The Choice Challenge… #theMACProject

Have you ever struggled when changing a car wheel? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. According to some studies, 75% of millennials don’t know how to change a wheel, reverting to an emergency callout.

Never one to run away from a problem, international bearings supplier, Quality Bearings Online decided to challenge the engineering students at University of Leeds. Could they devise a solution to this problem, creating a machine that could change a car wheel, saving lives and unnecessary callouts in the process?

But which car wheel, and could we get a test car? Cue JCT600, one of the UK’s largest premier car dealerships.

Denny Maude, a Director at Quality Bearings Online commented “As a B2B engineering supplier, we believe that it’s important to support engineering students, and challenge them with real world problems.”

“This is the second time that we have worked with students from the University of Leeds. In 2017, students worked with us on the Perfect Pint Project, to see if a robot could pull a better pint than a human being.”

This years challenge is to create a machine that will help drivers of all ages change a car wheel more effectively and safely, with the minimum of effort.

After an initial meeting with the students, we left them with a whole load of questions…and of course a set of bearings.

One of their first challenges was to pick a target vehicle, so they could look at weight, dimensions and the practicalities involved.

With our partner, JCT600, we’ve given the students three options, a Lotus, Volkswagen or Peugeot… Which one would you pick?

Upon a recent visit to the JCT600 office, they all seemed drawn to the Lotus for some reason!

Keep up to date with their progress on our website, or follow us on our social media page (@qualitybearings).