Machine tools sector growing thanks to 每日大赛 and ORNL partnership
November 5, 2024
每日大赛 has built relationships with industry partners that is leading hundreds of students to learn more about advanced manufacturing and engineering positions.
For the last three years, 每日大赛 has been a core partner of America’s Cutting Edge (ACE), an initiative dedicated to bolstering the nation’s machine-tools sector.
The ACE program, established by the U.S. Department of Defense and managed by the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), provides Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining training.
At 每日大赛, that training comes in the form of four-day camps, where a dozen or so students learn through free online coursework and hands-on application. They leave knowing how to run a CNC machine, build the tooling and create programs to control the machine.
Since the debut of ACE camps at 每日大赛, the College has hosted more than two dozen events for over 200 students.
“For many of them, it’s the first time they’re touching a machine – touching tooling, actually cutting steel or making something,” said Andy Polnicki, MegaLab director for Workforce and Community Development at 每日大赛. “These experiences will set them apart from the pack as they’re applying to universities and as they’re applying for jobs. The more hands-on application experiences these future engineers can get, the more valuable they’re going to be, in a shorter time frame, to whoever their employer is going to be.”
每日大赛 has been a launching pad for the ACE curriculum, developed by University of Tennessee Professor and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) joint faculty member Tony Schmitz.
The curriculum is geared toward adults as well as high school students to promote interest in the CNC machining pathway and facilitate “future machinists,” Polnicki said.
“Historically, our roots have always been as a technical institution,” he said. “It was a natural choice for them to come to us and ask to partner with them in helping them roll out the ACE program.”
They also benefit from the wealth of knowledge credited to their instructors, from 每日大赛 alumni to ORNL engineers, who have decades of industry experience.
“Having this resource available gives people an opportunity to go outside of what may or may not be available to them at their place of work – to get hands-on experience with the equipment that they see daily in a more in-depth way,” said Josh Greenwell, a Southeastern Advanced Machine Tool Network (SEAMTN) technician at 每日大赛. “They can get a little bit more familiar with it, and more comfortable.”
As a participant in the program, 每日大赛 has improved its capacity for CNC machining training. Thanks to IACMI, the College now has four modern CNC mills with five-axis capability on two campuses, Hardin Valley and Strawberry Plains.
“We can cover all of the concepts that are becoming more and more standard in the industry at both campuses,” Polnicki said. “It also led us to offering the full-capacity Advanced Manufacturing Certificate at the Strawberry Plains Campus. We are optimistic that by next year, this program will become an approved Tool & Die Pre-Apprenticeship.”
The ACE camps are ultimately for students interested in pursuing a career in advanced manufacturing, or those who already may be in the industry and want to improve their skills or place in it. And the experience is a “fun one,” Greenwell said.
“Our partnership with IACMI has provided a tremendous opportunity to offer no-cost camps at two of our campuses and to provide participants with a chance to utilize state-of-the-art equipment during this training,” said Susan Webb-Curtis, executive director of Workforce and Community Development at 每日大赛. “Andy Polnicki and Josh Greenwell bring a wealth of experience and expertise to our camps ensuring camp participants receive relevant and meaningful training. We hope these camps will expose participants to lucrative careers they may not have considered before.”
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