高一学生发明管道穿越机

    Zheng Senhu, a Senior 1 student at Shenzhen Second Senior High School, won the top prize in the engineering category at the 28th Guangdong Adolescent Technology and Science Invention Contest, held last month, for his invention of a pipe-threading machine.

    He will represent Guangdong Province in a nationwide contest in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, in July.

    The small machine costs Zheng less than 100 yuan (US$16.25) to make and can go through pipes that are curved or angled, greatly facilitating electrical wiring.

    Zheng said the invention was actually a surprising fruit of another unsuccessful experiment. He once joined a model car slope-climbing race, in which cars climbed slopes no steeper than 75 degrees. But he wondered whether his model car could climb a vertical grade. Though the idea was soon proved unrealistic, a second thought came to Zheng and his research was redirected to a new purpose: threading through pipes.

    By using a small pulley, motor and spring, Zheng’s machine applies simple principles of physics to a gadget shorter than a human thumb. The key point of the innovation is a splay insert spring that can adjust its opening angle according to the size of the pipe.

    Zheng is continually improving his invention and finding ways to make it more functional, such as installing a mini camera to allow people to see the inside of the pipe, or installing a cleaning tool.

    But he said the invention still has defects. His next step is to improve it so it can move in pipes that already contain cables, he said. He also added that the invention has played an important role in his life. (Zhao Jie)