Senior composites engineer

This video introduces Paul, a senior composites engineer for Lola Cars International. Paul explains his role in designing the structures that are made of carbon fibre for race cars such as the one featured in the video. He discusses the love of engineering he had when he was younger and how his maths, physics...

Invention of Nylon

This film, from Twig World, looks at what makes the polymer Nylon so durable. The key points made in the film are: •In the past, clothes were all made from natural sources, such as silk, wool and cotton. •Then Wallace Carothers discovered nylon in 1939. •It was discovered through experimentation with polymers,...

North Sea Rocks

The resource available consists of the following items:

RESINATED CORE SLABS (15m)​

This is material that has been cut...

Automated machines at Brompton

This film looks at why automated machines, such as a CNC machine, are used in the production of Brompton bicycles. The need for space has resulted in the manufacture of some parts being sub-contracted, which can create quality control issues.

What is 3D printing?

This video provides a great overview to 3D printing, looking first at different ways of manufacture, before explaining the 3D printing process. The video is presented by the Head of the Institute for Manufacturing, Professor Tim Minshall, and would well as an introduction to 3D printing or as a revision video...

3D Scanning

This video from Boxford demonstrates 3D scanning and reverse engineering of products using a 3D scanning machine. The 3D scanning machine is shown followed by the object, an ornamental cat, which is to be reverse engineered. Full 360 degree laser scanning of the ornament is performed. The scanned object is then...

Lean manufacturing

This film looks at how Brompton Bicycle introduced a system of lean manufacturing to manage production. This enables them to eliminate the waste by looking at every aspect of the design from the customer’s point of view and also reducing lead times. The film also explores the...

Photo Machining

This video from Boxford demonstrates the process of photo CNC machining. The full designing and making process is shown from a CAD design through to a finished product. Firstly a bitmap or jpeg image of a woman’s face is imported into CAD software. This is then processed...

Pegasus

This resource from Boxford facilitates the manufacture of a 3D figure of a Pegasus from sheet material. This could be used as an exemplar for a project to design and make a ‘flat pack’ 3D item or to demonstrate the capabilities of a CNC laser cutter. It includes the CAD files for each of the component parts of the...

PCB Board Machining

This video from Boxford shows the process of printing a printed circuit board using a CNC router. It shows the complete process from the initial CAD design through to a fully routed circuit board. Firstly a design for the circuit is created using CAD software. This is then exported as a Gerber file and processed...