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With support from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and input from members of the Hampshire public, Rachel Punch, a Portsmouth University student has designed a footrest for a Rolls-Royce Phantom. Rachel's product was exhibited alongside nearly 100 final-year students at the Department of Mechanical and Design Engineering's project poster day. The students were displaying their work to potential employers, visitors from local schools and the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Mike Blake. The event aims to build strong links between the Department and industry partners. Over 90 representatives from companies and enterprises including Rolls-Royce, HMS Sultan, PALL Aerospace, Gravatom Engineering and McLaren told staff and students they were impressed with the high standard of work and some were on the look-out for potential new talent to employ. Rachel, a student studying for a BSc (Hons) in Product Design and Modern Materials had teamed up with Rolls-Royce to create a high quality footrest for the Phantom. Rachel's idea came about after completing a 13-month placement with the Rolls-Royce quality management team. She said: ‘They were receiving a number of requests from the Asian Pacific market for a footrest to be installed so I thought I'd have a go at designing one.' Rachel produced a mock-up of the rear seat and conducted a number of ergonomic tests and customer surveys on members of the public before producing her final product. She said she was delighted to be able to use her skills and create a bespoke design for the vehicle. She said the company are looking into producing a footrest in the near future but she didn't know at this stage if her ideas and design would be used in the final product. Head of department, Dr Amir Alani, said: ‘the ongoing relationships we have built with local industries are going from strength to strength and this is certainly evident in the high quality of work being produced.' News Source: www.port.ac.uk |
