CAD/CAM: A New Dimension in Design and Manufacturing

Many a great idea has first taken shape as a simple drawing sketched by hand on a piece of paper, but in an increasingly high-tech world, such drawings are more often being created-or at the very least perfected-with the aid of a computer. And in today's highly automated workplace, manufacturing a

Computer-aided design (CAD), sometimes called computer-aided drafting or CADD (computer-aided design and drafting), uses computer-based tools to design products. The projects that result from computer-aided design span a wide spectrum, since these drawings may be architectural, mechanical, electrical or another form of design communication.

Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) uses computer-based tools or systems in the manufacturing process. Whether the manufacturing process is implemented in a machine shop or a woodworking shop, whether the material is metal, wood, glass or plastic, the technical drawing and design is the starting point if the result is to be a product of quality and precision. Computer-control programmers and operators use computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines to cut and shape precision products. This work requires careful planning and preparation, along with knowledge of the working properties of the specific material.

As the connection between CAD/CAM software and CNC machine tools has grown, so has productivity in the American workplace, enabling our nation to compete more effectively in the global market.

In a report called "Why Do We Need Manufacturing Technology Made in America?" the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) notes, "The ability to build machines and machine parts with tolerances as small as a micron has enabled those who use American-made manufacturing technology to design, build and deliver ever more efficient, durable, productive and precision products to customers in this country and around the world."

According to AMT, as a result of the efficiencies delivered by machine tools that are capable of high speed and extraordinary precision and flexibility, nearly $1 trillion was contributed to the American economy during the latter half of the 1990s.

There are great benefits as well for those who enter careers in this field. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook, workers not only earn good wages, but, "Job opportunities should be excellent, as employers are expected to continue to have difficulty finding qualified workers."

The Association for Manufacturing Technology agrees with that assessment and notes that manufacturing employees enjoy annual salaries and benefits that average $54,000. Those benefits include opportunities for advanced training and education.

This is a field in which today's employers are looking for workers who have highly developed technical skills in order to diagnose and solve quality-control and production problems, and those are the skills learned in career and technical education programs. Such a program might include courses in 2D and 3D drafting and modeling, high-level computer skills, blueprint reading, physics, and math courses such as alge-bra, geometry and trigonometry. Students who do well in these programs can take a certification exam in AutoCAD, the manufacturing engineering technology program that prepares students for entry-level positions in the production, quality control and maintenance areas of manufacturing.

Like most technical careers today, this is a field that will require workers to continue updating their skills in response to new automation and changing technologies. This training is usually available at local technical schools or through an equipment manufacturer, but as noted by AMT, the employer, who recognizes the benefits for the company as well as for the employee, often reimburses the cost for this training.

The work done by these skilled technicians does not benefit only their employers, however. According to AMT, some of the products created as a result of the use of CAD/CAM are found in planes such as the F-22, as well as other jet fighters, weapons systems and classified projects needed to keep our nation safe. In answering the question about why we need manufacturing technology made in America, AMT says, "American manufacturers of machine tools and other manufacturing technology play a vital role in the nation's security."

It is helping keep our economy strong, and it is helping keep our country safe. That's how important it is-and that's how important career and technical education is.

A HIGH SCHOOL LEADS A STATE INITIATIVE

The Russell County Career and Technology Center has, throughout its history, faced changes in the workplace and has adjusted its programs in response to those changes. First established as the Russell County Vocational School in 1964, the school then had five trade programs-auto mechanics, cosmetology, building trades, electricity and maintenance. Almost immediately, the school found itself so much in demand that a new facility had to be constructed to meet the needs of the surrounding area.

When the new school opened in 1971, machine shop, electronics, occupational foods and occupational clothing programs were added to the curriculum, and students spent one-half day taking academic courses at their home high schools with the other half of the day at the career school. In 1 976, a second building was completed for the prevocational program for students in grades eight-10.

When the name of the school was changed in 1998 to Russell County Career and Technology Center (RCCTC), that was not the only change occurring at the school. RCCTC became the first operational pilot site and lead school for a statewide manufacturing technology Initiative. The manufacturing technology program at RCCTC became so successful that it was recognized by the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education (NDCCTE) as a national "Promising Program" for 2001.

When it named the two-year integrated manufacturing program at RCCTC as promising, NDCCTE noted that the program addresses the skills required by the precision manufacturing industries in the community, with students able to obtain nationally recognized certification through the VTECS "Building Linkages" program.

According to NDCCTE, "The strengths of the program include: a course of study that reflects manufacturing skills standards, state-of-the-art equipment, articulation agreements with postsecondary institutions, and extensive partnerships with business and industry-assuring that industry needs are met and that the program contributes to the community's ability to attract new business."

In industrial design, students in the RCCTC program learn the use of 2D and 3D CAD as well as parametric design software, and CNC machines are incorporated into their training.

Instructor William Meade was a shop teacher who became involved with computers about 12 years ago and finds the program he teaches now to be much more interesting than his previous traditional woodworking class. Now the equipment he is using includes the LabVolt 5500 lathe and 5600 mill. The software is a combination of LabVolt Level 4 and Virtual Gibbs. Currently, they are using CAD 14 from LabVolt, but Meade notes that the company recently came out with an upgrade, so he is now in discussions about an upgrade for his school's program.

According to the course outline, students become familiar with industrial design, quality systems, electrical and mechanical support systems, automation and material handling, and manufacturing processes. They participate in activities involving electrical, mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic systems and learn techniques of automated material handling and manufacturing processes through hands-on activities in programming robots, conveyors and other material-handling devices.

Meade says that it's not always easy for the students to learn these things at first, but "once they get started, they learn quite a bit about how things are done in this industry."

In bestowing the exemplary or promising designation on a program, NDCCTE looks at articulation agreements the school has with postsecondary institutions, and RCCTC met this requirement because of its articulation agreements with Mountain Empire Community College and Southwest Virginia Community College. Through these agreements, students in the manufacturing technology program at RCCTC can earn 12 credit hours in the manufacturing technology associate degree program at Mountain Empire Community College. At Southwest Virginia Community College, they can earn 10 credit hours in the computer-aided drafting and design associate degree program and seven credit hours in the electrical/electronics technology associate degree program.

Meade says this is a "wonderful program," but admits he has to work to keep his skills updated "just to stay one step ahead of the kids."

That's why he usually spends a week each summer at the LabVolt facility in New Jersey. Instructors who come from all across the Eastern Seaboard use the week working in certain areas and on specific problems they may have encountered during the school year.

Career and technical educators often help one another when it comes to solving problems, and Meade has at least one other instructor in his state with whom he shares such a working relationship. This type of cooperative problem solving, along with his model of lifelong learning, sets a great example for his students. Add the in-demand technical skills the Russell County Career and Technology Center offers, and you have a program designed to manufacture success for its students.

DESIGNING A HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM

Career and technical education students often receive opportunities in high school that can set them on the path to both higher education and future career success, and that is certainly the case with the computer-aided manufacturing class at Kewaskum High School in Kewaskum, Wisconsin.

In a program that began in the fall of 2001, Kewaskum High School technical education instructor Patrick Moerchen began teaching the class using SURF-CAM software. He supplies his students with the necessary computer instruction that, in turn, provides the foundation for the students to begin designing their own parts and projects.

"The beauty of this class is that five miles from our school is the only tool and die design school in the state," says Moerchen.

Four times during the semester-long course, students travel to Moraine Park Technical College, site of the Applied Manufacturing Technology Center, where they download their designs onto the CNC milling machines and lathes, program the machines and create the projects. The technical school's professors provide instruction for the students while they are at the center.

Moerchen says, "This course is a joint effort between our high school and Moraine Park Technical College," and notes he has been unable to find another type of program like this anywhere, with the students receiving both high school and college credit for their efforts.

He also notes the positive relationship between business and career and technical education. Moerchen works part time for MGS Mfg. Group (www.mgstech.com) and adds that the company has donated a lot of time and money to his school, as well as setting up a foundation to help further the tool and die and plastic injection molding industry.

Moerchen also credits the administration and staff at Kewaskum High School with having the vision for such a progressive program and is grateful for the support they have given him. In recognition of his efforts, the school even nominated him for the 2003 Herb Kohl Wisconsin Teacher of the Year Award.

When the Kewaskum program began, the Applied Manufacturing Technology Center (AMTC) was still under construction, so the students were taught in the existing building, but now they train in the new facility.

The Applied Manufacturing Technology Center at Moraine Park Technical College is a 42,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art center. The CNC lab comprises 6,000 square feet of the facility and features 14 CNC machines in the CNC lab and six in the tool and die facility.

When it was established, the AMTC combined the tool and die making, tool and die design, and CNC programmer operator programs, each of which is two years long and had been available at Moraine Park. Apprenticeship-related courses include tool and die making, sinker electrical discharge machining, wire electrical discharge machining, CNC machine tool, CAD, CAM and train the trainer.

The center features day and night classes and both full-time programs and custom training workshops. Completion of the two-year Machining Technician program results in a technical diploma. According to Jim Hokenson, Machining Technician CNC instructor, Moraine Park has the only tool and die design associate's degree program in the state of Wisconsin.

In the manufacturing, CNC and tool and die courses, the software the students use includes Mastercam, SURF-CAM and ESPRIT-and Hokenson says they have just started implementing SolidWorks into the manufacturing design area. The software used in the tool and die design program includes SolidWorks, AutoCAD, AutoDesk Inventor, Pro/ENGINEER and Unigraphics.

The manufacturing course schedule at Moraine Park includes classes in AutoCAD, basic machining applications, basic programming, design for 3D machining and classes on quality control and improvement. Integrated manufacturing-planning provides students with the opportunity to take a project concept to the point where it is designed and its machine process is planned. Classes in statistical process control help students develop an understanding of the fundamentals of statistics and their application to process control and quality.

MANUFACTURING SUCCESS

Moerchen says that the area from Chicago to Green Bay is one of the tool and die strongholds in the United States, and the Moraine Park Web site notes that southeastern Wisconsin is internationally known for its machine tool industry. One of the important keys to success in attracting an industry to a certain area is the availability of a well-trained workforce. Because business and community leaders from the local area recognized this, they worked closely with the leadership at Moraine Park to formulate the vision and the plan for creating the new AMTC. Industry leaders such as the National Tooling and Machining Association, the Tool and Die Making Association of Wisconsin, the American Mold Builders Association, and the Association of Manufacturing Technology were also involved in the planning process.

Hokenson notes that the college remains responsive to the needs of local industry. If a new software or other technology enters the workplace and the Advisory Board sees a need for people to be trained in it, then, says Hokenson, "We get it and bring our instructors up to speed."

He also notes, "We try to keep our teaching material consistent with industry."

The need to keep the instructors on the same page with current industry needs can result in the instructors traveling out of state to the facility of a software manufacturer or distributor for training. Other times a manufacturer will send a representative of the company to the college to provide onsite training.

All of this is necessary because, as Hokenson explains, there have been major changes in the field just in the last five years, with more technological advancement in computers and in the machines themselves.

"The equipment is better, the tooling is better, the machine itself is better," says Hokenson, "and they are all evolving at an incredible rate."

Enrollments in the school's Machining Technician program have experienced a steady growth, and the new Applied Manufacturing Technology Center allows Moraine Park to provide training for an additional 200 full-time equivalent students per year, as well as providing continuing education for the existing workforce in order to increase manufacturing productivity.

"Local industry is very, very happy with what we've done," Hokenson notes with pride.

As for the placement rate of the graduating students, Hokenson says, "All of our students are employed well before the last month of their tour here."

As April nears, he strongly encourages his students to get jobs lined up, and he works with them on an individual basis to find the best placements for them and introduces them to the prospective employers.

Also contributing to the high placement rate is the fact that all of the students have portfolios that they present to the Advisory Board in the spring. The portfolios demonstrate in a concrete way the knowledge and skills the students have acquired.

After a typical student portfolio presentation to the Advisory Board, Hokenson notes, "One member made it clear he would hire those students on the spot."

BENEFITING THE COMMUNITY AND THE NATION

There are now four other schools in addition to Kewaskum High School that send students to the college for training: West Bend High School, Hartford High School, Slinger High School and Princeton High School. Moraine Park was able to get seats of the SURFCAM software at a reduced rate and then the college placed them in the high schools.

Hokenson says of this collaborative effort, "It has been working really well."

From creating the spark of interest in high school students to giving workers in the industry the updated training they need, Moraine Park Technical College and its Applied Manufacturing Technology Center are ensuring that the manufacturing industry in their state will remain strong.

When Hokenson talks about his program at Moraine Park Technical College, he talks about how it exists for "the better good of the community." But he also sees it as contributing to "the common cause of the manufacturing base in this country."

This is one of a number of career and technical education programs that are introducing students across the country to computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing, and when they enter the workforce as skilled employees of the manufacturing industry, these students will become an important part of the economic strength and national security of our nation.

Additional Resources

To learn more about some of the companies whose products are used in CAD/CAM, visit these Web sites.

Autodesk, Inc.

www.usa.autodesk.com

ESPRIT

www.dptechnology.com

Gibbs

www.gibbsnc.com

LabVolt

www.labvot.com

Mastercam

www.mastercam.com

PTC

www.ptc.com

SolidWorks

www.solidworks.com

Surfware

www.surfware.com

Tech Ed Concepts

www.TECedu.com