Fusing two fields It’s increasingly

Fusing two fields

ADRIAN FERGUSON MEngNZ and SIMON HALL FEngNZ

It’s increasingly uncommon to see products and projects that have mechanical aspects but don't also have electrical aspects.

Electrical and mechanical engineering (we'll call it mech/elec here) share common project types, for example product and machine design, where they need to work together harmoniously. Electrical components motivate and monitor mechanical components, and mechanical components house the electrical components and provide the motion responses that the system requires. Specific mech/elec examples include food processing machines and additive manufacturing. It’s no longer surprising that 3D printers can create edible outputs. In such applications, mechanical engineers take input requirements like ingredients, process details and output requirements, and design mechanisms that satisfy the requirements. In tandem, electrical engineers use those requirements and the preliminary mechanical design to determine the sensors and actuators required to drive and control the mechanisms. That work feeds back into the mechanical design in an iterative manner. This interdependence has led to the emergence of the mechatronics field which recognises it is beneficial for an engineer to be able to consider the electrical aspects when designing the mechanical aspects and vice versa; or to be able to design both systems in tandem.

Looking back to where Aotearoa's electricity supply began, it’s clear that on a global scale, we were an early adopter of electricity generation and distribution and also of green energy, in the form of hydropower. Even the first power stations were projects requiring mech/elec as well as civil and structural engineering input. As we move towards the greening of our economy and increased adoption of electrified transport, the ongoing need for mech/elec collaboration is clear and sparks the need for “transition engineers”. Often from mech/elec backgrounds, they can address the need to reduce fossil fuel consumption to meet climate change emission targets. This often involves engines giving way to electric motorpowered transportation using renewable energy, and heavily relies on advances in electrical engineering over the past century which have provided for power, torque and vehicle range requirements. Electric vehicles still require a substantial mechanical engineering input into systems such as the chassis and body, suspension and braking systems.

Our existing infrastructure networks including rail, road and aviation were largely built by former government agencies who planned, built and governed the infrastructure and trained people for these industries, such as the New Zealand Electricity Department, New Zealand Railways, New Zealand Post Office and regional electricity authorities. From the post-war period until the complete deregulation of imported goods in the 1990s, there was a great deal of electrical and mechanical engineering activity in Aotearoa within research and development, product design, manufacturing and construction of critical national infrastructure. Government departments and many manufacturing companies offered graduate development programmes, with graduates moving between departments to gain experience in all aspects of the engineering and management required to ensure the host organisation was able to thrive and maintain a healthy cohort of engineers and managers for succession planning.

With the dissolution of the large government agencies and the departure of most domestic manufacturing activity, training and career pathways for electrical and mechanical engineering students are much less clear. Much mech/elec industry work is now undertaken by small and medium-sized enterprises who are competing in a global market and often lack the scale to resource a graduate development programme. Coupled with an ageing workforce, recent difficulties importing skilled workers and now an increasing brain drain, there's an alarming, looming hollowing-out of the workforce. It is essential we create a pathway for electrical and mechanical engineering graduates to enter the workforce and develop the skills and experience to become the experienced engineers our contemporary industry needs to survive and thrive. As industry professionals, we can help by encouraging employers and prospective students to find out more about engaging with vocational engineering education.

September's inaugural EMCONZ 2022 conference sees the Electrical Engineering Group and Mechanical Engineering Group partnering with AUT School for Future Environments to showcase these two disciplines. Find out more at engineeringnz.org Adrian Ferguson MEngNZ is BEngTech Apprentice & Hub Coordinator at Otago Polytechnic. Simon Hall FEngNZ is Operations Manager at Caliber Design and Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Group.