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| “We are not teaching software. We are teaching the intelligent use of software. Mastercam allows students to become more powerful, turning their design ideas into reality. Mastercam allows students to become better engineers.” |
- Arif Sirinterlikci, Dir of Engineering Laboratories
Robert Morris University
Pittsburgh, PA |
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At Robert Morris University’s School of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science, in Pittsburgh, PA, Mastercam CAD/CAM software is being used as a tool to bridge the theoretical aspects of engineering education with practical real-world applications. |
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Winston Erevelles, a Dean of the university said, “Mastercam has been our CAM software of choice since the inception of our program in 1999. It has so many uses, whether it is modeling, generating code, visualization, or generating robust STL (stereo lithography) files. Mastercam also has a post processor that is very open to customization. This allows people like us, who run an integrated learning factory with an automated machining and assembly cell, to customize the post processor to interface with our robots and PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers).”
Engineering at Robert Morris University is highlighted by small class sizes, personalized attention, dedicated faculty, and excellent laboratory facilities, called the Learning Factory, that are used in every undergraduate engineering course. Students head to the Learning Factory where they use industrial-grade software and equipment to conduct research or solve actual problems that reflect their classroom work.
Other members of the RMU faculty corroborated the versatility and usefulness of Mastercam for a wide range of educational purposes within this close-knit learning environment.
“Philosophically, RMU is about problem-solving. Software is not a substitute for thinking but a valuable tool to augment thinking, to expand thinking. Without the tool, we can work on a simple problem only. With the tool, we can work on a more challenging problem or on different facets of the same problem,” said Joe Iannelli, Engineering Department Head.
“What I like about Mastercam is that it offers versatile surface modeling capabilities, and I ask students to use these capabilities very early in their RMU education,” said Arif Sirinterlikci, Director of the Engineering Laboratories. “I think this is very important because engineering students tend to lack surface modeling experience, so I have embedded in the course a good number of examples they can actually use.”
Sirinterlikci also commented on the pervasive use of Mastercam evaluating and solving problems: “Mastercam allows us to explore questions like: In how many different ways can this machine work? What tool combinations can I use? Can I, on the fly, change my speeds and feeds to make a better product or a lower-cost product? Can we apply more intelligence to the process? A student can evaluate a variety of alternate competing scenarios and then pick the one that optimally solves the problem that she or he is investigating.”
RMU’s theoretical-to-practical approach to engineering education has been a big success. Since 2003, the engineering program at Robert Morris University (RMU) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has placed all of its graduates directly into engineering roles with manufacturing companies such as US Steel, Curtiss-Wright, Raytheon, Honeywell, FedEx, and Schoeder Industries, or into advanced degree programs. |