Nelson & Colne College

Additive Manufacturing

The Nelson and Colne College Group CODE project has developed new curricula for the use of additive manufacturing to reduce product lead times and the carbon footprint of small volume production.

The programme is in 3 stages:

• A 2-day level 2 introduction to 3D printing for zero carbon manufacturing in which attendees learn about preparing 3-D CAD files for print, setting up printing equipment, printing components, post-processing and quality control.  This course is assessed by practical exercises carried out during the two days.
• A 2-day level 3 extension course to increase attendees understanding of 3-D scanning, the selection of materials and technologies for printing.  This course is assessed by practical exercises carried out during the two days.
• A 1-day level 4 extension course increasing attendees understanding of the limitations of additive techniques and the means by which the impact of these can be minimised, plus learning to advise customers on product design for manufacture.  This course is assessed by a written assignment to be researched, completed and submitted after the course.

On completion of all 3 segments, learners will have gained 20 credits at level 4 that can be recognised as prior learning towards the College’s Higher National Certificate programme in Engineering.