Manufacturing Tech plans to convert an old wood shop in Plumas Hall into a state-of-the-art, computer-controlled manufacturing center
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 1999
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Manufacturing Tech plans to convert an old wood shop in Plumas Hall into a state-of-the-art, computer-controlled manufacturing center
With a high-tech factory planned and new accreditation in hand, California State University, Chico’s Manufacturing Technology program is hoping more and more students will see a bright future and forget the past in the subject area formerly known as shop.
Starting in fall 1999, Manufacturing Tech plans to convert an old wood shop in Plumas Hall into a state-of-the-art, computer-controlled manufacturing center, which will give students real-time training and unique opportunities to work with industry experts partnering with the program.
The center will be a teaching factory that performs on-the-job functions such as tooling, design and fabrication, shipping and receiving, quality control and cost accounting. Two companies that have hired CSU, Chico graduates in the past — Spectra-Physics Lasers of Oroville and Makino, a large manufacturing corporation based in Ohio — are planning to supply equipment and expertise.
Enhancing the center will be a donation, made just this week, by Hewlett-Packard of four robots used in its printer manufacturing operation in Vancouver, Wash. The robots, which move on five axes and are equipped with vision systems, are worth roughly $500,000. It was the second Hewlett-Packard gift this winter: In November, Professor Leonard Falscheer drove to Vancouver to collect four dismantled automated assembly lines for Manufacturing Tech.
Another plus for the center will be an adjoining tied-in machining and processing lab for polymers. Professor Joe Greene, who joined CSU, Chico from General Motors last fall, is acquiring injection molding and compression molding equipment from industry so students can learn new processing and design techniques in working with plastics and composite materials. Greene expects the polymers lab to be complete in three years.
The College of Engineering, Computer Science and Technology applied for a $384,000 grant from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in December to build the center. Mike Ward, chair of the Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing department, said corporate gifts and university money will provide funds for the center even if the grant is turned down.
Aware of Manufacturing Tech’s new plans, the National Association of Industrial Technology in November gave the program full re-accreditation through October 2002. Ward said the association was “mildly critical” of the program when a team visited two and a half years ago, but has been pleased since then with the current direction of program.
“Manufacturing Tech struggled with its curriculum and enrollment a few years ago, but we all see success ahead,” said Ward.
With new facilities, modern equipment and a resourceful faculty, Manufacturing Tech is ready for the challenge other university programs like it face: changing the public perception that shop - or its later names of industrial arts, industrial tech or manufacturing tech - is obsolete.
Many factors contributed to shop’s demise. As school districts tightened their belts in the 1980s and ’90s, electives like shop were dropped. As California pushed a college-bound high-school curricula for all students, vocational education became dirty words. As the country’s smoke-stack industries disappeared, and large companies cut or exported factory jobs, manufacturing - and the need to train American workers — seemed unimportant to the economy.
But shop - and the manufacturing skills it requires - is anything but old news, CSU, Chico faculty say. In its current incarnation, stressing areas such as computer-controlled assembly lines and molding machines, the field offers a wealth of opportunities to new workers at various levels of expertise.
“There are many more jobs than there are people to fill,” said Professor Ray Rummell, Manufacturing Tech coordinator. “Employers call us all the time telling us about the opportunities.”
Some of the job skills needed are traditional ones, like welding, but, increasingly, companies need workers who can program computer-controlled equipment.
Though many old-fashioned manufacturing plants have closed, other operations - geared to designing, producing and distributing products quickly - are springing up. The Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Association, for instance, reported this week that manufacturing companies are showing the greatest increase among all types of industries looking to locate in Sacramento.
The lack of trained workers is great enough that Bay Area high-tech plants have imported workers from Taiwan, India and other countries.
“The national philosophy has been to not worry about manufacturing. Now that’s coming back to haunt us,” Rummell said.
It’s a myth that the country cannot compete in manufacturing, Rummell said. U.S. workers still lead the world in productivity, and with technology playing an increasing role, manufacturing is as viable as it ever was, he said.
For example, CSU, Chico students use design software to practice a manufacturing process growing in popularity called rapid prototyping, Rummell said. The software allows a prototype of a new product to be built in days, rather than weeks, to meet ever-faster changing market demands.
When the polymers lab is complete, Greene said, CSU, Chico students will have new opportunities to design and process fiberglass, carbon graphite and other increasingly common synthetics. Such materials are used in everything from cars and houses to skis and surfboards, and the demand for workers trained to use them is exploding, Greene said.
To address the need for industrial training, the state has convened a group to revisit the shop-teaching issue - the Industrial and Technology Education Task Force. Manufacturing Tech instructor Dirk Vanderloop is a member of the task force, which includes statewide representatives from community colleges and K-12.
Vanderloop said the task force is discussing the need for renewed programs at all levels of education, so students are not put off by the idea of pursuing manufacturing as a career option. Since many shop and industrial arts programs suffered from outmoded equipment, the task force is also looking at how to get K-12 funding for hardware that doesn’t simply go to computer labs. “Technology is not spelled with a ‘C,’ we like to say,” Vanderloop said.
At the college level, manufacturing tech will grow in popularity as students see the high-paying jobs and the sophistication of the work, said Greene. Along with 14 years of industry experience, Greene has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from University of Michigan. “I want to bridge the gap between engineering and ‘I Tech,’ so students see this as applied engineering,” he said.
While some other state universities have industrial technology programs, Ward said he doesn’t doubt CSU, Chico can attract a growing number of students. “With the manufacturing center and the polymer lab, we’ll be a highlight on the college tour,” he said. “And with more job offers than graduates to fill them, we’ll get students’ attention.”
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