 MSU-based center helps Helena teachers with real world industrial technology
A center based at Montana State University is helping industrial technology education teachers in the state to see and learn more about computer technology in industry. Montana Manufacturing Education Center, often called MMEC, and Mike Shyne, one of MMEC's field engineers, recently worked with a group of industrial technology teachers from Helena on the topic of CAD/CAM, computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing, training in public school courses. Shyne also helped arrange a teachers' tour of industries in the state using CAD/CAM to raise awareness of the importance of the technology. The group tour was organized by Jim Weber, an industrial technology teacher at Helena Middle School, who has taught three technical workshops for public school teachers in his school district this year. Weber presently has the only CAD/CAM learning center in the Helena school district and is working to broaden training in the area. A mix of math, science, and industrial arts teachers participated in the workshops and concluded with tours of several Bozeman-area manufacturing plants that use the technology. Shyne is in the MMEC home office at Montana State University-Bozeman, one of five field locations across the state. He and the other MMEC engineers make house calls to manufacturers. The engineers see this technology at work everyday, and helping others to understand manufacturing today is an important part of the MMEC's mission. "CAD/CAM technologies increase the speed, accuracy and repeatability of production," Shyne told the teachers. "These days, customers demand that 'perfectly built guitar' or that 'laser that stays aligned' regardless of where it is installed, and Montana companies are meeting those demands with the help of CAD/CAM technology. "It also reduces the cost of production and product development in the long term. With fierce competition from foreign suppliers, we need to keep the manual labor content of our domestically produced products in proper balance, or it becomes difficult to compete. These tools play an ever-increasing role in manufacturing today." Weber's workshops also toured Gibson Guitar Corp. and Big Sky Laser Technologies in Bozeman and Dynojet Research in Belgrade. Each tour offered a slightly different perspective on using the technology in its processes. At Gibson Guitar, programming engineer Lynn pointed out some of the complex design areas on a Gibson guitar that are more easily worked in CAD, notably the spot where the neck joins the guitar body. At Big Sky Laser Technologies, where Shyne was once director of engineering, the teachers saw leading-edge solid state laser designs coming together. Yet another aspect of CAD/CAM technology was explored at Dynojet Research, Inc. which produces products for the automotive and motorcycle industries. Joe Evers, a mechanical engineer for the company, introduced the group to the CAD package, Solidworks, and explained how it integrates into design work and new products. The tours emphasized the real-world uses and benefits of CAD/CAM in manufacturing today. Teachers from Helena High School, Helena Middle School, C.R. Anderson Middle School and Capitol High School participated. -- Deborah Nash
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