South African Product Design Receive Awards

A total of 14 South African designed products received Design Excellence Awards at a function held at the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) last night. Although the products were not in competition with each other, the ADEPT 320T General Aviation Engine received the Chairperson’s Award for the product that most inspired the adjudication panel.

The aviation engine is a modern, fuel-efficient piston engine that powers existing and new light aircraft and is the first light aircraft aviation engine that has been fully designed and developed in South Africa. It is superior to existing engines in terms of weight, fuel consumption, fuel compatibility, performance and low lifecycle costs. The engine was designed by Raymond Bakker, Richard Schulz and Geoff Cronje from ADEPT Airmotive (Pty) Ltd.

Other winning products included:

The 50 KVA Static Inverter with Advanced Diagnostics, designed by DJ Colyn, JL Boshoff, HJ Kruger and NCW Smith, an electronic power module that replaces components on trains and diagnoses problems in rolling stock.

The Cable Lock Pipe, designed by RF Garrett and GP Kruger, a simple locking mechanism to lock pipes.

The Circle Glide, designed by Willie van Straaten and Charles Rohland, an exercise device that allows the exerciser to move in a free-flowing motion to engage and activate all of the major muscles.

The Circuit Buddy, designed by Martin Sparks, together with Erens du Preez and ARTEC Product Design as external designers. This is an auto-electric testing device used for two purposes – to test fuses and to pierce wires to find live circuits.

The ClipIt Sachet Jug, designed by Desere Strydom, with Woody Meyer, John Morley, Tim Edmonds and Brenton Daniels of SUMO Design as external designers, a plastic injection-moulded jug used to house plastic milk sachets.

The DVM Roof Bolt Drill Rig, designed by Peter Roodt and Charlie Gradidge, a safe roof-bolting drill rig that can be used single-handedly in underground mines.

The Max Implant, designed by Dr A Ackermann, GA Blackboard, H M Coombes and W Galgut, a dental implant and a surgical protocol that enables the dental surgeon to immediately place the implant into a multi-root molar socket once the original tooth has been removed.

The Shilton Fly Fishing Reels, designed by Tony Frittelli, used in both fresh and salt water fly fishing environments, giving fly anglers a range of reels designed for targeting all species of fish.

The Sumbandilasat, designed internally by Sunspace Engineering and Technical Teams, with the University of Stellenbosch, Chromar Technologies and Indulecas external designers. This is a small earth observation satellite, weighing just 82 kg that produces image data for a variety of applications.

TAP-IT® Dispensing Tap, designed by Dr PJ Vlok, Juergen Heinrich, Ron Jones, Andy Kidd, Gerald Potash, Doug Jeffery and Mike von Seidel, a liquid dispensing solution for bagged liquids.

The Vizier Grapesizer, designed by Bernard van Zyl and Jopie ten Cate, with design contributions by Andre Roodt, Francois Swanepoel and Piet Geldenhuys, automatically grades table grape bunches to colour, berry size and weight and delivers precise weight groups for packs per class to packers.

The VR Load Body designed by Bertus Haasbroek and Justin Martens, has been created for off-highway trucks used in opencast mining. The design focuses on the bowl of the truck, resulting in body mass reduction.

The WP 400 Cash In Transit Vehicle, designed by Johannes Erasmus, Steve van Rooyen and Louw van Tonder, a multi-purpose armoured vehicle that offers maximum ballistic protection to the operators and has a modern appearance.