Students take field trip to Caterpillar UK facilities

Mech Eng students discussing with current Caterpillar Graduate Engineers over lunch

On 2 May 2018, 20 Mechanical Engineering students and staff visited the Caterpillar Europe Research and Design Centre in Peterborough.

The Caterpillar facilities in Peterborough host highly skilled researchers and engineers who are working on meeting the environmental and sustainability challenges of the future. The location factory also produces around 350 000 industrial diesel engines every year, with applications in off-road machines, construction, mining, power generation and other areas.

Imperial students had the opportunity to go on behind-the-scenes tours of the factory and the European Research and Design Centre (ERDC), including engine test cells and laboratories. The visitors also attended talks from Caterpillar managers and engineers, one of whom is an Imperial Mech Eng alumnus.

Here is what students had to say about the trip:

“I learnt about the applications of what I am learning about now as a first year student, which helps me keep faith that there is more to engineering than tutorial sheets. As well as this, I also learnt the scope of what I don't know, explaining why so many companies don't take first year interns!"

Mody Wong (First year student)

“The trip gave me insights on the procedures taken to ensure the engines manufactured live up to expectations. The research and experiments they are working on were also very interesting."

Bingru Liu (First year student)

“I was able to understand the background of the construction/mining vehicle industry. Technology for fuel economy/exhaust gas treatment/durability is very important.

 “I was impressed by the persistence to quality/efficiency/safety in the engine factory. My image of a factory was fully automated. However, important steps are still carried out and monitored by workers. I believe it needs a wide range of know-how and rules to supply vehicles with the great same quality all over the world.”

 Mao Ueda (PhD student)

The visit was organised by Guy Blundell, Charlotte Higgins and Allan Saville at the ERDC, and Aaron Costall, Dominika Pocsova, and Guillermo Rein from our department. Caterpillar is a long term research partner of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial, as funders of the Innovation and Research Centre led by Professor Ricardo Martinez-Botas and Dr Aaron Costall. Informal enquiries about industrial placements and Caterpilar's graduate scheme may be made via Dr Costall (a.costall@imperial.ac.uk).

Trips to industry facilities from a diversity of engineering areas will continue to happen in the department in the future; students can sign up to attend on a first-come, first-serve basis.