Dom,
I recommend that you should get as much info relating to design as possible. The Integrated HND that I completed didn't really help me, what you need to do is to get a job as a part time draughtsman assuming that you're doing a HND and not a HNC and learn from practise as well as discussing design ideas with chief design engineer and machine shop engineers. Here's some recommended books etc.
1. Machinery's Handbook 25th or 26th Edition this book is excellent it has over 2500 pages and covers a vast range of engineering. From strength of mats.,mat properties to gears,bearings,tooling,fasteners,machining,heat treatment,tolerancing etc.
2. Machinery's Handbook Guide.
3. Design for manufacturability the best book i've ever bought. Covers virtually every type of manufacturing process, including feasible tolerances as well as improving machining design.
4. Fundamentals of Machine component design this book covers all aspects of design, from the basic principals to car component design.
5. Manufacturing process reference guide.
6. 11th ed. technical drawing this book is brilliant it covers almost everything with loads and loads of drawings and designs stating materials used heat treatment, tolerancing etc.
7. And finally you want to send of to the following web sites for their handbooks this one very good way of getting an enormous amount of info for free.
1.
free CD with 35 million 2D/3D parts
2.
3. Davall gears don't know website.
4.
5.
6. Wixroyd standard machine parts.
7. Igus they sell all sorts of low maintenance plastic bearings plus energy chains.
8. If you can, you want to get hold of a pack of RS components catalogues, because they have alot of useful stuff.
That's just a things to get you started.
Good Luck
Bryan