William Weir of Haas Factory Outlet, A Division of Trident Machine Tools (far left) presents UMass Lowell with a $40,000 grant from the Gene Haas Foundation in its newly opened Maker Space. Accepting (left to right) are Dr. Joseph C. Hartman, Dean of the Francis College of Engineering, Glenn J. Sundberg, Ph. D, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Sally Washburn, Director of Development along with students receiving tuition as a result of the grant.
UMass Lowell's Plastic Engineering Lab featuring a Haas VF-4SS super-speed vertical machining center and Wittmann Battenfeld plastic injection mold machine
UMass undergrads checking out the Haas machining centers and turning centers within the machine lab of UMass Lowell's all new Maker Space.
A ceremony was recently held at the Francis College of Engineering at UMass Lowell to present a $40,000 grant from the Gene Haas Foundation. Presenting the check was William Weir, Regional Sales Manager for Trident Machine Tools, the New England Haas Factory Outlet. Accepting the check was Dr. Joseph C. Hartman, Dean of the Francis College of Engineering; Glenn J. Sundberg, Ph. D, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Sally Washburn, Director of Development and students, each of whom will receive scholarship money as a result of the GHF grant.
"The Francis College of Engineering at UMass Lowell has a proud heritage, spanning more than a century, for providing an outstanding, practical and affordable engineering education and a growing portfolio of research and innovation," said a university spokesperson. In total, there are a broad number of degree programs at the college. The largest is the traditional four-year bachelors engineering program, with some 2,500 undergraduate students, 800 of which are studying mechanical engineering and another 200 in plastics engineering, specifically moldmaking, mold design and machining.
Dr. Joseph C. Hartman, Dean of the Francis College of Engineering, said, "We have seen and continue to see strong growth, with mechanical engineering far exceeding other areas as the leader in this growth. We have probably doubled our growth in engineering in the last five to six years, especially among the adult-learning portion of our student demographic.
"These are people who are working for a variety of firms that have in common a manufacturing base. We see adults coming to us for associate and bachelors degrees in engineering. There is strong interest by local firms to encourage manufacturing employees to return and acquire the specialties suddenly needed to compete in advanced manufacturing - typically involving 4- and 5-axis machining. The Haas machining centers acquired in the past year provide a bridge between where these students are now and where they need to be in the real world of competitive machining and manufacturing."
The college is also a platform for younger people just entering the job market. Here, they can acquire in a real-time, hands-on fashion a vast array of engineering technologies. This is especially true of those pursuing a four-year mechanical engineering program. This group, the younger student lacking many of the skills needed to succeed in the market, is the group that the $40,000 grant from the Gene Haas Foundation will help - especially in tuition assistance. The older students usually have a job that will cover or contribute to his or her tuition.
Hartman said, "The six Haas machines arrived late last year, and our first training class started soon after. We hit the ground running and, as our continued growth clearly demonstrates, we are running still. While we are constantly changing our curriculum as need requires, our mission remains steady, to apply engineering theory to practical manufacturing needs. We provide the tools, knowledge and experience for our graduates to take the next (or first) step up, whether they are returning refreshed to a current job or just entering the market place."
The all-new Maker Space at UMass Lowell is located at what was previously a university book store. Today the space is filled with advanced manufacturing equipment, including three Haas Mini Mill vertical machining centers and three Haas ST-10 CNC turning centers. "Later in the afternoon and evening, this space becomes extremely active because it is not only educational space, it is student project space for testing and designing using a variety of different technologies," said Glenn J. Sundberg, Ph. D, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
In addition to the six Haas machines located in the UMass Lowell Maker Space, a specially equipped Haas VF-4SS super-speed vertical machining center was added to an all-new Plastic Engineering lab a few floors above. The Haas VF-4SS offers students enrolled in a moldmaking program to machine complex molds as part of their curriculum. A Wittmann Battenfeld plastic injection machine is also included within the lab offering students a real world experience where they design and manufacture a part complete.
To learn more visit www.uml.edu and ww.hfotrident.com.