News

2011.0316

Thesis on “Development of the Hybrid Precision-Miniature Machine Tool” Won the HIWIN Thesis Award

<div>Under the supervision of Dr. Chen Shun-Tong from NTNU Department of Mechatronic Technology, Yang Hong-Ye, a graduate student from Department of Industrial Education, conducted a thesis research project on “development of the hybrid precision-miniature machine tool,” and won Golden Award of the 7<sup>th</sup> HIWIN Thesis Award—reputed to be “Nobel Prize for the Taiwan Machinery Industry”—as well as one million NT dollars.  </div> <div> </div> <div>To encourage university students to devote themselves to research, development, and innovation of machinery engineering for the purpose of reinforcing Taiwan machinery industry’s competitive edge, Chairman Eric Y. T. Chou of HIWIN Corp. has since 2004 commissioned the Chinese Society of Mechanical Engineers (CSME) to host the “HIWIN Thesis Award,” which has received much attention from Taiwan’s machinery industry and the academia, thus winning the title of “the Nobel Prize” for the machinery industry.  </div> <div> </div> <div>HIWIN Thesis Award is open to Master graduates from departments and graduate institutes in the fields of mechanical engineering, automation engineering, and electrical engineering in Taiwan. Each department can recommend at most eight candidates for the competition and thus must hold a primary selection before recommending the short-listed candidates to the organizer. This year, 117 theses were recommended by the universities for competition, the highest number in the history of the Award. </div> <div> </div> <div>The HIWIN Thesis Award is an undertaking that involves more than 10 million NT dollars annually. The awards are designated as follows: one Golden Award (1 million NTD), one Silver Award (800,000 NTD), one Bronze Award (600,000 NTD), two Excellence Awards (300,000 NTD each), six Honorable Mention Awards (100,000 NTD each), three to six Special Awards for Universities of Technology (100,000 NTD) and five Special Awards for Machine Tools (100,000 NTD).</div> <div> </div> <div>The previous six Golden Awards went to the top universities that receive the “Five Year, Fifty Billion Dollars” grant from the Ministry of Education, namely National Taiwan University (4<sup>th</sup> and 6<sup>th</sup>), National Chiao Tung University (1<sup>st</sup>), National Cheng Kung University (2<sup>nd</sup>), National Tsing Hua University (3<sup>rd</sup>), and National Sun Yat-sen University (5<sup>th</sup>).</div> <div> </div> <div>The selection process was very competitive, and was divided into three stages—primary selection, second selection, and final selection. There were totally 11 committee members for the final selection, for which the candidates had to deliver an oral report at HIWIN Corp. The fact that the Department of Mechatronic Technology at National Taiwan Normal University won the Golden Award this time is truly an accomplishment despite the fierce competition, and attests to the excellent research environment at NTNU, where the students can not only compete with their counterparts at top universities but also meet the international standards of research.</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Component miniaturization as the current trend, the miniature machine tool lays the technological foundation </strong></div> <div>The thesis on “Development of the Hybrid Precision-Miniature Machine Tool” by Dr. Chen Shun-Tong and Yang Hong-Ye could win the Golden Award as the “Micro Fabrication Lab” headed by Dr. Chen has for many years been dedicated to promoting miniature manufacturing technology and fostering precision machinery industry. In response to the product development demands such as being thin and compact, portable, and multifunctional, the Lab has been developing ways of producing miniature components with high precision and efficiency so as to promote state-of-the-art technology to the industry and assist the local manufacturers in developing miniature products independently.</div> <div> </div> <div>According to Dr. Chen, compactness, portability, and multi-functionality are the main trends of development for computers, communications, and consumer electronics as well as photonics, biomedical, and consumer products while component “miniaturization” has become the key trend for new products of next generation. In keeping with the development of such products, “miniature manufacturing technology” has become all the more important and the key lies in the “precision-miniature machine tool”; it is the mature machine tool technology that is the driving force behind the miniature manufacturing technology. Therefore, the machine tool is the soul and foundation of the machinery industry as “the third trillion-dollar industry.”</div> <div> </div> <div>As Dr. Chen indicated, from planning to completion, “the hybrid precision-miniature machine tool” took three years. The research and development of this project is a product of his personal work experience in the sector, and of inspiration as well as instruction from Professor Chia-Lung Kuo and Professor Yunn-Shiuan Liao during his master and doctoral studies. In addition, Yang Hong-Ye is the first graduate student as well as research project team member that Dr. Chen supervised for the development of miniature machine tool after he joined NTNU.</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Three-year independent production by Dr. Chen and Yang </strong></div> <div>With a background of technological and vocational education, Yang Hong-Ye is a student with academic excellence and great personality; he also represented Taiwan in competitions. Yang held a Bachelor degree from the Department of Mechatronic Technology and since his junior year had engaged in development and research of miniature machine tools under Dr. Chen’s instruction. After graduation, Yang was admitted to the Department of Industrial Education for his Master degree and continued with the development of machine tools, thus receiving guidance and attention from many teachers at the College of Technology.</div> <div> </div> <div>The topic of Yang’s Master thesis is “Development and Application of the Hybrid Miniature Machine Tool.” All the design under this topic originates from the “Micro Fabrication Lab” of the Department of Mechatronic Technology; based on the guiding principle of “Technology First,” all the developments begin with the construction and design of a system, through analysis, processing, assemblage, calibration, and testing, to the application. The project is marked by a step-by-step approach, from “machine” to “electronics,” from “software” to “hardware,” and from “program development” to “mechatronics integration”; only by doing so can we build a solid technological foundation and look far into the future, which is a distinct feature of the NTNU Department of Mechatronic Technology that sets itself apart from the counterparts—equal emphasis on theory and practice.</div> <div><strong> </strong></div> <div><strong>Equal emphasis on theory and practice, technological independence, results published by international journals </strong></div> <div>According to Dr. Chen, it is exactly “Equal Emphasis on Theory and Practice as well as Technological Independence” that helped the thesis rise above the fierce competition from prestigious universities like NTU, NTHU, NCTU, and NCKU and win the supreme honor of HIWIN Thesis Award, the so-called Nobel Prize for machinery technology in Taiwan, which stood as solid proof that students at NTNU College of Technology are well-equipped with excellent research and development abilities.</div> <div> </div> <div>In addition to the original design of the precision-miniature machine tool, this research project encompasses many cutting-edge techniques in the industry, such as “micro high-speed milling,” “micro engraving,” “micro w-EDM on super-hard alloy,” and “on-machine micro measurement” and applies them in the manufacturing of complex micro tools, micro measurement tools and moulds. The precision-miniature technology has been applied in the sectors, such as biomedicine and development of computers, communication and consumer electronics products. The relevant outcomes are as shown in the attached photos.</div> <p>The relevant outcomes have also been published in renowned international journals; it is believed that this research project makes substantial contributions to the development of Taiwan’s precision-miniature industry and to nurturing talents in the field.</p> <p> </p> <div> </div> <div> </div>