Learners gain cutting-edge skills thanks to Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Multiply
The engineering department offered people the chance to develop their numeracy skills using its state-the-art 3D printing machines
Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor's engineering team has been providing a free 3D printing course for adults at the Hafan Engineering campus at Pwllheli.
The course, in association with Grŵp Llandrillo Menai’s Multiply team, taught members of the public to use state-the-art additive manufacturing machines normally only available to full-time students.
Multiply is aimed at helping adults improve their confidence with numbers in everyday life, with the Grŵp leading on the project in Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd and Ynys Môn.
The 3D printing course used numeracy in the design process to measure and calculate dimensional requirements when creating models, as well as adjusting speeds and infill, and scaling up models to achieve the desired model size and quality.
Running for eight hours over four weeks, the course was designed to build confidence in producing 3D printed models.
The sessions for beginners covered how to download pre-made models, and using ‘Benchy’ - a benchmark print used to verify the printing capability of any 3D printer.
There were also tutorials on how to reduce print times for efficiency and quality improvements, and how people can generate models of their own, using the powerful Computer Aided Design (CAD) package Fusion 360.
Emlyn Evans, engineering lecturer at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor in Pwllheli and Dolgellau, said: “The 3D printing course has been very popular and well attended. It has been running over many sites across the Grŵp with places being taken up quickly.
“It has been a great opportunity for us to showcase our resources, which are normally only accessible to students studying on the BTEC Level 3 courses we run at Pwllheli and Dolgellau.
“The free sessions offered by Multiply have given us a great opportunity to share our passion for engineering and additive manufacturing as part of this new programme.
“The course showed the wider capability of 3D printing and how we use it at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai to engage young engineers of the future.”
Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor will be hosting more 3D printing courses for adults aged 19+ in the new year.
The course at Pwllheli will run on January 6, 13, 20 and 27, 5pm-7pm. Dates for Dolgellau are to be confirmed. Register on the Multiply booking page or by contacting multiply@gllm.ac.uk
For more information about the BTEC Level 3 Enhanced Engineering course at Dolgellau and Pwllheli, please visit https://www.gllm.ac.uk/courses/engineering-level-3 or contact Emlyn Evans via email: evans12e@gllm.ac.uk