Once again this year, Komatsu hosts the NFPA Fluid Power Action Challenge 2023 in Franklin, PA on May 9^th, 2023, where several school districts in the area participate. The challenge is comprised of 25 teams who each design and build a fluid power machine made of basic materials. This machine must clamp, lift, rotate and extend a dowel to specific areas on a challenge board to score points during a two-minute timed competition. The team with the most accumulated points from interview questions, portfolios, teamwork, safety, and design will take 1st place for the competition. Along with providing a fun and interacting learning experience to the participants, Komatsu provides an opportunity to young students to learn more about fluid power, science and engineering.

“Supporting the development of next generation’s leaders in the industry is very important to Famic Technologies. We salute Komatsu's initiative in this regard and wish this event many more editions, which piques interest and highlights the talent of tomorrow's engineers”, says Charbel Nasr, President of Famic Technologies Inc.

To learn more about Komatsu’s NFPA Fluid Power Action Challenge, please take a look at this video for their 2022 event: Komatsu Fluid Power Challenge 2022 - YouTube

About:

Famic Technologies Inc.

Based in Montreal, Canada, with branches in Germany and India, Famic Technologies is leading the industry since 1986 by providing world-class trade-oriented software solutions in the fields of fluid power, electrical engineering, industrial automation and custom software development. Namely, Automation Studio™, an innovative system design and simulation software used for training, maintenance, validation and troubleshooting of multi-technology circuits, Automation Studio™ Live Manifold for hydraulic manifold design, quoting and prototyping, and Andon Studio™, for Industry 4.0 and process management optimization. With quality and performance driving decisions, Famic Technologies has become internationally recognized and sought out for its expertise, knowledge, innovation and leadership.

Automation Studio^TM

Automation Studio™ Educational Edition has proven its strength in technical and engineering educational institutions worldwide by helping students better understand the behaviour and interaction of technologies with an intuitive visual learning approach before moving on to the hands-on experience. It is the unique fluid power and automation technologies software solution to teach and learn in a fun and effective way! It allows to easily create or reproduce assignments and learning material, adapting it to teaching curriculums.

Komatsu

Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Komatsu facilities, distributors and dealers are in more than 140 countries and directly employ more than 60,000 people. For the last century, the companies that power society and develop the world’s infrastructure have relied on Komatsu to empower them. Through manufacturing, technology and service innovation with a reputation for dantotsu quality, reliability, insights and support, they work as partners to create lasting value for their business. Komatsu provides essential equipment, technologies and services for the construction, mining, forest, energy and manufacturing industries. Their global service and distributor network support customer operations using the power of data and technology to help enhance safety, productivity and performance.

Komatsu’s NFPA Fluid Power Action Challenge

The 4^th Fluid Power Action Challenge Workshop Day was held in Franklin, PA in March 28^th, 2023, welcoming 25 teams of 7th and 8th grade students from 14 different schools in 6 counties who learned about fluid power, the importance of safety and how to use various hand tools. It was the event’s largest turnout to date!

Going home with an identical tool kit, a take-away kit of materials and instructions on what is required to build their model and how to score points in the various categories, the 25 teams will return on May 9^th with only their tools and two copies of a portfolio detailing a build plan. They will then have limited time to rebuild their model from scratch using only a copy of their portfolio, their tool kit and a new kit of materials that provided to them.

Throughout the day, the teams will be evaluated and various points can be scored. The team with the highest overall points score is crowned Grand Champion. They receive the largest trophy, a $250 Amazon gift card for their school and 1 year access to Automation Studio™ Educational Edition software hosted on Famic Technologies’ license server, including a 2-hour online training and 1 year of maintenance & technical support, as provided by Famic Technologies Inc. Swag bags filled with Komatsu and sponsor merchandise will also be given to each student and teacher.