EEF gives University of Birmingham students a taste of manufacturing
10 July 2009
The School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Birmingham and EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation has linked up to give 73 first year undergraduates a taste of manufacturing to prepare them for their future career.
A project was specially designed and delivered by staff from EEFs' Technology Centre to match the Universitys' degree criteria and requirements so that each student could experience machining and gain an understanding of CNC techniques versus traditional machining.
The task was to use a variety of traditional machines and CNC machines to manufacture the pipe vice as a key component of their degree course. Each student had hands on experience of Turning, Milling, CNC Turning and Milling, Drilling, Filing and fitting techniques to produce a series of components that were made to drawing specifications and working to tolerances.
The project was developed to include 3 traditional materials, Aluminium, Mild Steel and Brass, all of which are used in the manufacturing sector to give the undergraduates an opportunity to see how differing materials require different tooling, cutting speeds and feed rates.
“The University chose EEF Technology Centre against other local providers because we were able to provide the level of technology required for this project, and our flexible approach in designing a product met the exact requirements from the University” said Jeff Matthews, Business Development Manager at EEF Technology Centre.
“The University also wanted a provision that replicated the environment of a modern manufacturing unit. Undergraduates were given a taste of manufacturing to prepare them for their future career. The students were very positive and they all really enjoyed the experience of working in a manufacturing environment.” Jeff added.
Dr Duncan Shepherd Senior Lecturer in Bio-medical Engineering at the School of Mechanical Engineering said; "The School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Birmingham is committed to educating the next generation of world-class engineers. We are delighted to have developed a partnership with EEF Technology Centre to train our students in workshop skills. This is an important part of their engineering education and the fact that the training has been sponsored by BP, shows how industry values these skills in engineers."
The University has already sounded out EEF about repeating this project next year.
