A Western Isles school has put itself at the forefront of technology by entering a national competition with their 3D printer.
A group of four pupils from Liniclate School on Benbecula made the long journey to Murrayfield in Edinburgh to take part in the Celebrating Engineering event earlier this month.
Pupils had been given the task of designing, manufacturing and testing a working water pump using a 3D printer, and they came second in the national competition.
The school has been provided with a 3D printer and Mr Fraser – head of the Art and Technical Faculty, has been working with a group of pupils regularly on a Friday afternoon after school on the project.
The group have put in a lot of time and effort into the research and design of their pump and following some initial problems with the 3D printer, some successful prototypes were printed.
On the day of the competition the school’s Young Engineers club set up their pump and explained the design process to the judges, who were impressed by the quality of work that the boys had produced.
With the motor and tubes connected, the pump ran well and impressed judges and other groups with the flow rate produced.
The design ended up winning second place in the national competition.