Wim van der Hoek award

Wim van der Hoek Award 2020

During the online programme of the 2020 Precision Fair, the Wim van der Hoek Award was presented under the auspices of DSPE. The prize went to Teun van de Sande, who graduated from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) on the design of a complex motion mechanism. The mechanism has to function under tight space constraints and extreme low temperatures. “To that end, Teun eminently applied Van der Hoek’s design principles”, according to the jury. “He has been very conscientiously in setting up and elaborating this multidisciplinary design.”

On Wednesday afternoon, 11 November, during the online program of the 2020 Precision Fair, DSPE organized the presentation of the Wim van der Hoek Award. This award (also known as the Constructors Award) was introduced in 2006 to mark the 80th birthday of the Dutch doyen of design engineering principles, Wim van der Hoek, who passed away early last year at the age of 94.

The Constructors Award is presented every year to the person with the best graduation project in the field of design in mechanical engineering at the Dutch (and Belgian) universities of technology and universities of applied sciences. This award includes a certificate, a trophy made by LiS (Leidse instrumentmakers School) and a sum of money, sponsored by HTSC; the TU/e High Tech Systems Center.

Eminent application of design principles

The Wim van der Hoek Award 2020 eventually went to Teun van de Sande, who studied Mechanical Engineering at TU/e. This summer, he graduated on the design of a complex motion mechanism. He performed his graduation work at Prodrive Technologies in Son (NL), where he was challenged to design a mechanism that has to function under tight space constraints and extreme low temperatures. He started his assignment with a system decomposition resulting in two major design issues to solve. In the first place, the design of a non-overdetermined support of a fragile sensor including its strict requirements on cooling.

Secondly, the design of a linear-guidance-based retraction mechanism with a well-defined pretension and without end-of-stroke collision forces. “Teun’s analytical and experimental skills, enthusiasm and eagerness to learn, together with the ability to transfer newly obtained knowledge in a structured manner to team members, allowed him to solve both issues and to create a fully integrated product design as well”, his supervisor at Prodrive, Ron Hendrix, states. The jury adds: “In his design, Teun eminently applied Van der Hoek’s design principles. He has been very conscientiously in setting up this multidisciplinary design. Various concepts were elaborated well, he substantiated his design choices thoroughly and his report is a pleasure to read.”

Hall of Fame:

Who will you nominate for the Wim van der Hoek award 2021

To nominee a person for the Wim van der Hoek award 2021, look at the news item.

The jury in the Wim van der Hoek room at Janssen Precision Engineering in Maastricht:

Chairman Jos Gunsing (MaromeTech)
Johan Vervoort (Vervos)
Marc Vermeulen (ASML)
Maurice Teuwen (Janssen Precision Engineering)
Hans Steijaert (VDL ETG)
Wouter Vogelesang (VH Consult)