Burton and South Derbyshire College Invests in Kimla Blackbird CNC Router

Burton and South Derbyshire College wanted to improve the machinery available to its wood occupations students and replace an older CNC that had become increasingly unreliable.

The college delivers carpentry, bench joinery, site joinery and wood machining training, with a strong focus on giving students practical experience that reflects the equipment and processes they are likely to encounter in the workplace.

Following a visit to one of Daltons' in-house machinery shows, the team began looking at options for a new CNC router that would offer greater reliability, be straightforward for different users to operate and fit within the space available in the workshop.

Choosing the Kimla Blackbird

The college selected a Kimla Blackbird 3-axis CNC router. Ease of use was an important part of the decision, particularly in an education environment where both staff and students need to be able to get to grips with the machine quickly.

The Kimla also offered the performance the college was looking for alongside an unlimited software licence, making it well suited to a multi-user workshop.

“The current software came with the Kimla and it is very easy to learn. I'm quite new to these types of machines and I picked it up quite well, and the students can pick it up quite quickly too.”

Ian Vanes-Jones, Course Leader, Burton and South Derbyshire College

More scope for student projects

Since installation, the Blackbird has been used across a range of student projects as well as work produced for the wider college. This has included plaques and corporate gifts, with plans to open the machine up to students from the creative studios who can develop their own designs before producing them in the workshop.

For Ian Vanes-Jones, Course Leader in Wood Occupations, one of the biggest benefits is giving students access to a modern CNC platform while they are still in training.

“We are trying to get our students job ready. Having a machine they are likely to see out in industry means they can become familiar with programming it, operating it and maintaining it before they move into employment.”

A wider workshop investment

The Kimla formed part of a wider programme of investment in the college workshop. Alongside the CNC router, Burton and South Derbyshire College also purchased a range of conventional woodworking machinery, including a semi-automatic crosscut saw, band resaw, sawbench, mortisers, spindle moulder, surface planer and narrow bandsaws.

Together, the new machines have refreshed the workshop and given students access to a broader range of equipment and practical processes.

“We always encourage further education workshops to invest in quality machinery that reflects what is being used commercially. We were delighted to work with Burton and South Derbyshire College on the project and help them introduce a higher level of equipment into the workshop.”

Andy Walsh, Sales Director, Daltons

Support from enquiry to installation

Support continued beyond the initial machine selection, with Daltons working with the college through installation, training and ongoing technical support.

When the college later needed help with a minor issue, the problem was diagnosed over the phone and the machine was quickly back up and running.

For Burton and South Derbyshire College, the investment has delivered a more reliable CNC solution, increased the capability of the workshop and created more opportunities for students to build practical experience on modern machinery.

For more information about Kimla CNC routers call our team on 0115 986 5201, or email info@daltonsmachines.com.