TCT 3Sixty is the UK’s biggest Additive Manufacturing show, and the run-up to it each June causes great excitement in the CREATE Education office, and this year was no different! 

On the 7th and 8th of June 2023, CREATE Education returned to host the Inspired Minds Classroom as part of the two-day TCT 3 Sixty Show held at the NEC in Birmingham.

The TCT Show has over 300 world-leading exhibitors from Additive Manufacturing and Product Development worldwide. We are pleased to be able to give students access to the show through the Inspired Minds Classroom, inspiring them to pursue a career in Engineering or Additive Manufacturing. 

The event is not open to students under 18’s, which meant the students from each of the five colleges that attended our Inspired Minds classroom experience over the two days truly experienced an exclusive insight into the world of Additive Manufacturing and innovative global developments.

This year, we pitched our Inspired Minds Classroom at T Level students. This is the first time we have invited colleges to the event. Still, we felt that students who had already committed to pursuing a career in the Additive Manufacturing sector would be best placed to get the most out of this experience. 

Over the two days, over 80 students from: 

• Cheshire College South and West
• Activate Learning – Reading College 
• Tameside College 
• Petty Pool Vocational College & Outdoor Activity Centre 
• Burnley College 

attended the show! Taking part in activities that CREATE Education had set up uniquely for them, the Post 16 students got a real insight into the world of additive manufacturing! 

Autodesk Sponsored Workshop: Inspired Minds Classroom  

Students took part in a 1-hour workshop sponsored by Autodesk. 

Students were introduced to Autodesk Fusion 360, an industry-standard CAD/CAM 3D design software package, and designed their unique fidget spinner! 

During this event, students were introduced to the model of the fidget spinner, looking at how to design it in the most efficient way using tools built into the software. Through this, CREATE Education instructors Alex and Steve introduced essential design tools that students could apply to any future CAD project while giving them a solid foundation to grow their skills independently.

Students covered constrained sketches, creating 3D bodies from them, and used various tools to optimise design efficiency, such as the circular pattern tool to repeat design parts.

Steve and Alex also discussed how the students could use the software to automatically generate bodies between two models to join them using Fusion360, explaining that this is a huge application in places such as the Airforce or Formula 1 racing. 

At the end of the design stage, the students rendered the models to simulate a life-like result without manufacturing it, reducing time to market and proto-type costs.

CREATE Education Ambassador Panel 

Next, the students got to speak to our panel of experts and listen in on a live debate about the future of Additive Manufacturing! 

We invited over 20 CREATE Education Ambassadors and manufacturing partners to the CREATE Education Ambassador panel. Led by James, Head of Development at CREATE Education, the panel answered five big Additive Manufacturing questions, covering sustainability, the future of Additive Manufacturing, and the challenges faced by the sector. 

Students were able to learn a lot from the expert discussions, and at the end, they were able to question the panel to dig deeper into parts that interested them. 

We want to thank our panel of experts who gave up their time to come and inspire the next generation! Thank you! 

Tour of the Show 

After the Ambassador panel and the Inspired Minds classroom experience, the students were given free time to explore the show and speak to manufacturers, suppliers, and product designers, seeing what they learned in action! 

Feedback! 

We’re glad everyone enjoyed their Inspiring Minds experience at TCT 3 Sixty! Do you want to get involved in next year’s TCT 3Sixty event or the more extensive events that CREATE put on for students and teachers? Keep your eyes peeled for our new events page, where we will regularly update our activities for the coming year: https://www.createeducation.com/events-page/