An important award in the field of engineering technology was achieved by Martin Dostál, a student of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the BUT, when he received the Prof. Boris Sommer Prize for his diploma thesis "Design of clutch body production", awarded annually for outstanding final theses with contribution to practice.

The diploma thesis was written at the Institute of Manufacturing Technology under the supervision of Jan Řiháček and in cooperation with the Zetor Kovárna company, where the production of a forged component for electromagnetic couplings in transport vehicles is being considered.

The thesis deals comprehensively with the design of the technology for the production of a shape-complex metal component made of low-carbon steel 12 020, with emphasis on economy, production technology and production quality. Based on a multi-criteria analysis, the hot-die forging method was selected as the optimal production technology. In the work, all the necessary operations from the preparation of the semi-finished product itself to the final finishing processes – including forging and shearing operations, their simulations and the design of all the necessary tools – were designed in detail.

To verify the chosen procedure, the student used advanced simulation programs Simufact Forming 16.0 and Forge, whose results confirmed the technological feasibility of the process. The work also included the verification of the production process by a test series, during which a number of non-destructive and metallographic tests were carried out. The final part of the work focused on reverse engineering of real forgings. The result is a detailed and practice-validated design of the production technology that can be immediately implemented in series production. The work stands out not only for its technical depth and accuracy, but also for its ability to link theory with practical outcomes.

The Prof. Boris Sommer Prize is a prestigious award named after the important founder of the Czechoslovak school of engineering technology and is awarded to bachelor, diploma or dissertation theses that make an exceptional contribution to technical practice and innovation in the field of metal forming. Martin Dostál has received not only the recognition of the expert committee for his work, but also the real application of the results in industrial production – an ideal example of a meaningful link between university research and technical practice.