Located in the centre of Sheffield is the City Campus of Sheffield Hallam University, which has more than 36,000 students. A pioneer in work-based learning, Sheffield Hallam University’s roots stretch back to 1843, but it is the £115 million investment over the past 10 years that has endowed both the City Campus and the nearby Collegiate Crescent Campus with their well-equipped teaching facilities.
The Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences (ACES) is housed in three buildings on the City Campus, one of which contains a comprehensive workshop used for art and jewellery design and manufacture, as well as engineering project work. Dr Martin Howarth, head of department (engineering and mathematics), says that while it is unusual for art and engineering to be in such close proximity, it does confer many benefits. “Our engineering students experience working with a wide range of materials and gain a greater understanding of the relationship between appearance and function. This means they can engage fully with the design and manufacture of an engineering product.”
The University takes its links with business very seriously and has the highest number of ‘placement courses’ of any English university that includes a year in industry; its four-year BEng (Honours) Mechanical Engineering, for instance, requires the student to spend the penultimate year working in industry.
Understanding the basics
Long before that, however, Sheffield Hallam University’s engineering students have to begin with the basics, such as health and safety in the workshop, and learning to use manual machines before moving up to CNC machining.
David Legge, senior lecturer in engineering design, says: “Unless you understand basic engineering principles and practice, you can not progress in terms of designing and manufacturing products or solving the problems that inevitably occur along the way.”
While not matching the day-to-day hands-on experience of a vocational apprenticeship, Sheffield Hallam University’s students are given ample opportunity to convert CAD/CAM projects into precision machined components. This involves using more-advanced machine tools, in particular an XYZ HS 1060 high-speed vertical machining centre, which features a 20hp 12,000 rev/min spindle, a fourth-/fifth-axis tilt/rotary table and 43m/min rapids in all three linear axes.
For its part, Burlescombe-based XYZ Machine Tools Ltd
(www.xyzmachinetools.com) has been supplying universities, colleges, schools and research centres with a wide range of machine tools for more than 25 years. Moreover, as part of its on-going commitment to its customers in the education sector, once a year (for up to three years after a purchase) the company will send a qualified trainer/applications engineer into the classroom to explain what is actually happening within manufacturing industry.
Mr Howarth says: “To some extent, it is software developments that drive us here, as each CAD release reveals new design features. This translates into the CAM side, then into post-processing, program verification and downloading to the machine tool. The end result is that the machine tool is removing metal in the most efficient and cost-effective way.”
Practical designs
Nick Pickett, principal lecturer, says: “Students begin to understand that it is not always possible to machine what they have designed; and even if it can be made, the part may require special fixturing or the use of special tooling — all of which can add a significant cost. However, having access to a CNC machine tool such as the HS 1060 undoubtedly gives a greater degree of freedom in terms of the forms that can be created and the degree of complexity that can be accommodated in the machining, which can then translate to improved functionality of a component.”
Many of the engineering courses offered by Sheffield Hallam University are accredited by relevant professional bodies and designed in consultation with industry. This ensures that students develop the knowledge and skills demanded by potential employers, with each course having as its basic objective the development of theoretical understanding coupled with practical skills. In return, the University is an active participant in the Government-backed Knowledge Transfer Partnerships scheme. One example of this scheme is the crucial role played by a recent Sheffield Hallam University engineering graduate in helping a UK company to diversify from a declining market in mining equipment into the nuclear engineering supply chain.
Ian Staniforth, senior lecturer, says: “The national perception is of manufacturing industry in decline, and of engineering as a dirty and grimy business at best. It’s true that manufacturing industry has become less visible since it moved away from our town centres, but many UK companies are well organised, environmentally aware, and using modern production equipment that is fully integrated with the design process. Here in Yorkshire — and in the UK generally — the result is that demand for engineering graduates is out-stripping the supply, which for the individual equates to greater career opportunities.”