Engineering Students Get on their Soapbox!
Mansell Lacy’s Soapbox Derby was the scene of success for 2nd year students at Herefordshire College of Technology on Sunday 6th June. The students, all currently studying for the National Diploma in Manufacturing Engineering, chose to build and race the soapbox for their final project. The students (Peter Barter, Morgan Clifford) Phillip Cranston, Michael Jones, Charlotte Lewis, Tim Lewis, Clifford Perkins and Luke Taylor) all felt that this particular project would bring together all the skills and education that they had accumulated over the two years they had been studying for the Engineering Diploma, allowing them to show what they have learnt in a real world environment.
The students were required to design, cost, manufacture and assemble the soapbox and they had a short period of time to test how it would perform on the day. Local company CM Coatings powder coated the frame and assembly, giving students the chance to see a quality finishing process by a local company.
On the raceday itself, two teams from HCT were entered going by the names ‘Running on Empty’ and ‘Running on Even Less’. All the students were able to have a run in the soapbox down the 650m track, with final results being a very competitive best time of 1.09. This gave our successful teams a position of joint 5th out of 22 competitors. They were awarded medals by HCT Principal Ian Peake.
The students gained a lot from the project and the day, not only from bringing all their skills together but from working individually and in teams. They thoroughly enjoyed the racing at Mansell Lacy, it reinforcing the engineering they have learnt over the past two years.
Course Tutor, Rob Hamer was especially pleased with the achievement, “I am extremely proud of the hard work and dedication that the students have shown to achieve this high standard of Engineering, as well as how well they worked together in college and in their own time to build this soapbox. They have been a credit to the College here at Mansell Lacy.”
