Working with Cutting Edge and Corian® was an exciting and unusual start to STEM week (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths week) for Year 5 and 6 pupils at Great Missenden Church of England school. Kevin Hoy from Cutting Edge joined the children and asked the 100 or so nine, ten and eleven year-old’s to design a clock face.
After some basic tips on how to approach and make the best of the design, starting with the good old fashioned design tools of a piece of paper and a pencil, pupils were invited to sketch out a few experimental ideas for the design of their clock face. The pupils then drew their preferred design onto a supplied template sheet with the clock face area already on it.
The best designs from both year groups were selected. Within the space of an hour, the new designers had their designs drawn onto a CAD program and cut into a 3-D clock made from the solid surface material Corian®.
The process was great for the young and inquisitive minds, as it involved drawing and computing skills to redraw the designs. Pupils gained an understanding of how the mathematical coordinates were relevant to the cutting machines.
The pupils then sent the winning designs to the Cutting Edge workshop by email and watched the whole manufacturing process via a live Skype link to the workshop. The production process was shown making the different shapes like zig zags, until moving on to the important winning designs.
It was a sensational day and even better all the pupils saw the finished clocks the next day in assembly. The winning designers were presented with their clocks.
