Daniel Toone from UTC Leeds is looking forward to a Degree Apprenticeship with MPAC Lambert training at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Sheffield
Daniel joined UTC Leeds for sixth form in 2018 after leaving his previous school in Selby because he wanted to study Engineering alongside A Levels. He said, “This was one of the only places I could study a Level 3 Engineering course alongside my A Levels – it was just unheard of!”
Daniel spent his childhood working on AirFix models. “Whenever I get something new, I completely strip it to bits and find out how it works. One of my hobbies now is FPV racing drones, building them up from scratch, so I’ve always wanted to do engineering.
“When I got to the UTC it was what I was expecting. I did Mechanical Systems and Engineering Material Properties in Year 12. I only did the Single Engineering as I was taking three other A Levels at the time. Then we did the CAD Project and the Manufacturing Project over the two years.”
Daniel has come out with an A in A-level Maths, B in A-level Physics and B in A-level Chemistry with Distinction* in Engineering. He said: “I am over the moon about my results. I only needed a B for what I wanted to do so it’s above and beyond and I’m really chuffed.”
Daniel has a conditional offer for a Degree Apprenticeship, starting in September, with MPAC Lambert at Tadcaster, which is affiliated with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in association with University of Sheffield. MPAC Lambert is a UTC employer partner.
The degree is delivered by the University of Sheffield, the training is delivered by AMRC and the apprenticeship is delivered by MPAC Lambert.
Daniel explained, “The AMRC looks a very similar concept to the UTC – you’re getting your training with the kit. That’s the greatest thing about UTC, you’re not just learning about how to offline programme something, you’re actually offline programming it then using and applying it.”
Daniel feels that the UTC has prepared him for AMRC. “The exposure to kit is great. The first time I turned up in September 2018, it was the first time I’d seen a 3D printer and it was hypnotic watching it go round. I’d self-taught myself CAD because I was prototyping racing frames for FPV, so I already knew how to do CAD, but I learnt how to run the slicers, how to run the printers, then got myself my own 3D printer at home, so now I can print off custom parts for different things.
“The CAD training here at the UTC was exceptional and to be able to showcase some of those things, especially at interviews, was great. When they asked me what projects I’d done, I could show them my CAD project. Also, with MPAC Lambert being a partner of the UTC, it was already a foot in the door. They know if you’re coming from UTC you’ve had exposure to top tier kit.”
The brief for Daniel’s CAD Project was to design a steering wheel for the Formula 24 Green Power racing series. He said, “We designed some prototypes and put them through some stress testing in CAD to look at where we could improve them, then came up with a final assembly drawing with all the nuts and bolts. I really enjoyed that project. Because I do lot of 3D printing, I did 3D print the core components of the steering wheel which are still here at the UTC.”
Daniel also did a team-based manufacturing project to produce desk lamps: “We were six people in our team. Each person was given a different part of the product to produce. I was turning the feet for the bottom, someone else was making the base, someone was doing the laser cutting for the shade surround, someone was doing the 3D printing of the actual shade, and then it was a team effort to wire them all up and get them working. We had a day off normal lessons to do it all in one hit, which was good. It was enjoyable.”
