2020cnc2-1

“We have students build trusses and then break them [to see] whose project can take the most force. It is a lot of fun, and the students really get into it. Environmental engineering is the theme for our end of year project. Students must design and build an automated recycling machine that sorts based on different properties. We simulate that with different ma- terial marbles. There are seven different materials: plastic, clear plastic, glass, wood, aluminum, rubber sand, and a steel ball.They have to sort 3-5 of the materials to pass.They get to choose which materials they want their machine to sort. All the marbles are the same size except the glass marble is a tiny bit bigger. They have to figure that out. I drop 18 marbles into their machine and their design needs to sort them. They get a month tobuild it before presenting it for grading. Students use mechanical separation andwell as sensors to accomplish their sort. After it is all done, I make them disassemble the project completely. Some of them are so happy to be rid of it, but oth- ers are really sad that they spent so much time on it only to be dismantled in the span of a single class period. As the due date approaches, I will have a full classroom of students after school past 6 p.m. working on the project. They don’t have to be here, but they are so dedicated and really want to succeed.” 11th Grade Computer IntegratedManufacturing Computer Integrated Manufacturing introduces students to the high-tech, innovative nature of modern manufactur- ing. It provides a basic overview of manufacturing processes, product design & development, robotics, and automation. These focus heavily on design process, fabrication techniques, manufacturing costs, and the cost of quality.The course incor- porates finance, ethics, manufacturing history, safety, quality, and efficiency. Students respond to essential questions like: How do we use automation throughout the world and why. Is it for safety, better profit, or because some things like DVDs can’t be made by humans. “Why” is a big part of the class and correlates directly with the “how.” Course units include: His- tory ofManufacturing, Control Systems, Cost ofManufactur- ing, Designing for Manufacturability, HowWe Make Things, Product Development, Introduction to Robotic Automation, Introduction to Automation Power, Robotic Programming and Usage, CIMSystems, and Integration of Manufacturing. “One of the first projects has students learning and build- Kristian Johnson teaches 10th grade Principles of Engineering and 11th grade Aerospace engineering as part of Project Lead The Way’s curriculum. Students in the Principles of Engineering class work on working on their Engineering Fair Project in class and hurry to get tweaks done before the bell rings.