The COVID-19 pandemic did not dampen the steps of four Padang State University students to participate and play a role in creating new innovations in the 2021 Student Creativity Program called The PKM. The PKM proposal entitled “Alat Penyekir Katup Otomatis Berbasis Microcontroller” successfully passed funding form the Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi on May 6, 2021 ago. The team under the PKM Karsa Cipta scheme is chaired by Yuvani Oksarianti (Statistics-18) with members Dedi Mulyono (Automotive-17), Riko Saputra (Automotive-20), and Doni Saputra (Automotive-20). These four UNP students are directly under the guidance of Automotive Lecturers Ahmad Arif, S.Pd., M.T. and Wawan Purwanto, S.Pd., M.T., Ph.D.
Yuvani Oksarianti as the team leader explained that the idea started from their concern when they saw that the mechanics of the workshop who did the valve cleaning were still done manually by hand. This cleaning takes a long time and the results obtained are not necessarily perfect because the rotational mechanical pressure applied to the valve during cleaning is not constant. That’s why these four students created tools to ease the work of the mechanics so that they can carry out other activities during the cleaning process. This microcontroller based automatic valve cleaning tool is designed to be practical and easy to use with 3 different speed buttons and cleaning time options, namely 3 minutes at 1500 rpm, 2 minutes at 2000 rpm and 1 minute at 2500 rpm.
The team hopes that this new and innovative product can help with the cleaning process because it has been designed to be easy to use and foldable. Compared to the manual (conventional) method used by mechanics, of course this cleaning process will save more time for mechanics in the vehicle maintenance process. By using this microcontroller based automatic valve cleaning tool, the cleaning results carried out can be maximized thereby reducing losses such as compression leaks in the engine or motor. On July 31, 2021, the team introduced this new innovation by socializing it to the Automotive Workshop of SMKN 2 Lubuk Basung which involved teachers, educators, and Teknik Kendaraan Ringan students on a limited basis and strict health protocols. They are very enthusiastic about this new technology.
Ahmad Arif, S.Pd., M.T. and Wawan Purwanto, S.Pd., M.T., Ph.D. as the supervisors hope that this team can continue to PIMNAS representing UNP at the 34th PIMNAS which is rumored to be held online with the University of North Sumatra (USU) as the host later.
[News by : Yuvani Oksarianti – PKM-KC Team Leader]
