Picture it. Greenwood, 2020: An orange tabby rides atop a Roomba® cruising every 45,000 square foot of polished cement floor at the newly constructed William H. “Billy” O’Dell Upstate Center for Manufacturing Excellence. How could this imagined viral notion possibly relate to the specialized industrial technology programs housed in the facility?
All of the Piedmont Technical College (PTC) School of Industrial Technology programs, at least conceptually, play a role in the manufacture of all manner of automated vacuums now so popular with consumers and felines alike.
But that’s just the tip of this comprehensive engineering wonder.
The recently completed Center houses PTC’s expanded Welding, Mechatronics, and Machine Tool programs. Each discipline is critical in today’s advanced manufacturing environment, whether the product is a roving vacuum, industrial or surgical robot, “smart” household appliance or an automobile’s anti-lock breaking system.
Several fall-semester students got a whiff of that new-building smell when fall classes began in mid-August. The Center houses fully outfitted, high-tech labs and classrooms, as well as customizable flex space that can be easily reconfigured to serve emerging workforce development needs in partnership with area businesses.
“This facility is a marvel of industrial design with the latest, state-of-the-art equipment and minimalist layout,” said Rusty Denning, PTC associate vice president for Economic Development and Continuing Education. “It very accurately simulates the environment in today’s most progressive, advanced manufacturing plants.”
Machine Tool Technology
“A lot of people don’t realize that the machine trade is alive and thriving,” said PTC Machine Tool Technology Program Director Phillip Calhoun. “A lot of companies we work with say their older workforce is starting to reach retirement age. It’s now actually a growing trade,” with an estimated 1 in 4 U.S. machinists preparing to retire.
Even so, there are challenges to recruiting and retaining skilled machinists.
“The advancements in technology with the tooling, it’s like light speed. It’s revolutionized the machine trade,” Calhoun said. “We teach advanced methods in theory and focus our curriculum around the tooling that we have.
It is the tools that give machining its versatility because tools can be replaced or modified to perform an updated range of operations as needed.
Mechatronics
Mechatronics: ‘Knowledge to Last a Lifetime’
Using a hand-held controller, known as a “teach pendant” that somewhat resembles an artist’s palette, Andrew Tokarev deftly manipulates the robotic arm to execute his vision. The 20-year-old Piedmont Technical College (PTC) mechatronics technology student is developing skills that will transport him into a career spanning multiple mediums.
Mechatronics offers an exceeding versatile major at the skills intersection of electronics, pneumatics, hydraulics, mechanics, IT, computers and robotics. Graduates of this program emerge prepared for the modern, automated manufacturing workforce.
Occupying about one-third of the high-tech O’Dell Center, PTC’s Mechatronics Program features classrooms and workshops, including a robotics lab with brand-new ABB robots and automated systems.
All modern-day manufacturing plants and industries must be well-maintained to run at full capacity, so demand for mechatronics technicians will remain strong.
“According to the National Association of Manufacturers, more than 80% of manufacturers reported a ‘moderate to serious’ skills shortage in their workforce,” said PTC Mechatronics Technology Instructor Robert Moore, “so career opportunities are excellent for well-trained PTC graduates.”
Welding
Welding is on the rise at PTC. This fall, the college introduced a new Advanced Welding Certificate, which moves students into the workplace sooner so they can practice their craft while contemplating whether to continue to an associate degree.
“There is a shortage of qualified welders,” PTC Welding Program Director Jim Ladd said. “Employers just want welders who can do the job. The Advanced Welding Certificate demonstrates that they have received formal training, which gets their foot in the door.”
The new certificate is designed as part of a series of incremental welding credentials, with students earning a specific certificate each semester of the program. “We structure it so that, in the first semester, the students can obtain the basic welding certificate,” Ladd said. “Welding is a building process, so each credential is a step in the process.”
The brand-new O’Dell Center welding lab features 45 state-of-the-art welding booths, an industrial-grade, computer-controlled plasma cutting table and a top-of-the-line metering band saw with a built-in protractor to facilitate perfectly angled cuts.
“Our welding machines are the latest and best that are available now,” Ladd said. “Our students will be able to operate most any equipment they will see on the job site.”
Currently, more than 600 students are enrolled in Industrial and Engineering credit programs each fall term. An additional 2,000 were served last year in training delivered directly to companies in Greenwood County.
For more information about PTC’s engineering and industrial technology programs, visit www.ptc.edu.