Mechanical Engineering students set up a company whose mission is to make Brazil self-sufficient in personal protection equipment
Photo: Bioelegance/Release
A group of students of the Mechanical Engineering, of PUCRS’ School of Technology, applied the knowledge gained in class to innovate, in an effort to control the COVID-19 pandemic. As students looked into the deficit in the production of masks in Brazil, they developed a machine and opened a company specializing in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). With the mission of making Brazil a self-sufficient country in this business, Bioelegance is now certified by Anvisa for the production of its masks.
Senior year student in the Mechanical Engineering program, and CEO of the company, Julio Dall’Agnol, says that in the beginning of the pandemic he realized that there would not be enough masks for the population of his hometown, Guaporé. That was when he had the idea of using his mother’s factory, specializing in underwear, to produce cloth masks to be donated to the local community. “10 mil units have been made. During this time, I had a terrible time manufacturing masks. That was the trigger that got me to research and study automation of the manufacturing process for surgical masks and all other types of PPE ”, he says.
After the study, Dall’Agnol called two other classmates to form a team: Lucas Crochemore, who finished his degree in 2020, and Klaus Burmeister, another senior year student. In April 2020 the group started to design the equipment and look for investors and partners to execute the project. “It took us five months to assemble our first machine (SV100). For us, it is important to use materials that are 100% Brazilian, 90% of which were from Rio Grande do Sul ”, the company’s CEO says. They soon began working on the second machine (SV200), which is currently being assembled.
One of the most interesting points of this experience for Dall’Agnol is the possibility to put in practice what he learned in the classroom. It is gratifying for him to use the tools he learns to see the world of engineering being built through his own work:
“In different ways, we can see a variety of problems being addressed with principles we learned in school. The lessons learned from the hands-on courses were the basis for the methodological execution of the machine design. The things we learned in the Material Sciences class enabled us to understand and choose precisely all the materials involved both in creating the machine and the product itself ”.
According to the coordinator of the Mechanical Engineering Program, Prof. Dr. Sérgio Boscato Garcia, the theory and practicum activities of the Mechanical Engineering program promote the development of skills such as the application of manufacturing processes and the execution of technical drawings, mechanical designs and automated systems. He has been with these students since the very beginning.
“The undergraduate program fosters the integration of this knowledge and the perception of current needs, which certainly contributes to the success of initiatives like this. In integrative and practicum courses, engineering knowledge is applied and faculty is constantly overseeing students” he says.
Photo: Bioelegance/Release
Relying on courses that involve the development of projects and products, the Mechanical Engineering program allows students to put their ideas into practice from the first semester to the last. Many of the initiatives are spearheaded by students themselves as they are carried out with the supervision of faculty and with the use of the University’s learning spaces.
Going beyond the classroom, Boscato reinforces that other activities contribute to increase students’ possibilities and materialize their ideas. “Participation in student groups and internships are also important for professional training and teamwork. In this particular case, this initiative deserves credit because it is original. This demonstrates the entrepreneurial profile of the group of students. The development of machines from ideation to prototyping in such a short period deserves to be highlighted ”.
Students could use the entire infrastructure of PUCRS for innovation and entrepreneurship, such as Ideia, which embraces many of the program’s courses. Another possibility is to join initiatives such as Startup Garage, a business modeling program of Tecnopuc of which the group took part before they begin working on Bioelegance.
For Prof. Boscato, engineering knowledge allows students to identify several opportunities. “Our undergraduate program is a great laboratory in which skills are developed to transform possibilities into realities for society. And it is in this sense of making a difference that lies the importance of pursuing and fighting for your goals ”, he concludes.
Created by a group of Mechanical Engineering students, from the School of Technology of PUCRS, and with extensive experience in the production of the textile market, Bioelegance developed its own machines entirely in Brazil. The company uses an intelligent system of raw materials and production monitoring and is one of the pioneers in the full development of the design and production of surgical masks in Brazil.
According its CEO Julio Dal’Agnoll, the company’s mission is to make Brazil independent from third parties for the production of these items. “Our biggest goal for the future is to have the capacity to cover the entire development and production market, making us a national and international reference in Quality and Production of these items that have proved so fundamental for the health security of the world”, he concludes.
