with special apps on an iPad. Branch organization FME has set up a playground in which children control the robot along a course. In practice, this proves more difficult than it looks, but no less fun. Children react enthusiastically, as do their parents. Because the age limit for this toy of 5 to 13 years is widely understood. This makes sense, because older children can easily make their own apps to control such a robot.
Vacancies
At the technoplayground where the high-tech companies of Innovatiecluster Drachten present themselves, visitors are introduced to all kinds of practical applications of technology. PerkinElmer shows a machine that tests the quality of milk, just after the cow has been milked. The farmer can immediately see from all kinds of values whether his cow is healthy or not. Bee Neopost, known for its fully automatic packing machines for online stores, children can build their own metal airplane from all kinds of parts. And Philips displays mini models of vacuum cleaners and a real human hand, 3D printed with a brand new industrial plastic printer, in addition to high-end shavers. Employees at Ventura even get down to business when a visitor expresses interest in one of their job openings.
solar boat
The solar boat of the WhisperPower Solar Team is also drawing attention. The boat the team is showing for this year's solar races is a greatly improved version. ’’We managed to reduce last year's boat by as much as 120 kilograms. That saves almost half the weight,'' says team manager Jeroen Antonisse. His six-member team has spent the past year, together with, among others, technicians from high-tech company WhisperPower, worked hard. ’’We're going for a podium finish this year,'' Antonisse says. Whether that will succeed? The first race the team will show its skills is Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, during the NK Solar Boat Race in Akkrum.