Beaumont's new laser cut reception signs!

Beaumont has some flashy new acrylic signs up in reception. These were manufactured on our very own laser cutter with the support of the D&T team and the display technician.

Here's how they turned out!

 

Computerised Sewing Machine

Update on the computerised sewing machine!

Both GCSE Textiles students and KS3 have made good use of the new computerised sewing machine! Thanks again to the PTA!

Mrs ten Dam

Published work!

Sarah Crispp, GCSE Textiles

I am delighted that Sarah Crispp's coursework piece for GCSE Textiles, has been selected to go into Cutting Edge magazine! We will also receive a cheque for £100 to spend on goodies for the Department.This is a great triumph for her, well done!

Mrs ten Dam

Year 7 CED: The Chocolate Factory Experience

Last week, 7y spent their Curriculum Enrichment Day experiencing batch production by working in a chocolate factory in D&T! There were 4 stations throughout the day: making the chocolates in Food, making the origami boxes in Product Design, making the labels in Textiles and making a promotional key ring in Resistant Materials.

All students were responsible for one area of the production line to end up with a batch of over 100 chocolate boxes by the end of the day. Some students even took on extra responsibilities to work as managers and quality control inspectors during the process!

They all did a fantastic job, with some students earning an "Employee of the Day" certificate for their exceptional efforts or performance.

Here is an example of the finished product that was created by 7y using batch production:

Well done to all, and we look forward to doing this with 7x on the next CED in March!

Year 9 Resistant Materials: Mechanical Object

Students in year 9 have been developing their skills in Resistant Materials to design and manufacture clever mechanical objects. These skills will come in handy for students choosing to study Product Design at GCSE, as one of their projects is going to be Resistant Materials / practical based!

Students designed and manufactured these independently solving complex issues along the way with real determination and resilience! Some even made use of the laser cutter to add that extra touch!
Check them some of the amazing products below:

   

We look forward to seeing what the next rotation of year 9 students come up with very soon!

How year 8 are using the laser cutter in Product Design

With the introduction of the laser cutter last summer, the year 8 Product Design scheme of work has had an overhaul this year so that this new technology could be included in the curriculum.

So, year 8 students are now designing and making unique and high-quality acrylic phone holders!

They are sketching ideas, modelling from card, using Computer Aided Design (CAD) to draw their ideas on 2D Design software, using Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM) via the laser cutter to engrave and cut out the acrylic, and finally bending their models into 3D working products using the strip heater! The results have been absolutely fantastic - here is an example of one piece of work from start to finish:


Sketching ideas:

Making card model to scale:

Using CAD to draw the final design:

Using the laser cutter and strip heater to manufacture final product:

Here are some other fantastic examples of phone holders designed by year 8 students:

 
 
 
 
 

We look forward to seeing what wonderful designs the other year 8 groups come up with in Product Design this year!

Using the laser cutter for the Christmas Fair

Last term, the D&T department used the new BSA-funded laser cutter to create some tree ornaments for sale to help raise money at the Beaumont Christmas fair!

There were 3 designs to choose from and what made them really special, was that the ornaments were personalised for each individual customer!

 

Thank you to those who purchased these ornaments and showed their support. Keep an eye out for what laser cut products will be available next Christmas! (And if you have any suggestions for future product ideas, please let us know!)