2019cnc4-5

26 www.CNC-West.com CNC WEST April/May 2019 tices are the same; manual ops then CNC ops. “The me- chanical engineering students make a gyroscope in their ten week class,” explains R & D engineer Shawn Malone. “I’ve been here at UC Davis for more than 20 years and the gyroscope is a staple of our program. Many engineer- ing schools have students make a hammer or a screw- driver. We have them build a gyroscope. To pass the class it has to stand on its point for more than two minutes. We just got done with 88 students running the competition yesterday. The top time was just over seven minutes. We introduce to them manual machining processes first. So drill press for the holes, manual lathe for the spindle and so forth. They see the numbers go by and see the table move, take a radius curve and back. That starts imprinting the process in their mind. So, when they begin to use the ACU-RITE controller it isn’t just punching a button, it is punching the button and knowing that the button makes the machine do a specific task that they already have done manually. Good or bad the computer does what you tell it to do, so for them to visually confirm what they are tell- ing the machine to do via the ACU-RITE controllers is a huge part of their learning process.” “You have to remem- ber that we have a very diverse set of students that repre- sents our diverse community,” adds Sherry Batin, R & D engineer. “Besides kids coming from different walks of life and different countries, we have a huge skills gap between those well versed in using a tools to those who have never seen an electric drill before. Building confidence is a huge part of their success in the engineering programs.” The second undertaking for students in EME50 is known as the totem project. They begin with a 2” tall by 1.5” diameter aluminum cylinder, which they have to cut from aluminum bar stock on the saw and then face it to length. While they are learning those processes they are making a drawing. It is their job to design the north end with a milling op, a turning op, drilling op and so forth. Once they meet those constraints they are free to design any north end pattern or shape they want. They hand that drawing to someone else who then has to design the south end to mate to the north end drawing. “We utilize a precision fit feature that they must meet,” details Da- vid. “All 22 pieces must stack together in the end for them to pass. The fun part is once the drawings are finalized and everything is called out correctly, we make them ex- change drawings with other students. The drawing they think they are going to make gets handed off to someone The second undertaking for students in EME50 is known as the totem project. They get a 2” cylinder of 1.5” diameter bar stock. They have to cut it on the saw and face it to length. While they are learning those processes they are making a drawing. It is their job to design the north end with a milling op, a turning op, drilling op and so forth. Once they meet those constraints they are free to design any north end pattern or shape they want. They hand that drawing to someone else who then has to design the south end to mate to the north end drawing. Professors then turn the tables on them with a few fun surprises.