A series of new AQA-City & Guilds diplomas is being introduced in the UK for students between the ages of 14 – 19 years, and represents the biggest change to the country's education system since the introduction of GCSEs. The new diplomas provide an alternative to traditional learning and include video coverage of subject matter that would be difficult to access locally. In one example of this, Lloyd Instruments’ EZ20 materials testing machine has been featured on a DVD explaining various aspects of materials testing as part of the Advanced Diploma in Engineering.

The DVD was part of a series of two films made at Exeter Advanced Technologies (X-AT) Materials Characterisation Laboratory. These films, ‘Introduction to Materials’ and ‘Materials Testing’ will be available to students in schools throughout the country who are studying the Advanced Diploma in Engineering (equivalent to 3.5  ‘A’-Levels). The Materials Testing DVD covers impact testing and tensile testing. Tensile testing of two different plastic materials (being evaluated for suitability to manufacture a lunch box) is carried out on the EZ20, equipped with NEXYGEN™ advanced machine control and data analysis software.

X-AT, part of the School of Engineering Computer Science and Mathematics (SECaM) within the University of Exeter, was established to help industries improve competitiveness by providing help and advice to develop new products or improve existing ones. The materials testing machines help throughout the manufacturing process, from evaluating raw materials from new suppliers, through monitoring manufacturing processes to quality testing finished products. X-AT specialists can provide expert advice on all aspects of polymers from technical developments to marketing opportunities, training schemes and grants and funding initiatives for new businesses.

The AQA-City & Guilds Engineering Diplomas cover key principles and explore significant aspects of the role of an Engineer including research, design, product development, manufacturing and production. They introduce a range of ideas and concepts and how these impact on the modern world. Learners will explore what makes some innovations succeed and others fail, how new materials contribute to design and how to develop and launch ideas.

X-AT works with a variety of clients, from individual inventors to multi-national corporations and has EZ20 and LR300K materials testing machines from Lloyd instruments. These are used for the determination of fundamental mechanical properties of materials such as strength, strain and elasticity at forces up to 20 kN (4496 lbf) and 300 kN (67443 lbf) respectively. A thermal chamber, TC550, is also available for use with both systems, enabling mechanical testing in the temperature range -70 °C to +300 °C and in controlled environments such as humid / aggressive atmospheres. An MFI-10 melt flow indexer together with NEXYGEN™ software from Lloyd Instruments’ Davenport range of polymer testing equipment, is also available. This is used to measure the melt flow rate and melt volume rate of thermoplastics before use in the manufacturing process.

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Note for Editors 

Lloyd Instruments is a unit of the AMETEK Measurement & Calibration Technologies Division. Chatillon is a registered trademark of AMETEK, Inc.  AMETEK, Inc. is a New York Stock Exchange-listed company and a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electric motors with annual sales of $2.2 billion.  Visit www.lloyd-instruments.com and www.chatillon.com for more information.

Further Enquiries: 

Suzanne Sharpe, Lloyd Instruments Ltd. 12 Barnes Wallis Road, Segensworth East, Fareham, Hants PO15 5TT UK. Tel. +44 (0)1489 486399  Fax. +44 (0)1489 885118 http://www.lloyd-instruments.com E-mail Suzanne.sharpe@ametek.co.uk 

Press Enquiries: 

Denis Bulgin, In Press Public Relations Ltd. PO Box 24, Royston, Herts, SG8 6TT UK. Tel: +44 (0)1763 262621 http://www.inpress.co.uk E-mail: denis@inpress.co.uk