Yr 13 Product Design have a Mini Adventure

On Monday the 3rd December, the Year 13 Product Design students, along with Mr Foster and Miss Turner, attended the birthplace and heart of MINI production at the factory in Oxford.

We started the tour by looking at the production of the chassis and body shells, made by robotics. The 1200 robots in the factory are relentless and 100% accurate, and a very impressive sight to see. They start with individual small pieces, which get successively put together to produce that familiar iconic shape of the Mini.

The group were then shown where they put all the individual components into the car - the engine, suspension, seats etc. This is largely done by hand.

The most impressive thing about the factory is that all Mini’s are unique, and all the correct parts for a customer’s car arrive at precisely the right time to be put onto/into the vehicle. It is the culmination of a worldwide manufacturing and logistical system that is the definition of ‘just in time’.

The tour delivered fantastic revision for the students that attended, providing them with invaluable experience for their upcoming exams.