LUT University’s mechanical engineering laboratories are now harnessed to manufacture stoves for Ukrainians suffering from power outages. The stove project and Rector Juha-Matti Saksa’s appeal on social media last weekend inspired a great many to help and attracted new partners in cooperation. Due to the extensive interest, LUT now has the resources to build 105 stoves instead of the original 20–40. The number of stoves symbolizes the number of years Finland has been independent.
“The stove project has gotten out of out of hand, but in a good way. Masses of people have reached out to us, wanting to help the Ukrainians,” Saksa relates.
The first partner to contribute to the project was SSAB, which donated 22 sheets of three-millimeter SSAB Laser® 420MC Plus steel to the mechanical engineering team. SSAB has collaborated closely with LUT University on a number of projects over the years.
”When LUT requested materials for such an important undertaking, there was no question that SSAB’s factory in Raahe wanted to get on board. Our highly skilled staff in order processing, production planning, thermal cutting and shipping planning enabled such an exceptional delivery and deserves thanks for their efforts,” says Ossi Kangas, technical development manager at SSAB.
Also The Switch and Pulttikanava provided materials.
First stove out last Monday – technical drawings released online
LUT’s mechanical engineering students and staff are building stoves based on Tomi Suikkari’s drawings. The first stove was ready on Monday, and some further technical adjustments were made to it and its dimensional drawings.
”This week is memorable in a positive way: we’ve worked long hours and been bombarded by messages,” says Professor Juha Varis, head of LUT University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Due to the multitude of inquiries, the dimensional drawings of the stove have been released online in Finnish and English. The social media buzz around the project even included a Twitter challenge calling on everyone with welding skills to make at least one stove. LUT’s drawings have been available at lut.fi/kamiina since last Wednesday.
”The technical drawings are not necessarily applicable to all types of machinery because they’ve been designed for the equipment in LUT’s laboratories. We’ve also taken the steel sheet size into account in the product and part design to minimize waste. I’m confident people will be able to come up with ideas to adapt the drawings to their own purposes,” Varis says.
The LUT-made stoves can be used to heat homes and cook food. They will be transported to Ukraine in several shipments as soon as they are ready for freight. Local authorities in Ukraine will deliver them to those most in need.
More information:
