Huddersfield-based engineering firm Accu, which supplies precision components to half of the world’s leading manufacturers, is set to showcase its latest innovations and inspire the next generation of makers at this year’s Makers Central event at the NEC in Birmingham on 17th and 18th May.
The company will bring its cutting-edge engineering to life through live demonstrations of its custom-built combat robots, the AccuBots. Designed using 3D printing and assembled with Accu components, these ant weight robots will be battling it out across the weekend in an action-packed display of precision and power.
Visitors to Accu’s stand will also get hands-on with the technology behind the bots, with opportunities to build their own modular combat robots and speak directly with Accu engineers about how modern manufacturing is being driven by precision engineering.
Alastair Morris, Managing Director of Accu, said: “We’re thrilled to be a part of Makers Central this year. It is a fantastic opportunity to connect with makers of all backgrounds, to showcase our latest innovations and inspire young minds to explore the endless possibilities in manufacturing and engineering. We’re particularly excited to give visitors the opportunity to try their hand at our robot fighting experience, whilst inspiring the next generation about how precision engineering can answer some of industry’s greatest challenges.”
To take the experience even further, Accu has teamed up with Kids Invent Stuff, the popular online initiative where young inventors aged 4 to 11 see their wildest design ideas brought to life. Ahead of the event, the Kids Invent Stuff team has been visiting schools across the country to collect robot designs from pupils, some of which will be built by Accu’s engineers in collaboration with inventor and presenter Ruth Amos.
The selected designs will be unveiled at Makers Central, where they’ll take centre stage in the robot arena alongside the AccuBots. Last year, Kids Invent Stuff drew more than 1,000 families to its stand, and this year’s partnership with Accu aims to offer even more inspiration and interaction.
Ruth Amos, Director at Kids Invent Stuff, said: “Our team is having lots of fun collecting invention ideas for this challenge, it is great to see how engaged they have been and how excited the grown-ups are with the robot wars nostalgia. We’re really excited to be partnering with Accu on this project and looking forward to showcasing the partnership at Makers Central.”
Makers Central is a well-established celebration of creativity, engineering and innovation. The family-friendly event attracts thousands of attendees from around the world, with a vibrant mix of workshops, live demonstrations and meet-and-greets with well-known content creators and inventors such as Colin Furze, Jimmy Diresta, and Nick Zammeti.
For Accu, the event is not only a chance to demonstrate its technical capabilities but also a strategic way to engage young talent and raise awareness about the role of precision components in solving modern industrial challenges.
As the sector continues to evolve and push boundaries, businesses like Accu are playing a key role in encouraging fresh thinking and making engineering more accessible, fun, and future-focused.
