This week, Year 13 Design and Technology students visited
Inplas, a plastic fabrication company. The purpose of the trip was to give
students an experience of design and manufacturing in action, as well as an
insight into the latest commercial technologies.
Inplas is a plastic fabrication company that uses the latest
equipment to design and produce high quality prototypes and bespoke products
for a variety of clients. A good deal of their work involves creating props for
the TV and movie industry. For example, the company has been involved in producing props for
18 of the 24 James Bonds films. Inplas are also involved in creating numerous TV studio sets, including ITV's 'Daybreak' (pictured below), BBC's Wimbledon coverage and Channel 4's 'Big Brother'. The company is located
in close proximity to Pinewood studios where a lot of their work ends up.
Mr Trevor Smith, the owner of Inplas and father of James
Smith (Year 10 Welsh) showed the group of ten pupils around the factory. He explained
the nature of the work and how he started in the industry around 23 years ago.
The picture above is a cover that Inplas exclusively produce
for museums and art galleries all over Europe. The plastic material (at a cost
of £4000 per sheet) is the only one available that is 100% UV resistant
therefore able to protect priceless art works from damage while on display.
Mr Smith then demonstrated the effectiveness of his latest
investment, a diamond polishing machine for polishing acrylic to a glass-like
finish. The machine is able to complete jobs in a matter of minutes, that a few
years ago would have taken days. He prides himself on the fact his company is
able to offer his clients what they want when they want it.
The trip was a fantastic opportunity to bring relevance to
the course theory and show it being utilised in commercial manufacturing. Further
information about the company can be found on the Inplas website.