PUEBLO, CO – A partnership between Haas Automation and Pueblo Community College (PCC) in Pueblo, Colorado, is having a dramatic effect on the school’s Machining Technology program.
For the first time, students are learning manufacturing production applications that simulate real industry, as well as traditional manual machining skills.

The partnership enables Haas to showcase their machinery, while providing PCC students with the opportunity to acquire the types of technical skills that companies like Haas need to remain productive and competitive. 

The new equipment has greatly impacted PCC’s Machining Technology program by allowing students to learn true, modern production manufacturing skills. “This equipment is the backbone of our Machining Tech program,” noted John Vukich, a member of the PCC team that helped form the agreement with Haas. George Michel of Moncktons served a vital role in providing the critical link between PCC and Haas. Through his efforts, the final arrangements were developed that led to a “win-win” situation for all three entities. The partnership is part of an aggressive move by the college to rewrite its curriculum to meet National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS) standards . According to Isadore Ambriz, PCC’s Machining Technology instructor, the college is working to become one of only two colleges in the West to have a program in which its students can become NIMS-certified. “We will be able to deliver the caliber of person that companies like Haas would be interested in hiring,” said Ambriz, who has taught at PCC the past six years.  “This partnership also is a good example of what is happening in the industry today, where a corporation has input into the educational curriculum, and where the program has built-in accountability.”

According to Vukich, the Haas equipment at PCC is like none available in a tech center anywhere else. “What we’ve got might be the best in the country,” he stated. Such partnerships are the crux of the 54,000-square-foot GATC. It is the premier technical training and education center in Colorado for providing access to technology and services to meet the needs of industry. Partnerships such as this not only provide training and education for industry employees, but also provide access to career information for students.

A CASE IN POINT

Pueblo Community College students, faculty and staff are part of the Colorado Space Grant Consortium (CSGC) that is working on a NASA project through a collaborative partnership between several Colorado colleges and universities. 

The project involves work on a small-scale satellite called Citizen Explorer 1. The mission is designed to provide: 

The Citizen Explorer 1 spacecraft will piggyback on NASA’s EO-1/SAC-C mission and will be a secondary payload on the Delta II launch vehicle that will depart from Vandenberg AFB in California. The Delta II vehicle is currently being manufactured at The Boeing Co. facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The close proximity of the manufacturing site has enabled students to visit the facility to see first-hand the spacecraft attachment location and gain an understanding of the overall mission. 

The Citizen Explorer 1 program is an excellent example of how space technology can benefit life on earth. Students are getting hands-on experience using real data, and the project is igniting their enthusiasm for science while providing a genuine service to the public.

PCC INVOLVEMENT

PCC and the University of Southern Colorado have teamed up as the manufacturing leg of the project by sharing responsibilities for producing the primary satellite structure for the CX-1 spacecraft using advanced manufacturing techniques. The solar-powered satellite is approximately two feet square and weighs 101 pounds. The project brings a realistic perspective to the students in terms of working as a team, meeting schedule commitments, interfacing with customers and applying their technical education to real-life projects that serve a purpose. 

PCC  students Joe Albano, left, and Neal Brown use a coordinate measuring machine to chack a part machined on the school's Haas machining centers.

PCC is utilizing the capabilities of its Gorsich Advanced Technology Center to produce the close-tolerance parts for the project. Under the direction of John Vukich, GATC Manufacturing and Services Manager, and faculty members Isadore Ambriz and Art Malechek, Machining Technology students at PCC are getting the opportunity to apply design principles, tooling concepts, computer numerical control (CNC) programming and CNC machine setup and operation.

The machines being utilized for the project are state-of-the-art CNC machining centers and lathes from Haas Automation, Inc., that are capable of producing high-volume complex metal-fabricated parts. Haas Automation Inc., Moncktons Machine Tools Inc. and PCC have formed a team approach to addressing the need for young people to learn about manufacturing and the long-term benefits associated with a career in a technical field. 

For more information about the Pueblo Community College and its technology center, call 719-549-3322. (Gary Franchi is the Communications Specialist at Pueblo Community College.)