Young Inventor competition

Birmingham-based Delcam UK (www.delcam. com) is to sponsor the Young Inventor competition — launched by Black Country University Technical College in partnership with Made in the Midlands. This community-based project is designed to encourage more young people to consider a career in manufacturing and engineering. Entries will be judged by a ‘Dragons’ Den’ panel of industry experts, and the winner could see his or her idea turned into a working prototype.

Gordon Mills, director of business engagement at Black Country UTC, said: “It is important for students to gain exposure to industry standards and modern working practices, and the Young Inventor competition will do just that. The judging will be led by Steve Creron, general manager of Delcam UK, who said: “We are providing Black Country UTC with reverse engineering and CAM software — for use with a laser tracker arm. This will enable students to scan a physical model, turn it into a digital design, modify it if they need to and then re-cut it using our software.”

The picture shows (left to right) Charles Addison (Made in the Midlands), Steve Creron (Delcam UK), Gordon Mills (Black Country UTC) and Jason Pitt (Made in the Midlands) at the launch of the Young Inventor competition.