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| “We count on Mastercam to help us with curriculum design, give us information on new teaching methods, provide us with a better understanding of all the product’s capabilities, and consult with us when we are asking for help in assisting our manufacturing industry partners with CAM-related services. Mastercam proficiency, particularly as evidenced by certification, is a highly valued skill among the manufacturers that have been hiring our students as fast as we can graduate them.” |
- Shaw Reed
Program Director
Machine Technology, AMC |
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The Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC) at the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (SiMT), Florence, SC, straddles two different worlds.
It is an educational facility. It is a manufacturing plant. It also has conference, meeting and convention center facilities to promote the exchange of ideas among academics, industrial suppliers and the manufacturing community. |
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“We designed the AMC – the focal point and the first building at the SiMT site – to be, as much as possible, a real world manufacturing environment,” said Shawn Reed, Program Director, Machine Tool Technology. "And we only teach two college curriculum programs here, engineering technology and machine tools." Half of the focus at the AMC is on the education of students who are either enrolled in a college degree program in engineering technology, machining, or CNC or who are employed by local industry and are participating in continuing education or company-sponsored, customized training programs. The other half’s emphasis is on providing services to partnering manufacturers who might be as far away as Pennsylvania or Florida.
The AMC opened in August of 2007 and includes four centers that provide state-of-the-art resources for 3D/Virtual Reality, Workforce and Leadership Development, Rapid Prototyping and Advanced Manufacturing. "One of our goals is to help attract new industries to our area," said Reed. "For that purpose we are planning to construct a new manufacturing incubator facility. Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2010."
The Advanced Manufacturing Arena in the AMC is heavily oriented toward CNC machining. Students work and study there from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. – almost as if they were working a factory shift. Unlike most real world shops, however, the plant floor is loaded with the best SLA and SLS rapid prototyping, CNC milling, multi-axis machining, turning, waterjet cutting, and EDM technology.
To program these systems, the AMC has 20 seats of Mastercam X3 software (CNC Software, Tolland, CT). Reed says it’s a rare day in the life of the AMC when all of those seats are not fully occupied. Mastercam was selected because of its precision and ease of use and, most importantly, because a majority of local area manufacturers currently use this product.
To improve the credentials of its students in Computer-Aided-Manufacturing, the AMC is now on track to become a Mastercam-Certified training facility with accredited instructors who can provide the same level of instruction and certification as the Mastercam Educational Division facility in Washington State. "We are really emphasizing this because Mastercam certification is like job security for our graduates, said Reed.
A large part of AMC’s success can be attributed to a commitment to partnering. For example, SiMT not only has a relationship with Mastercam's separate educational division but with the local reseller for Mastercam’s educational products as well as the reseller for Mastercam products that are sold directly to manufacturers. Reed said that all of these relationships are important for being able to completely meet the needs of students and the industries that rely on the AMC for manpower, training and manufacturing support.
A school that’s also a factory, as well as a meeting place for academics, industrial suppliers and manufacturers is a fascinating concept, but does it work in actual practice? “Yes it does,” says Reed. And there are numerous success stories from students and partnering manufacturers to prove it. |