3DPRINTUK was delighted to be involved with the recent Design & Make Challenge 2022.
This is an all-day event organised annually by the Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN) and is one of the largest independent manufacturing-education events focused around STEM in the UK.
The focus is all on the kids and encouraging them to develop new skills around design, engineering and manufacturing with a view to promoting potential career paths into the sector. This is something we can get behind.
Testing the results & getting competitive at the Design & Make Challenge 2022
On the day of the challenge, teams of Year 11 and 12 students from schools across the Midlands were hosted by WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Solihull. This year more than 40 pupils were able to test their design, engineering, prototyping and communication skills.
In teams of four, the young people were asked to utilize basic materials and tools to make a vehicle that could be propelled by a falling weight. They were then able to test these vehicles, modify them if required, before racing them on a purpose-built 7.5 m track. Distance and speed were judged, as well as manufacturing techniques and innovativeness. The winner of the “race” and therefore the efficiency title was WMG Academy Coventry with a time of 3.64 seconds. Ernesford Grange Community Academy and Great Wyrley Academy were the winners of the Manufacturing and Innovation titles respectively. The prize for each of these three teams was a 3D printer for their school, supplied by 3DPRINTUK.
This was obviously a good fit for us, and donating the three 3D printers for the winners of each category of the design & make challenge — for their schools — means that the next generation of engineers and manufacturers can learn in a hands-on way about the advantages – and disadvantages – of 3D printing for any given application. This is something we have always been passionate about now and for the future.
And we are very much in agreement with spokespeople from the MAN companies about STEM, skills development and the next generation:
Austin Owens, founder of Grove Design (Pembridge) Ltd, Co-Chair of the Manufacturing Assembly Network and a customer of 3DPRINTUK was mindful of the need to promote STEM subjects to the next generation. He said of the event: “Now, more than ever, we need young people to choose engineering and manufacturing as a career and we’re not going to change perceptions by sitting on our hands, doing nothing.”
“This was a comeback for the Design & Make Challenge after a Covid-19 enforced break and we were delighted to see the appetite was still there from schools to take part. I have to say the task was the hardest yet and the young people really embraced it.”
He went on to add: “The atmosphere in the room was amazing and I’m convinced we’ve seen some of the engineers of the future here, engineers that will go on and improve the way we live for the better.”
Peter Davies, Chief Executive of James Lister & Sons and Co-Chair of the Manufacturing Assembly Network, added his support: “The day is all about bringing sound design and engineering principles to the fore to solve a topical industrial issue, with young people encouraged to work together to develop innovate designs and then build a product they can test against their peers.
“Apprentices from MAN companies and the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) graduate engineers were working with the groups and talking about their own experiences following a career in manufacturing and some of the skills they may need to realise their ambition.
“All the feedback we received was positive, so it looks like we’re doing it all again next year. We now urge other manufacturers to look at how they can play a role in helping promote our sector to young people.”
Dr Mark Swift, Head of SME Programmes at WMG at the University of Warwick, concluded: “Design & Make is a wonderful example of how to inspire future engineers- making it real and helping to bridge the skills gap, particularly in small manufacturing and engineering businesses.
“SMEs are the lifeblood of manufacturing in the UK, and they offer a wonderful, rich, challenging and rewarding destination for the next generation of engineers. They get access to all parts of the business, from working with customers and suppliers to the management team and on the shopfloor – all of this will accelerate their future career.”
It’s been great to subsequently hear that the 3D printers have since been set up and set running at the schools. Thanks to Ernesford Grange Community Academy for sharing the picture below with us.
