Students benefit from the latest manufacturing technology

Published : January 06, 2010

Thanks to the forward thinking of Burnley Borough Council, funding was made available not only for the building but also to ensure that students had the best available technology and equipment at their disposal. “The training that we offer at Burnley College has to reflect the needs of our local industry,” says John Clarke, Burnley College’s Assistant Principal. “With the area’s advanced manufacturing capacity, particularly in the aerospace sector, we have to deliver apprentices that are capable of working to the highest standards when they return full time to their employers’ premises.”

The machines installed are two VERTICAL CENTRE NEXUS 410A-II vertical machining centres and a QUICK TURN NEXUS 200-II two-axis lathe. Both are equipped with Mazak’s Mazatrol Matrix control system, which allows students to program in ISO code and Mazak’s conversational system. Engineering students will be taking advantage of the machines’ capabilities, whether they are on full-time courses, Apprenticeship day release, or studying for a Foundation degree. The ease-of-use of the Mazatrol programming system ensures that students can quickly turn a two dimensional drawing into a three dimensional component.

Installed in October 2009 the Mazak machines are already extremely popular with both students and lecturers alike. The machines compliment perfectly the College’s Design and Innovation Academy, where students develop design skills using CADCAM and rapid prototyping technology. The engineering students can then transform those initial designs into the end product in a range of materials.

The Burnley College campus on Princess Way, which opened in September 2009, includes a Centre of the University of Central Lancashire. Engineering courses offered by the College are designed to prepare students for those of the University. This ensures a seamless transition from college to university for those students wishing to progress through the higher education system.  

“While sixth form students and apprentices will initially be the ones to benefit from this investment in Mazak machine tools, we will also be working with local employers to encourage them to up-skill their existing workforce by making use of the facilities here at the College. From the very beginning the College has set out to deliver the highest quality and state-of-the-art equipment for our students and our stated ambition is to become a world-class centre of excellence for advanced manufacturing and engineering; we believe that this vital investment is a significant step towards this,” says John Clarke.

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