Kraken and cooling system from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering won gold medals

The RTI research center took part in the June Invent Arena exhibition of inventions for the first time – and immediately reached the top ranks. The jury awarded two gold medals to the Kraken milling head and the ECHO Tools cooling system. The latter also won the Industrial Design category.

A milling head made from metal powder using 3D printing – that is the so-called Kraken, for which Miroslav Zetek from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of West Bohemia and his team have held a patent since 2023. Kraken was developed at the faculty’s RTI research center as a CNC machining tool for milling difficult-to-machine materials, including molds, turbine components, engine and power-unit parts, and aircraft structural components. It has now won a gold medal in the Industrial Design category at the Invent Arena exhibition in Třinec. The engineering team continues to work on the invention, improving it step by step.

“With Kraken, we are currently focusing primarily on tool cooling and further improvements to the design. We have practically reached the limits imposed by strength and rigidity requirements. Even so, we have managed to preserve one of its key advantages: its weight is still more than 50 percent lower than that of commonly used tools,” said Miroslav Zetek.

The tool has already been tested at a company specializing in machining die steels, which are used to produce metal dies for forming materials, most commonly by forging. “We found that efficient cooling of both the rake and flank faces of the Kraken tool significantly reduces heat build-up. This results in stable machining and improves both accuracy and the quality of the finished surface,” Zetek added. According to him, however, another effect of the team’s continuous work on the invention was even more surprising. Thanks to the modified design, the unpleasant noise commonly generated when machining hard materials has almost disappeared. In addition to its technological benefits, the tool also improves working conditions for machine-tool operators. Zetek also considers it important that students at all levels, from bachelor’s students to doctoral candidates, are involved in the research. They gain experience that conventional teaching cannot provide.

The second gold medal brought back from Třinec went to the ECHO Tools system, which is designed to cool machining tools and enables the precise delivery of coolant directly to the cutting zone. It combines the advantages of 3D printing with conventional machining. Testing at the Plzeň-based company Precision Catspart CZ, which machines aircraft engine components, confirmed that the system can increase tool life by up to 350 percent. According to the system’s creator, Luboš Kroft, development has already moved beyond the prototype stage to real tools, which are now being tested in production and gaining their first customers through the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering’s spin-off company of the same name.

The awards build on the previous successes of both exhibits, including a gold medal from the International Engineering Fair in Brno and first place in the Transfera Technology Day competition. Establishing contacts with industrial partners was another equally important benefit. A company developing a bicycle rack that does not disrupt the visual appearance of urban spaces has expressed preliminary interest in cooperating with the RTI research center.

The international Invent Arena exhibition is held in Třinec every two years and took place for the fourth time this year. It aims to present technological innovations, inventions, and patents, and to connect potential investors with research institutions, schools, and manufacturers whose ideas are ready to be put into practice.