Engineering Graphics Seniors Ready for the Workforce,
Learn Value of Teamwork and Time Management Through Projects

CONTACT: LISA GARRETT, EXT. 2315

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5/18/2001
(By Lisa Garrett)

PENDLETON --- Tri-County Technical College instructor John Norris already had a semester project in mind for his senior Engineering Graphics Technology class when the vice president for FiberTech approached him at a manufacturing show in Greenville last year and asked Mr. Norris personally for help in automating a process for mold pattern design.

"I said sure if he would let the senior class be involved," said Mr. Norris, who already had accepted another equally challenging project from Dave Walker, Machine Tool Technology department head at Tri-County. The students were already obligated to design a penny press for Mr. Walker, and working as representatives of an engineering design firm, Design Lynx, readily took on both assignments. Mr. Walker and Ed Williams, vice president of FiberTech, a Pendleton-based company that designs and manufactures architectural fiberglass products, were their customers. Simultaneously working on these two projects and juggling work, classes and other priorities, students quickly learned the value of teamwork, time management and yes, stress management.

The result: two satisfied and impressed customers whose plans are to implement the designs immediately and a graduating class ready for the workforce.

The Senior Mechanics Design class members began the semester by organizing themselves into an engineering firm and assigning roles of responsibility. They began January 15 to design a machine to impress a design image on pennies. They logged on the Internet to investigate the legalities of using a penny for this process and later visited The General Store in Dillard, Georgia, to examine the design and construction of its penny press. After many math calculations and hours of research on the Internet, they drew preliminary sketches, showed them to their customers and made revisions based on his comments. The final product was a press that would produce a two-sided penny with Tri-County's trilon and inscriptions on one side and the inscription "MTT -- Measuring up to Technology" on the other side.

Mr. Walker says he plans to use the penny as a marketing tool for tour groups that come through his department during the year. "It is something to give to students to remind them of our department and an example of what machinists can produce," he said.

Mid-semester the team changed gears and began to design a new way for FiberTech to produce mold patterns that reduced the cost and the process time from five days to a mere one hour.

"We feel we can take our process and automate it and consequently save money and time," Mr. Williams told the students during a visit to the plant. "I had started working on this project myself, also, and the students contributed a great deal to the project, from the design to the research," Mr. Williams said.

Instead of making mold patterns by wood, students determined they could use foam, which would reduce cost and speed the process. Via the Internet, they researched the machines that can cut foam products and the cost of foam. Apache Products in Anderson was a local company that produces this product and advised them to use Isocyanurate foam, which is dense, durable and suited to low temperature applications. Apache donated the material to the students for their project. The students' recommendation was to use an abrasive wire machine to cut the 2-D contours of the patterns. The 3-D contours could be cut using CNC router machines, and they located machines large enough for these products.

Mr. Williams had read an article in a magazine that sparked the initial idea about the process, and the article listed Apache Products as the company's supplier. "I knew they were a good source," he said.

"The students did an impressive job,' said Mr. Williams. "A lot of time and effort both in and out of class went into the project. Once I was visiting Apache myself and saw one of the students here. I applaud their efforts."

"Tri-County is a great link between the real world and the academic world," said Mr. Williams.

"The FiberTech assignment entailed a lot of research and cost analysis to determine the cost efficiency and to make these molds," said Mr. Norris.

"They got a real taste of what it's like to work for a company and the pressure to get a project done," said Mr. Norris, who worked for years in industry before joining Tri-County's Engineering Graphics Department.

"This is what it's like in a real manufacturing environment," Mr. Norris added. "They did a good job, and they are ready to go into the workforce."

Each year seniors present their final product to the customer usually during high-stress exam week. "Juggling two projects was a major deal. It was crunch time, and stress management was a big issue, everybody can agree," said Brandon Clay, of Westminster, who served as engineering manager.

Mr. Clay said timelines and teamwork are essentials that can make or break you. "We can put this on our resumes. I feel more prepared for the workforce."

A project of this magnitude increases their confidence level, said Mr. Norris.

Kenneth Moore, of Clemson said the projects "helped us to learn to work as a team and to accomplish goals we set at the beginning of the semester."

All agreed the penny press project was more demanding because of the math calculations and mechanical design. "Putting impressions on both sides of a coin isn't easy," agreed Mr. Norris. "There's even more math and physics involved. They also had to look at the legal aspects of altering a penny, which was time-consuming."

"I'm a big believer in getting involved in the local community," said Mr. Williams, who moved to the area three years ago. "Until now, I hadn't had the opportunity to work with Tri-County. This project has benefited everyone."
-30-