Student sees trophy design come to life at Enginuity Skills Awards
Competition winner MTC student Grace Peckett, sees trophy design come to life at Enginuity Skills Awards. She is pictured with Oliver Selby, head of sales for Fanuc UKA competition run by Coventry-based
Fanuc UK Ltd for students to design and manufacture trophies for the
Enginuity Skills Awards has been won by
Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) student Grace Peckett. Celebrating the best in up-and-coming engineering and manufacturing talent, the awards took place at the beginning of this month in London. As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to inspire and support the next generation of engineers, Fanuc UK partnered with the MTC to host a competition to design and manufacture the trophies for the event.
A group of around 20 MTC students were tasked with creating their trophy design using CAD, before 3-D printing a mock-up which they presented to a team of judges. The top five entries were selected by the MTC and the students invited to visit the Fanuc UK headquarters in Coventry with their prototype trophies. Following a formal pitch by each finalist, a team of Fanuc experts deliberated over the entries before choosing Grace Peckett’s design as the winner.
The trophies were manufactured using a Fanuc Robodrill compact CNC machining centre, while the event logo was EDM wire-cut on a Fanuc Robocut machine. The materials selected to create the final trophies were aluminium and brass.
Paul Coombes, Fanuc UK’s head of technical, who was part of the judging panel, said: “At Fanuc, we feel passionately about supporting future engineering talent through initiatives such as our in-house training academy and partnership with WorldSkills UK. The
Enginuity Skills Awards celebrate the talented individuals and companies whose commitment to skills is shaping the future of UK manufacturing and engineering – we were keen to extend this celebration of skills, knowledge, and talent with a competition for young people to design the trophies that will be presented on the night.
He concluded: “The standard of entry was exceptionally high, but Grace’s entry stood out, not just for its aesthetic appeal, but also the story behind the design and how Grace combined her passions for art and engineering.”