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MAKING THE CASE
Caffey cites these and other examples when making the case to local business owners trying to shortcut the educational process. “I tell them that learning is costly,” he said. “When students come here for training, they’re making all their newbie mistakes in a virtual environment, not on a CNC machine tool. They can see the results of their decisions in a very realistic software simulation, rather than hearing a piece of expensive equipment come to a screeching halt. That’s why they need to work with us to encourage young people to attend school.”
As mentioned, LCC attendees also have access to another important virtual learning tool. Chad Schron, senior director at Tooling U-SME in Southfield, Mich., explained that students can take more than 500 interactive online classes covering everything from “Introduction to Abrasives 101” to “Drill Bushing Selection 230” and more.
“We offer a wide range of training opportunities through our digital books and videos,” he said. “And later this year, we’re planning to introduce a virtual reality (VR) product, which will use an Oculus headset to augment our existing programs and provide a more hands-on, skills-based approach to learning.”
Until then, Caffey will continue to leverage whatever tools are available to him, but agreed that Tooling U-SME is a valuable piece of the LCC curriculum. He should know—he’s completed every single lesson. “I like to stay current with technology,” he said. “It also helps me to
see what the students are seeing. And if I find a typo or mistake in one of the lessons, I just call or send them an email and it gets fixed in about a week. Try doing that with a textbook. That’s one of the great things about e-learning. Overall, I think it’s a good product.”
He’s also quite pleased with the support from CGTech. Said Caffey, “In all honesty, these guys have a wonderful team. I mean that. I’ve never had a problem getting hold of a CGTech person to help me through some little problem I was having. They provided us with solid models of our lathes and mills, and are always available for questions. We used a competing toolpath simulation package before VERICUT and I’m glad we made the switch. It’s been a great relationship.”
Lane Community College offers a variety of education programs, from Arts and Communications to Health, Medical, and Fitness. To Manufacturing Director Steve Caffey, the Industrial Trades rank among the most important.
VERICUT toolpath simulation and optimization software from CGTech not only makes it easier to learn CNC programming, but helps to avoid crashing expensive machine tools while doing so.
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