The fourth day was full of activities. We had three company excursions and one surprise activity.
The day started with an excursion to FEI, where they would show us secrets so small, that they are not visible to the human eye. At FEI we were able to visit the largest electron microscope facility in the world. After the general introduction we went on a plant tour, divided into two groups. After first getting ourselves into the clean room clothing, we were guided through the manufacturing process of two types of microscopes. The first type had the highest accuracy , where the second type of electron microscope was able to remove layers from the subject to have a look beneath the top layer.
After visiting FEI, we went to ABB to see medium voltage switching gears manufactured. But before we could enter the ABB factory, we first needed to be able to solve the secret of closing one of the mini vans, which refused to do so. After five minutes we finally managed to close the vans and we could proceed to the excursion. After the general introduction we were taken into the plant in two groups where we learnt about structure of medium voltage cabinets. It surprised us to see that the construction of those cabinets need so much manual labor.
Next on the program was hurrying to the Subway to get our lunches and continuing our journey to Bosch. However, due to road works we had to find a secret passage way to Bosch. After some detours we were able to find the way and we arrived just in time.
At Bosch (Rexroth) we were received by the American plant manager. He first told us about the processes taking place in the plant and how they manage to optimize those processes. Afterwards we had a short tour through the offices before entering the production plant. Inside of the production plant we saw some set-ups of hydraulic systems and testing equipment to be able to test the produced set-ups. At the end of the excursion, we had to let the plant manager in with one of our biggest secrets, namely that Eindhoven was not a part of Germany, but of The Netherlands.
After the last company excursion it was time for the first surprise from the committee, but not after we had the time to refresh and change ourselves in the hostel. After everyone got rid of their suits, we went into the city of Brno to play an escape room game. During this game we had to find several hidden objects, which led us to new hidden objects, or even entire rooms full of them.
After everyone had escaped from the escape room we strolled a bit through the city. After some time it was time to return to the hostel, drink a beer and prepare us for the last excursion the next day.
By Pieter and Marco