College expands manual/CNC lathe training

Another electronic teach lathe is providing a vital 'hands on' training opportunity, for students intent on careers in mechanical engineering and also for local engineering companies.

Another electronic teach lathe is providing a vital 'hands on' training opportunity, for students intent on careers in mechanical engineering and also for local engineering companies.

Highbury College in Cosham, Portsmouth, UK, which has one of the best-equipped facilities for training young engineers anywhere on the South Coast, has further expanded its considerable resources with the acquisition of a Harrison Alpha 1330S teach lathe.

All Alpha S1000 Series machines are top-of-the-range toolroom conventional lathes incorporating the extra capabilities and production flexibility of a CNC machine.

The Further Education college offers part-time and full-time training from pre-16 school groups to BTEC, NVQ and City and Guilds courses and, in addition to the Alpha 1330S, has a highly impressive workshop containing no less than 30 Harrison M300 conventional manual lathes.

Bill Lee, the Head of the Engineering Department at Highbury College, says the department is able to provide a vital 'hands on' training opportunity, both for students intent on careers in mechanical engineering and also for local engineering companies wishing to enrol employees on approved, qualification-based courses: "We believe that the only way that anyone can really learn what a lathe can do is to have practical experience of using it for themselves, and that means starting with a manual lathe".

"You have got to have that 'feel' for the metal".

"Then if they are going on to use computerised machines, their experience can help them tell the computer what to do".

""The second important thing is that employers require people who do not only have theoretical knowledge and qualifications, but practical skills which can immediately be put to use.

He added that the college's National Diploma students, around half of who go on to study for engineering degrees at universities, also benefit from their 'hands on' practical skills with the machines".

"Digby Eade, an engineering lecturer at the college, said the decision to acquire the Alpha 1330S had been taken to meet a growing need for CNC training for part-time, adult students in the Portsmouth area: "This training focuses on CNC programming for the younger generation of engineers once they have got their experience on manual lathes.

Companies increasingly want to convert people to CNC and it is not always possible to get this training in-house.

Eade adds: "There is also a growing demand as companies acquire CNC machines, but do not have trained operators".

"We are helping to convert the ablest people from manual to CNC.

He said the college had achieved 'good success' with its Alpha 1330S, and students were quickly able to produce simple components using the lathe's advanced electronic controls and clear, easy to understand on-screen displays: "The machine produces excellent finishes at all stages of the program," he said.

David Smith, sales director of Harrison Lathes, said: "The success of the Alpha 1330S for training students and experienced lathe operators alike, demonstrates its widely-recognised flexibility and ease-of-use".

"Alpha manual/CNC lathes set the industry standards in these areas and are enabling a brand new generation of engineers to achieve high-precision levels of turning in the workplace.

The Harrison Alpha 1330S lathe was supplied to Highbury College by Harrison's main regional distributor, R K International Machine Tools of Erith, Kent.

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