Field stoves for Ukraine are welded at University West
08 Feb 2023
The welding equipment runs at high pressure when the university's research engineers weld field stoves at the Production Technology Centre. Industrial companies in the region sponsor the material and this spring around 90 stoves will be sent to Ukraine. “It feels good to be able to help the Ukrainian people in some way”, says the initiator Björn Särnerblom, research engineer at University West.
Research engineers at University West weld field stoves for Ukraine. The material is sponsored by several industrial companies in the region. Photo: University West
The idea to manufacture field stoves for Ukraine appeared when the Väderstad company spread its drawings of a simple model via the Internet. The construction is robust and can be used both as a heat source and as a stove.
“The stove is very easy to manufacture. It takes barely half an hour to weld all the parts together. But we are several actors who make this possible”, says Stefan Björklund, development engineer at Högskolan Väst.
“Brålanda Industri is sponsoring the first 32 stoves with laser-cut parts in black sheet metal, and the machine shop Axel Starck is donating nuts and screws. Materials for another 30 or so stoves are sponsored by GKN Aerospace materials”, says Stefan.
Heat source and stove
The stoves are fired with wood and the heat can be easily regulated via a damper if you want to cook. An ingenious construction on the chimney makes it possible to cook coffee or food even on top of the chimney.
So far, 32 field stoves have been welded, another 32 will be manufactured shortly and in the next step about 30 more will be welded. But there could be even more.
“If more actors get in touch and want to sponsor with additional material, we are happy to stand up and weld”, says Björn Särnerblom.
“In addition, it’s possible to fill the stoves with various necessities, for example flashlights, power banks, batteries, candy, food, first aid or other things that may come in handy. Just contact us if you want to contribute”, says Björn.
This week, the team plans to ship a first batch of stoves with one of the trucks that periodically transport materials to Ukraine.
“We hope, of course, that the stoves reach those who need them the most - and that they will be useful”, say Björn and Stefan.
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