The Machine Tool Technology program brought home the prize for “Best Student CNC Project” at the 2013 Haas Technical Education Centers (HTEC) National Conference held July 15 in Edmonton, Alberta.
The conference was hosted at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), a leader in supplying trained machinists and operators to support the booming oil industry. “Filling the Manufacturing Pipeline” was the theme of the conference to discuss both the actual oil pipeline and advocating for how to get skilled workers to fill these jobs.
Prior to the conference the Machine Tool Technology program, led by Senior Machine Tool Technology Instructor Brian Nelsen and Dean of Robotics & Manufacturing E.J. Daigle, worked with Dunwoody Youth Career Awareness Program (YCAP) students to design and build coasters using Solidworks design software and Haas CNC machines.
“The goal of the project was to get YCAP students interested in manufacturing from design to build,” said Daigle. “It worked so well we decided to use this project as an entry for the CNC Student Project competition.”
A total of four awards were given at the conference for outstanding CNC projects. Dunwoody brought 100 sample coasters with next year’s conference dates to give out to attendees.
Daigle said conference attendees shared positive comments about the project and were happy to take home a memento.
The prize for winning was a $2,000 Haas CNC simulator that allows students to debug code before entering the lab to make parts.
“With the increased enrollment in the Machine Tool program this will allow even more students access to a CNC control panel outside of their normal lab hours,” Daigle said.
The 2014 HTEC National Conference will be hosted at Dunwoody.
