Concept design

A pioneering company commissioned Huygens Engineers to predesign a production machine that improves and facilitates the cold brew coffee process. This coffee is brewed with cold water and usually requires an entire day to brew. Due to the absence of hot water in the process, the resulting coffee is milder and less acidic than regular coffee. Huygens Engineers investigated the physical processes involved in the cold brew process, and we were able to identify a number of factors that influence both the quality and speed of the process.

By systematically varying certain parameters, we found a design for a machine that shortens the brewing process from 24 hours to a mere 3 hours – all without the addition of heat. In our approach, we preserved the core of the cold brew process. The additional advantage is that there is less oxidation, which further increases the quality of the coffee. By means of our design, we demonstrated the technical feasibility.

For a manufacturer of modular conveyor belts, Huygens Engineers designed a machine that cuts plastic modules of various shapes at high speed with an accuracy that requires temperature com-pensation. This enables the efficient production of conveyor belts ordered for a specific width. The temperature compensation is essential, because the plastic expands due to temperature variations during the production process. The cutting machine is highly flexible: it works with around six hundred differently shaped modules, each with several to over ten possible cutting lines. 
 
The machine has three functional parts that work with linear actuators. An input line connected to a robotic grabber automatically positions the modules on the cutting machine at high speed. The second part clamps, cuts and measures the modules with 0.1 mm accuracy. The machine detects the length of the module and determines where it should cut exactly. A third function of the machine is the automatic switching to different blades from a repository.

Finprop is a machine that improves ship propulsion through lower energy consumption and better manoeuvrability. Its design uses a single drive shaft to simulate the movement of a fishtail in a large parameter range. The hydrodynamic efficiency gain of this new type of marine propulsion has been measured to be 22% within realistic constraints and with respect to realistic benchmarks. Finprop started as a technological and scientific development, carried out for AP Moller Maersk. At a later point, Marin and Wärtsilä joined the project as well.

Little was initially known about the best parameter range for a fishtail drive, so a measuring program was used to determine the optimum operating range. This required an adjustable system, which could at the same time be used as an accurate measuring device. The parameters that could be varied were the forward velocity, frequency of the fishtail movement, degree of rotation of the fin, distance between fins, shape of the fin, degree of uniform rotation and bending of the fins. The measurements resulted in a scientific publication: A Systematic Experimental Study on Powering Perfor-mance of Flapping Foil Propulsors