The task set in the competition is to design and construct a tunnel boring machine that is faster than the current systems – which are currently unable even to keep up with the speed of a snail – and thus reroute traffic underground in the long term. The team of students from the Technical University of Munich is taking on this challenge with an innovative concept and is supported by LAPP in its implementation. “The wealth of ideas and the commitment of the students have impressed us from the outset,” says Alois Heimler, Business Development Manager for the automotive sector at LAPP. “Fostering young talent has always been a strong focus at LAPP and an integral part of our DNA.” Therefore, the decision to support the project as a sponsor was not a difficult one. Thus, LAPP is supplying around 200 components for data and power transmission inside the boring machine.
To satisfy the students’ specific needs, the TUM Boring project team worked with LAPP to develop a tailored solution for their concept. Now, the entire company product family is deployed here: from power and control cables, bus and ethernet cables, the associated connectors, robust ethernet switches right through to cable markings, drag chains and the associated tool. The tunnel boring machine also features connectors that were specially configured for the project.
Developing extraordinary connection solutions for complex projects is a global market leader’s speciality – whether it’s power supply to a hospital in the earthquake-prone region of Haiti, a photovoltaic system in the harsh desert of South Africa or even the world’s fastest tunnel boring machine. “With LAPP products, our machine is now equipped with reliable connection solutions,” says Johannes Drexler, Sub-Team Lead Control System at TUM Boring.
The final in Las Vegas will determine whether the TUM students’ solution can prevail against international competition. Here, the teams must drill a tunnel 30 metres long and 50 centimetres in diameter as quickly as possible. Patrick Olivan, Senior Business Development Manager for Services at LAPP is quite certain about the outcome: “We’re convinced that TUM Boring will win.”
There is a video about the project: https://youtu.be/9fsNB3G4erA
Headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, LAPP is a leading supplier of integrated solutions and branded products in the field of cable and connection technology. The company’s portfolio includes standard and highly flexible cables, industrial connectors and cable entry systems, customized system solutions, automation technology and robotics solutions for the intelligent factory of the future, as well as technical accessories. LAPP’s core market is in the industrial machinery and plant engineering sector. Other key markets are in the food industry as well as the energy and the mobility sector.
LAPP has remained in continuous family ownership since it was founded in 1959. In the 2019/20 business year, it generated consolidated revenue of 1,128 million euros. LAPP (including also non-consolidated entities) currently employs approximately 4,575 people across the world, has 20 production sites and around 43 sales companies. It also works in cooperation with around 100 foreign representatives.
U.I. Lapp GmbH
Schulze-Delitzsch-Str. 25
70565 Stuttgart
Telefon: +49 (711) 7838-01
Telefax: +49 (711) 78382640
http://www.lapp.com
Telefon: +49 (711) 7838-01
Fax: +49 (711) 7838-2640
E-Mail: irmgard.nille@in-press.de
