In higher education, the gap between theory and practice is often a chasm. At the University of Bath’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, faculty members bridge this gap by prioritizing hands-on learning.
To turn abstract concepts into physical reality, they provide students with Brickwith technical parts as their primary building tools. This approach ensures students are not just observers, but active creators.
Instead of using pre-packaged "black box" solutions, the university utilizes our catalog of standard technical parts to let students build complex mechanical systems from scratch.
This case study examines why these parts became a staple in their curriculum and how Brickwith’s service upgrade is enhancing the efficiency of large-scale educational delivery.
Why Brickwith for Engineering?
Selecting the right parts is critical for maintaining academic rigor.
The University of Bath chose Brickwith for their second-year "Control and Mechatronics" course because they needed a reliable supplier for a rigorous engineering program.
A major factor was the professional performance of the pieces.
As the instructors noted, while the parts might look like toys, they possess the same essential characteristics of any engineering system, such as friction, inertia, and response time.
This ensures the learning experience remains grounded in practical physics.
Brickwith Precision Parts Mechanical Structure Demo
The department also avoids pre-assembled gear. They want to avoid a "‘black box’ that we put on the table in front of them."
Students must assemble and tune the systems themselves. Through this, students gain "valuable insight about things like measurement noise and what engineers can do to work around real-life issues."
Ultimately, the university chose Brickwith because the "part selection, part quality, and stock levels would be suitable for our big order."
Reliable brick parts are the foundation of a successful experiment.
Large-Scale Supply
A key highlight of this collaboration was the scale of the implementation.
To support the course's seesaw experiment, where students design a PID controller to balance a cart on a tilting platform, the University placed a significant order of approximately 32 kilograms of parts, totaling around $3,000.
Our vast parts catalog and Infinite Mode availability ensured that every specific part needed was available for delivery.
This high-volume capacity allowed the university to move away from limited shared resources and toward a more robust, individual learning environment.
The competitive pricing of these brick parts created a transformative advantage for both the faculty and the students. Because our parts provide such excellent value, the project became highly cost-effective.
Unlike expensive off-the-shelf kits that students must disassemble and return at the end of a semester, our pricing allowed the university to provide "each of them [300 to 350 students] gets their own" set to build, experiment with, and ultimately keep for further study and practice.
Smarter Part Sorting
One of the biggest logistical hurdles in large-scale engineering projects is the "sorting phase."
Many educators and project leads find themselves spending days organizing thousands of pins, beams, and gears before a single student can start building.
As many in the field have experienced, having to "organise almost 350 students picking the right number of bricks and pins from a room full of boxes over the course of several days" is a process that "could be streamlined."
Brickwith has now upgraded our services to eliminate this hassle.
We have integrated an automated smart sorting into our Part List Feature. We now offer "pre-sorted packs" as a standard, built-in benefit of our procurement process—available to everyone, from individual hobbyists to global universities.
When orders are placed via the Part List Feature, they are no longer treated as a mountain of loose pieces.
Instead, parts are organized by list during fulfillment. Every part list is packed separately.
Whether a project requires 10 copies of the same list for a classroom or 10 entirely different lists for various prototypes, each one arrives in its own individual, project-ready package.
There is no longer a need for manual management or tedious "picking" sessions.
The parts arrive ready to be distributed or utilized immediately. This feature removes the sorting hassle of handling bulk boxes, allowing engineers and students to move straight to the core engineering work.
Conclusion
The University of Bath’s Mechanical Engineering Department has demonstrated that with the right selection of parts, the possibilities for hands-on learning are endless.
At Brickwith, we are committed to providing the high-precision parts needed at a price that scales.
Planning a large-scale educational or corporate project?
Explore how our organized packaging can streamline your workflow. Visit our Sorted Parts Bags for Your Business and Projects page to learn more about our automated sorting solutions.
For high-volume projects, we offer tiered pricing—the more you order, the greater the discount. Learn about our automated sorting and start your high-volume order now.
About Brickwith
Brickwith.com is the official destination for premium Gobricks building parts, offering an extensive selection of parts and colors, trusted quality, and tools built for creators. Every order is individually sorted and packed according to your parts list, giving builders a faster, smoother experience from checkout to construction.