BUT has three gold medals from International Industrial Fair. Welcomed the president and the prime minister at its stand

On Friday, October 11th, the 65th International Engineering Fair (IIF) concluded, bringing several successes to the Brno University of Technology. Among the six exhibits awarded IIF Gold Medals by an expert committee, two involved the participation of BUT. These are electrochemical polishing of surfaces of additively manufactured metal parts and a modular system for building bike paths. The third Gold Medal, which also has a BUT connection, was awarded to Professor Přemysl Janíček for his lifetime technical work.

The additive manufacturing of metal parts, based on the gradual addition of material layers, faces a major drawback – lower surface quality. The awarded electrochemical surface polishing technology for additively manufactured metal parts, developed in collaboration with researchers from the BUT Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FME BUT), CEITEC BUT, and the company ONE3D, addresses this issue. It significantly streamlines the process of smoothing surfaces of complex-shaped products, making it more cost-effective than competing technologies. The IIF Gold Medal for this technology was received by researcher Daniel Koutný from the FME BUT Institute of Machine and Industrial Design in the category of Outstanding Research and Development Collaboration between academia and industry.

More information about the awarded technology and the Gold Medal for lifetime achievement awarded to Professor Přemysl Janíček from the Institute of Solid Mechanics, Mechatronics, and Biomechanics at FSI BUT can be found in a separate article (in Czech).

In the category of Innovation in Transport and Logistics, the Gold Medal was awarded to an exhibit featuring a flexible modular system for building bike paths on unused railway tracks, a result of Czech-Slovak interuniversity collaboration. The project involves the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, BUT Faculty of Civil Engineering, and FME BUT along with private companies. The modular system consists of composite concrete panels and special connectors. These panels are mounted onto existing rails without the need to dismantle the railway infrastructure, allowing for the easy transformation of unused tracks into bike paths. The exhibit was part of the display at the STU booth.

Among the nominated projects was also the AI.FLUIDIK solution, which innovatively uses compressed air instead of traditional vibrating tables to position industrial parts accurately. The technology was developed as part of a thesis by an FME BUT student.

Visitors to the BUT stand in Pavilion A1 could view twenty exhibits from two faculties and one institute. Besides FME BUT, researchers and developers from the BUT Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication and CEITEC BUT were also represented.

The BUT stand also welcomed top state officials, including the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, and Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The Czech President viewed a display of an AI-controlled system of unmanned drones and ground robots before an evening discussion with BUT students. The Prime Minister visited the previous day, stopping at the already-mentioned technologies nominated for Gold Medals – the awarded technology for electrochemical polishing of additively manufactured metal surfaces and the AI.FLUIDIK solution.

Technological innovations at the Brno Exhibition Center at the 65th IIF were presented by 1,386 exhibiting companies from 42 countries worldwide. Over four days, more than 55,000 visitors, primarily technicians and businesspeople in need of rapid implementation of new technologies, viewed their exhibits. Full IIF closing report.