An import-dependent nation like Nigeria, will never
grow. It was, thyerefore, a welcome development
when the CBN said it will stop forex sales to
importers of certain products. Nigeria imports
virtually everything – tomato purée, toothpick,
pencils, potato chips etc.

Dr. Solomon Nwaigbo
Auto-Zik
By Ebele Orakpo
An import-dependent nation like Nigeria, will never
grow. It was, thyerefore, a welcome development
when the CBN said it will stop forex sales to
importers of certain products. Nigeria imports
virtually everything – tomato purée, toothpick,
pencils, potato chips etc.
The solution to a problem lies within the problem,
says a Chinese proverb, and so some students of the
Department of Mechanical Engineering under the
supervision of Dr. Solomon Nwaigbo, coordinator of
Chisco Institute of Transportation Studies, Nnamdi
Azikiwe University, Awka, decided to look inwards.
They came up with some interesting products that
Nigeria can export to the world. He spoke to
Vanguard Learning in his office.
Excerpts:
Formula One car (Auto-Zik):
We designed and
fabricated an
aerodynamically
stable mini
version formula
one car. The car
represents what
an effective
racing car would
look like. The
design concept
was adopted
from that of a
fish due to its
streamline
nature. We used
a Kawasaki power
bike engine. The
car takes off and
stops as
manipulated by
the driver.
Generally, automotive technologies are applicable in
so many areas of life. When people hear of
automotive engineering and automotive systems,
they think only of cars, but when you look at the rail
system, ocean liners, fishing trolleys, even the
generator in your house, you see that they are
powered by an automotive plant. A car is just an
automobile.
So in UNIZIK, students at the first level of
engineering are made to have a hands-on learning
and a feel of what automotive engineering is all
about.
The racing car is flexible so the design concept can be
adapted, developed further and used for the
production of private and commercial vehicles. The
idea is not actually to make a racing car for racing
purposes, no; but to bring the knowledge that it is
possible to make automobiles to the level that could
serve the elementary needs.
There are a lot of ongoing researches in that area
now in the university. Other people are looking into
shuttle bus, power bikes, tricycles etc. So such design
can spur good engineering inputs and somehow, we
will be part of the global automobile producers.
Welding electrodes:
We have produced welding electrodes and now
waiting for manufacturers to key in and produce.
Over time, Nigeria has been importing flux from
Switzerland but when China came up with a cheaper
brand, we diverted to China. By 1998, most of the
industries had folded up because they could no
longer afford the flux, produce in Nigeria and
compete with the Chinese so we started importing
the finished product from China.
We came up with the first locally made electrode in
1999. Currently, we have an improved version which
will compete favourably with imported ones even in
terms of price because the flux is made from agro
waste, solid minerals etc. The constituents of the
welding electrode flux can be generated from wastes.
We have abundant solid minerals in Jos; the problem
is making out time and money to give it a good try.
Wire drawing flux
Similar to that, we have also produced a wire drawing
flux for manufacturers that draw wires. An example
of what wire drawing is: In the production of nails,
the wires come in very large diameters and you need
to reduce them to smaller diameters to have the
different sizes of nails like six, five, two and and half
inch nails; the diameters vary.
The drawing of the wire is a very sensitive one and if
you don’t have the flux (also called the lubricant), the
wire will be cutting while the operation is going
on. Even in wire production, there are different
gauges of wires; they come in different diameters,
some very tiny, sensitive, flexible wires. You need
this wire drawing flux to make sure you don’t have
them disjointed or cut off until you complete the
coil.
We have gotten to the point of testing and we have
done the preliminary test, what we need now is
funding to get a large quantity, enough volume that
will run a whole lot of coils so that we see how
continuous (sustainable) it will be and see how it will
degrade overtime.
Pencil lead:
We made and presented the first pencil in the last
three, four years. The pencil lead was made here.
The lead was locally sourced. It is not real lead but it
looks like lead. That is what the whole world will call
it but actually, there is no lead in it. Normally,
children bite the pencil and eat it. We incorporated
some natural fibre, some carbon and added some
solid minerals and baked it enough at high
temperature manually because there is a clay
constituent and it turned to lead. It can write.
One of the good properties of a pencil is that it must
be erasable, we carried out all the tests and it was
graded according to the international grading of
shading. The pencil was classified. You could get a
good 2B and 2H pencil

www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/unizik-makes-formula-one-car-welding-electrode-from-local-materials/

Old

Dr Solomon Nwigbo leader of the research tem

old news na

INTROVERT:
Old

Was it posted here, can you give me link, am seeing this for the first time pls

Not impressed at all. The structural design is off. UNIZIK can do better than this.

great development for the nation. The youths are the future.

Frontpage material.

Oh

if you guys develop vw LT31 clone,i will buy

Lol. Africans and their shittyness

This one na formula 45

BuddahMonk:
An import-dependent nation like Nigeria, will never
grow. It was, thyerefore, a welcome development
when the CBN said it will stop forex sales to
importers of certain products. Nigeria imports
virtually everything – tomato purée, toothpick,
pencils, potato chips etc.

Dr. Solomon Nwaigbo
Auto-Zik
By Ebele Orakpo
An import-dependent nation like Nigeria, will never
grow. It was, thyerefore, a welcome development
when the CBN said it will stop forex sales to
importers of certain products. Nigeria imports
virtually everything – tomato purée, toothpick,
pencils, potato chips etc.
The solution to a problem lies within the problem,
says a Chinese proverb, and so some students of the
Department of Mechanical Engineering under the
supervision of Dr. Solomon Nwaigbo, coordinator of
Chisco Institute of Transportation Studies, Nnamdi
Azikiwe University, Awka, decided to look inwards.
They came up with some interesting products that
Nigeria can export to the world. He spoke to
Vanguard Learning in his office.
Excerpts:
Formula One car (Auto-Zik):
We designed and
fabricated an
aerodynamically
stable mini
version formula
one car. The car
represents what
an effective
racing car would
look like. The
design concept
was adopted
from that of a
fish due to its
streamline
nature. We used
a Kawasaki power
bike engine. The
car takes off and
stops as
manipulated by
the driver.
Generally, automotive technologies are applicable in
so many areas of life. When people hear of
automotive engineering and automotive systems,
they think only of cars, but when you look at the rail
system, ocean liners, fishing trolleys, even the
generator in your house, you see that they are
powered by an automotive plant. A car is just an
automobile.
So in UNIZIK, students at the first level of
engineering are made to have a hands-on learning
and a feel of what automotive engineering is all
about.
The racing car is flexible so the design concept can be
adapted, developed further and used for the
production of private and commercial vehicles. The
idea is not actually to make a racing car for racing
purposes, no; but to bring the knowledge that it is
possible to make automobiles to the level that could
serve the elementary needs.
There are a lot of ongoing researches in that area
now in the university. Other people are looking into
shuttle bus, power bikes, tricycles etc. So such design
can spur good engineering inputs and somehow, we
will be part of the global automobile producers.
Welding electrodes:
We have produced welding electrodes and now
waiting for manufacturers to key in and produce.
Over time, Nigeria has been importing flux from
Switzerland but when China came up with a cheaper
brand, we diverted to China. By 1998, most of the
industries had folded up because they could no
longer afford the flux, produce in Nigeria and
compete with the Chinese so we started importing
the finished product from China.
We came up with the first locally made electrode in
1999. Currently, we have an improved version which
will compete favourably with imported ones even in
terms of price because the flux is made from agro
waste, solid minerals etc. The constituents of the
welding electrode flux can be generated from wastes.
We have abundant solid minerals in Jos; the problem
is making out time and money to give it a good try.
Wire drawing flux
Similar to that, we have also produced a wire drawing
flux for manufacturers that draw wires. An example
of what wire drawing is: In the production of nails,
the wires come in very large diameters and you need
to reduce them to smaller diameters to have the
different sizes of nails like six, five, two and and half
inch nails; the diameters vary.
The drawing of the wire is a very sensitive one and if
you don’t have the flux (also called the lubricant), the
wire will be cutting while the operation is going
on. Even in wire production, there are different
gauges of wires; they come in different diameters,
some very tiny, sensitive, flexible wires. You need
this wire drawing flux to make sure you don’t have
them disjointed or cut off until you complete the
coil.
We have gotten to the point of testing and we have
done the preliminary test, what we need now is
funding to get a large quantity, enough volume that
will run a whole lot of coils so that we see how
continuous (sustainable) it will be and see how it will
degrade overtime.
Pencil lead:
We made and presented the first pencil in the last
three, four years. The pencil lead was made here.
The lead was locally sourced. It is not real lead but it
looks like lead. That is what the whole world will call
it but actually, there is no lead in it. Normally,
children bite the pencil and eat it. We incorporated
some natural fibre, some carbon and added some
solid minerals and baked it enough at high
temperature manually because there is a clay
constituent and it turned to lead. It can write.
One of the good properties of a pencil is that it must
be erasable, we carried out all the tests and it was
graded according to the international grading of
shading. The pencil was classified. You could get a
good 2B and 2H pencil

www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/unizik-makes-formula-one-car-welding-electrode-from-local-materials/

Formula weytin......chei...iboes again....lol....