Challenging Multidisciplinary Team of Students to Design an Automated Core Cleaning Solution

Lumo Analytics is sponsoring Aalto University’s product development course to solve a critical bottleneck in drill core analysis workflow: drill core cleaning. 

Lumo Analytics’ advanced LIBS drill core scanner has revolutionized mineral exploration and mining operations, but before scanning, each drill core must be thoroughly cleaned to ensure accurate geochemical readings. Currently, this process is manual, slow, and inconsistent. Contaminants like salts, oxidation, and drilling fluids can distort analysis and compromise the precision of the analysis. 

Lumo Analytics has challenged Aalto University students to design and prototype an automated core cleaning system that maintains cleaning effectiveness while enhancing throughput and consistency. Over the course of eight months, the team will develop and present their final solution, which will be evaluated by Lumo Analytics experts based on three key criteria:

1. the quality of cleaning compared to manual methods,
2. the level of automation achieved,
3. the integration of drying the cores within a realistic cycle of time.

The challenge was presented to the students during a pitch session held in mid-September. The session sparked genuine curiosity and excitement among the students, and Lumo Analytics team had the opportunity to meet with many eager students who wanted to learn more about the challenge and ask questions. 

Once the product development teams formed, they were invited to LumoAnalytics’ facilities to see the problem firsthand. The teams were walked through complete workflow, from core arrival to scanning and data analysis. The students also got familiar with the variety of core boxes that are processed, and the precision required for accurate elemental mapping. This really reiterated the importance of core cleaning as part of the workflow.

The students asked detailed questions about current cleaning techniques, sample dimensions, contamination types, and how the cleaning quality is validated. They asked incisive questions about rock hardness scales, cleaning validation methods, and workflow integration. They challenged the assumptions about what is possible. Lumo Analytics team shared practical constraints from the processing of cores in production, hopefully establishing the technical foundation for their design work. 

Only one week after the first visit, there was a workshop at Aalto. The aim of the workshop was to develop a prototype of drill core cleaner to demonstrate the students’ understanding of the problem. It was a good brainstorming session where  practical constraints were discussed,  concepts refined and new opportunities were identified.

“This collaboration addresses a real production bottleneck in core scanning. If successful, the solution will accelerate the scanning procedure by enabling fast reliable access to the core surface data. Beyond the technical outcome, we’re investing in engineering talent and demonstrating how industry-academic partnerships can solve practical challenges.” Says Stefan Slob, Lumo Analytics’ Device Service Engineer.