Automated Manufacturing & Machining

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Alum’s gift transforms Penn College’s machining lab

Students majoring in one of five manufacturing-related degrees are benefiting from a gift to Pennsylvania College of Technology, featured in a YouTube video. Larry A. Ward, founder of Packaging Progressions Inc., made a donation exceeding $1 million to revamp the college’s machining lab – the largest alumni gift in the college’s history. Ward’s generosity has resulted in fresh paint, lighting, fixtures and 50 new machines for the 14,299-square-foot instructional space. “It’s just completely transformed the entire lab,” says Dakota C. Harrison, a manufacturing engineering technology major from Lewisberry. “And we really couldn’t have done it without Mr. Ward.”

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Intern trio provides vital service for Penn College renovations

Three Pennsylvania College of Technology automation engineering technology students interned for the college this semester, helping to revamp a machining facility and equip a new electronics lab. From left are Levi E. Pomeroy, of Dillsburg; Brian J. Daniels, of Lake City; and Conner J. Nickerson, of Bethlehem.

For a few worrisome weeks, three Pennsylvania College of Technology students thought they would join the ranks of countless others whose summer internships were casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the college “engineered” a solution, a favor the students more than returned.

Brian J. Daniels, Lake City; Conner J. Nickerson, Bethlehem; and Levi E. Pomeroy, Dillsburg; spent the summer helping faculty and staff revamp the college’s machining facility and equip a new electronics lab, benefiting their future and the hands-on education of the next generation of “tomorrow makers” at the college.

“I don’t think a lot of work in those labs could have happened without them,” said Stacey C. Hampton, assistant dean of industrial and computer technologies. Hampton devised the internship with Howard W. Troup, instructor of automated manufacturing and machining, and Ken J. Kinley, assistant professor of electronics and computer engineering technology.

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Penn College ‘manufactures’ educational experience for teachers

Emily Wagner, a counselor at South Williamsport Area Junior/Senior High School, works on building a robotic arm during the recent Manufacturing Externship Camp at Pennsylvania College of Technology. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the camp exposed high school educators to various aspects of manufacturing, so they can communicate the promising career possibilities in that sector to their students.

With support from the National Science Foundation, Pennsylvania College of Technology recently “manufactured” a weeklong educational experience for 13 high school teachers and school counselors from throughout the state.

The Manufacturing Externship Camp revealed to educators the promising realities of manufacturing careers through several activities, including a robot-building exercise that they can replicate at their home schools. The camp is one of several Penn College initiatives – funded by a grant from the NSF’s Advanced Technological Education program – dedicated to growing the manufacturing workforce.

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Lindbergh’s boots and cosmonaut chicken

At the Smithsonian Institution’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Daniel Ravizza stands in a hangar full of objects that shaped aviation history. The center is the annex of the National Air and Space Museum.

Ravizza helped to conserve famous aviator Charles Lindbergh’s insulated flying boots. In 1927, Lindbergh was the first to complete a solo flight across the Atlantic, flying nonstop from New York to Paris.

Ravizza’s first project for the Smithsonian was cans of space food – including cans of Soviet veal, chicken and cheese that dated from 1969. “I had to open these cans from the bottom and remove the contents,” Ravizza said. “This was done with lots of PPE (personal protective equipment)!”

Ravizza reinstalls the mercury boiler into the mercury bombardment ion engine/thruster on the SERT-1 (Space Electric Rocket Test 1), a NASA probe that was launched July 20, 1964, to test electrostatic ion thruster design. The conservation team took the spacecraft completely apart to remove the liquid mercury.

From the Spring 2020 Penn College Magazine: In a Smithsonian Institution conservation lab, Daniel Ravizza, a 2014 manufacturing engineering technology graduate, combines his hands-on skills, meticulous nature and passion for history. The treasures he helps to preserve range from spacecraft and space food to the boots and helmet of legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh. Read “Lindy’s boots and cosmonaut chicken.”

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Penn College students awarded manufacturing scholarships

Eight students from Pennsylvania College of Technology are among 37 nationwide honored with scholarships from a foundation that promotes skilled manufacturing careers.

The $1,500 scholarships from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs – the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International – are for the Fall 2020 semester. Full-time students enrolled in an engineering or manufacturing-related course of study were eligible.

The eight Penn College recipients represent majors within the School of Engineering Technologies.

“We are very proud to see so many of our students honored with the scholarships,” said Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies. “Penn College had more students receive the scholarships than any other school. That fact reflects the high quality of not only our students but also our academic programs and dedicated faculty.”

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Penn College students earn industry certifications

Several programs within the School of Engineering Technologies at Pennsylvania College of Technology employ SolidWorks for computer-aided design. Recently, 13 Penn College students earned various levels of SolidWorks certifications.

Pennsylvania College of Technology students proved their workforce acumen by earning industry certifications related to computer-aided design.

The students – representing three majors from the School of Engineering Technologies – passed exams dedicated to SolidWorks, a prominent 3D CAD software tool. The tests require candidates to meet several hands-on challenges, representing various aspects of the software.

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Penn College offering new manufacturing certificate

Pennsylvania College of Technology is accepting applications for its CNC machinist certificate. The program will be offered for the first time this fall.

Pennsylvania College of Technology is providing a new pathway for aspiring skilled machinists and computer numerical control operators. The college is accepting applications for its CNC machinist certificate, offered for the first time this fall.

“Industry needs skilled machinists and CNC operators. This program can be completed in nine months, so students can quickly obtain the skills required by industry and get right to work,” said Bradley M. Webb, dean of industrial, computing and engineering technologies.

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‘Stock exchange’ mutually beneficial investment

A trade between educators at Pennsylvania College of Technology and the Central Columbia School District is a “win” for health-care workers and an elderly mother during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eric K. Albert, an associate professor of automated manufacturing and machining at Penn College, recently traded plastic filament material to Tom Gill, a science teacher at Central Columbia High School, in exchange for a dozen rolls of toilet paper.

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WNEP shares educator’s industrious crisis response

A faculty member’s contribution to the COVID-19 fight, using the same 3D printing technology through which he teaches students in his manufacturing labs, was featured on Newswatch 16’s Monday broadcasts. WNEP journalist Nikki Krize remotely interviewed Eric K. Albert, an associate professor of automated manufacturing and machining, about his extracurricular fabrication of face shields and ventilator splitters. “When we’re in a situation like we are now where we need to produce custom parts and maybe lots of different things, additive manufacturing is one of the technologies that helps,” Albert says in the story, which premiered at 5 p.m. “It’s not fast, but it’s very flexible.”

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Penn College professor manufactures ventilator splitters

Eric K. Albert, associate professor of automated manufacturing at Pennsylvania College of Technology, holds three of the eight vent splitters he made with his home 3D printer in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Albert followed directions provided by ventsplitter.org to manufacture the splitters, which are awaiting emergency FDA approval. As a last resort, the vent splitter allows multiple patients to share one ventilator.

As the developer of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s additive manufacturing curriculum, Eric K. Albert has preached to his students for years about the ingenuity facilitated by 3D printing. A few months from retirement, he’s proving his point by responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The associate professor of automated manufacturing and machining has used his own materials and 3D printer to produce eight non-FDA approved ventilator splitters made of ABS, a widely used engineering resin, that could – in a worst-case scenario – allow a facility to connect more than one patient to a ventilator.

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Need meets know-how in college’s 3D printing lab

A Pennsylvania College of Technology faculty member is employing his expertise to help protect front-line workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eric K. Albert, associate professor of automated manufacturing and machining, is producing face shields with the college’s Stratasys 3D printers. Following a “recipe” provided by the company, Albert is manufacturing visors containing three mounting points for the insertion of clear plastic material to serve as the shield.

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Penn College offering summer manufacturing experience

Pennsylvania College of Technology will expose high schoolers to the rewarding possibilities of manufacturing careers, thanks to a grant-supported initiative.

The college will host the Thingamajig Fabricators Pre-College Program from July 19-23 on its main campus. Students entering grades 9-12 are eligible for the session, featuring hands-on experience with 3D design software, mills and lathes, and welding. Participants will use their new skills to fabricate a toolbox, hammer and nail punch.

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Penn College manufacturing students earn scholarships

Four Pennsylvania College of Technology students received scholarships from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International: Tyler J. Bandle, of Slatington, and John A. Provenza Jr., of Marysville, automated manufacturing technology; Sean A. Bush, of Williamsport, electrical technology; and Cinnamon A. Digan, of Mifflinburg, welding and fabrication engineering technology.

Four Pennsylvania College of Technology students are among 14 nationwide to receive scholarships from a foundation dedicated to promoting skilled manufacturing careers.

The $1,500 to $2,500 scholarships from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International, are for full-time students enrolled in an engineering or manufacturing-related course of study.

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WACC alum’s emotional return ‘best day’ ever

Accompanied by Kimberly R. Cassel, director of alumni relations, Lee I. Miller, ’67, shows off the WACC parking pass he paid a few cents for in the mid-1960s, along with his class ring.

A 1967 Williamsport Area Community College graduate’s longtime dream came true recently when he toured the college’s Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies Center and Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center.

Lee Miller came to Williamsport Technical Institute as a student in Fall 1965, fresh out of high school. He said that, seven weeks after his arrival, the institute became Williamsport Area Community College. (In 1989, it transformed into Pennsylvania College of Technology.)

He graduated with a machinist general certificate. While a student, Miller roomed at 955 W. Fourth St., where he paid $60 a month.

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Student competition seeks design concepts for renamed campus facility

Courtesy of a generous donation from Larry A. Ward, an engineering drafting technology alumnus, the Machining Technologies Lab will receive all new equipment, paint, lighting and fixtures. Ward’s leadership gift will be permanently recognized, with the Machining Technologies Center being renamed in his honor.

This gift is also sparking a Tomorrow Makers contest, in which Pennsylvania College of Technology students are encouraged to help in designing a fitting sign/sculpture/artwork that includes the name “Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies Center” and tells the story of what takes place within the building. Students may work individually or in teams of up to five.

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