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Innovation and inspiration for Strathallan pipers Heather Dewar reports on a piping patent and a Barbados massed band
Robbie MacIsaac, a Sixth Form student at Strathallan School, took the Technology, Design and Innovation Challenge title with his innovative Flux Blowpipe in a national competition run by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA). Keen piper Robbie created the blowpipe after many years of dealing with moisture in his bagpipes. He has now had the product patented and will look to get it manufactured as soon as possible. ‘I’m absolutely delighted to win the final of the TDI Challenge. To be up against such strong competition from schools across the UK was a fantastic experience, and to take the title is just incredible. I worked really hard in the design of the blowpipe, which came about from a natural desire to solve a problem I was dealing with on a daily basis. I’m a really keen bagpiper, and the product, which I had printed in 3D, works perfectly as a solution to moisture build-up. The sound is exactly the same – so I’m really happy with it. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some amazing people at the final, whom I fully intend to stay in touch with as I look to start a career. Being at the Mazak Headquarters for the event has been really inspiring, too. The world of innovation and design is incredibly exciting right now. It’s changing all the time. Solving problems and coming up with viable solutions
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is something I’ve really enjoyed in my time at Strathallan, and it’s great to meet people in the industry who are really driving things forward. I hope to now get my product manufactured, and we’ll see how it goes from there. I’m looking forward to beginning the process.’ The TDI Challenge, which took place on 4th July at Yamakazi Mazak’s European Headquarters in Worcester, saw an increased number of entries from across the UK this year, with a select few invited to Mazak to contest the final. Hundreds of students from across the UK submitted their GCSE, A-Level or BTEC Design and Technology Course Work projects to be judged by a panel of experts from the industry. The judges said that MacIsaac’s project was ‘well researched and a great use of materials. This product has a large potential market and Robbie’s presentation demonstrated the potential of his product.’ James Selka, CEO of the MTA , said ‘The TDI Challenge is one of my favourite days in the MTA events calendar. It is inspiring for us as organisers and judges to see the amount of talent we have in UK Schools. We hope that every single entrant in the competition found it worthwhile and left Mazak feeling inspired to pursue an engineering-based career path.’
