Nordson
We engineer, manufacture and market differentiated products used for dispensing adhesives, coatings, sealants, biomaterials and other materials
Our Scholarships
Placement Location
Southampton, Colchester or Aylesbury
Type of Placements Offered
• Summer placements only
Restrictions/Notes
Who we are and what we do
Nordson Corporation delivers precision technology solutions to help customers succeed worldwide. We engineer, manufacture and market differentiated products used for dispensing adhesives, coatings, sealants, biomaterials and other materials; for fluid management; for test and inspection; and for UV curing and plasma surface treatment.
Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, USA, we have operations and support offices in more than 30 countries.
The UK based Test and Inspection division has a strong portfolio of award winning products for destructive and non-destructive mechanical testing and inspection of electronic components.
With its self-contained R&D facilities in Colchester and Southampton, and manufacturing site in Aylesbury, Nordson DAGE has developed world-leading products for testing wire bonds on semiconductor packages such as BGA, Chip Scale Packages (CSP) and other electronic components, and an excellent suite of award-winning X-ray inspection equipment targeted at both the Semiconductor and PCBA markets.
In 2020, Nordson acquired vivaMOS, which became part of the Test and Inspection division within Nordson’s Advanced Technology Solutions segment.
What you could be doing during your work placement
You will be gaining work experience in semiconductor design, electronics design, and testing, and new product development (CMOS image sensors, X-ray Tube systems and wire bond test systems).
Meet one of our Scholars
Name: Rachel
Sponsor: Nordson
University: Newcastle University
Degree Course: Electronics and Computer Engineering with Industrial Project MEng
Why I chose Electronics
I first became interested in Electronics when, just before Sixth Form, I realised I wanted to do something more physically practical than Computer Science. This led me to explore engineering options where I chose Electronics as I thought it would be the best of both worlds. The combination of problem solving, design, maths, programming, and practical lab-work really appealed to me.
Why I chose Nordson
Despite having not previously heard of Nordson, I found the wide variety of products the company creates extremely interesting. I wanted to work somewhere like Nordson where there is always lots going on and almost every day is different. Working there has given me a broad spectrum of experience and I am looking forward to see what next year’s internship will bring.
My work and responsibilities
During my internship I had my own project to work on which was part of a greater company project. I had to design and build a rig which provided motor and sensor control. I then work on programming a GUI for various sequences to read data from the sensor in specified locations on a sample part. I had a wide variety of tasks to do as a part of the project and improved upon and learnt a range of skills from it such as cable making, 3D printing and C++ programming.
My interests
Outside of studying/working I enjoy being an active member of two sports clubs – Karate, which I am president of this year, and Kayaking.
Meet one of our Engineers
Name: George
Job Title: Product Development Engineer
Why did I choose my degree/career?
At school I knew I was more interested in the sciences and maths. Chemistry was my weakest point, so I knew if I were going to university, it would be between electrical, mechanical or computer engineering. Much of what I had at home and at school was with microcontrollers, and this had piqued my interest. Mechanical was more of a hobby, and computer engineering is something that can be self-taught. So, I went to Sheffield for Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The more I studied at university, particularly into the 4th year, my interest in embedded systems and system design grew.
What’s it like to work for Nordson Dage?
Whilst I can’t say how my experience compares to other companies, I can say that I very much enjoyed my time at Nordson during my 2 UKESF summer placements. I was given autonomy to work to the goals as I saw fit, with regular check ins, to ensure that I was heading in the right direction. I loved working with my team in Colchester, who were very charismatic and entertaining, and we even had a few pub lunches on a Friday!
What do I do?
It’s only been a few days since I started my permanent role with Nordson, so the next few sentences will briefly describe what I’ve worked on during my internships.
The first summer I was in charge of characterising the dynamic performance gained from an improved stiffness carbon frame. I tracked the movements for settling time, repeatability and sphericity using 3d tracking cameras and wrote the data processing models in MATLAB. In the second year I helped a first year UKESF student build a prototype pick and place machine, wire up the motion control cabinet, as well as commission motor drives on other test systems that I had experience with from the first year.
Advice for current students?
I have only 2 pieces of advice:
- Take every engineering opportunity you can.
- Even the most boring modules still deserve attention. They are the ones that just trying a bit more will yield the best gains.