What my students did today

[Janicholson]

Two of my classes had students that made aluminum castings today. Every student must create the sand mold, and pour, then machine to blank size then CNC finish a casting. There are 10 patterns to choose from. These students are getting degrees in Mechanical Engineering. I have fun every day. The students are learning to appreciate machinists and the technology it takes to actually make things. Turning, Brazing, Wwelding (SMAW, MIG, GAS, Spot, and some TIG) threaded fastening, milling with vertical and horizontal manual mills, and CNC. grinding with blanchard, KO Lee Surface grinding, and center grinding. They heat treat and temper alloy steel, and work sheet metal breaks and benders. Jim

They are using a Pyrometer in this image. Jim

 

[Paul swpa]

Sounds like a class I would have really liked. Best time I had in a class was using a forge to do some repair work. Only problem was they didn't plan the exhaust hood good enough over the forge, had half the high school full of coal smoke! Didn't realize what was going on til the principal came down to the ag shop to see what we were doing. Told us to just make sure the shop door was closed to the rest of the building and open the garage door next time, other than that just carry on learning! Had a good principal! Paul

 

[chvet73]

As a retired shop teacher I love seeing that. Most metal shops disappeared years ago. And those that exist dont have the ability to cast anything. It was often thought of as too dangerous of a procedure. I remember the process. Last time I did it was when I attended Ohio State shop teacher school. In the early 70s

 

[old]

In all my years in school I NEVER took any shop classes of any type or welding classes etc. but yet today I can fix engines weld and many other thing all learned by the road of hard knocks which includes a class A CDL. That said hope they do well

 

[Rich'sToys]

Sounds really cool! If you get a chance, it would be neat to see some pictures of their finished products--or even some work-in-progress pics.

 

[SDE]

In one of our classes we got to suggest and then make the finished project using a green sand cast molding process. I suggested a reloading press. That idea was accepted and each of us was assigned a piece to make for the finished project. Handles, pins and linkages. They were all pretty simple to make. I took the worst casting of the bunch and I still have the press and use it when I need to reload rifle shells. The next year, the same class made reloading presses also.

 

[rustred]

You got to be inside the school to take a class , not out behind the school .

 

[rustred]

Its always nice to learn and build stuff. I still would even go in the class.

 

[kcm.MN]

I wish I had taken a shop class, but did not want to be bored. By the time I hit high school, I already had several years of sheet metal machining experience under my belt and thought I knew a lot. What I knew a lot of was Dad's shop. Nothing more.

 

[SleepyFarmall]

You're having fun and students are learning because of it. Win/Win! Michael

 

[Ultradog MN]

I wish I could take a few of your classes.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I didn't have time to take Shop classes in HS, because my schedule was full of college prep classes.
I wish I had taken a machine shop class.

In Junior HS boys had to take drafting and woodworking classes.

 

[Butch(OH)]

Glad to see what you are teaching them. Way too many products being designed by people who would be clueless with a wrench in thier hand

 

[UncleTom]

In 1973 we had sand casting in high school. I was 16. I made an exact copy of a clay pigeon. It turned out perfect. I painted it up just like the ones we used at the trap shoot on Wednesday nights . I would shoot and then go set trap to pay off my birds that i shot. I teamed up with the owner and i was to set that aluminum bird on such and such count on a guy that just never misses. We told him about it and everyone had a good laugh.

 

[Steve@Advance]

I would have loved that class!

Nothing like that was offered in my school district, all they had was a wood shop, auto mechanics, and ag class. I took the wood shop and auto mechanics.

First year of wood shop was very good, learned a lot, but after that the instructors were just not that qualified, the principal saw the classes as a waste of time, made life miserable for the instructors and students.

 

[John T]

You have a fun hands on job Professor

Best wishes

John T

 

[showcrop]

Good on you for contributing to out nation's future! Some of them appear to be of minority nationalities.

 

[Jim in NC]

I am certain it is a fun class to teach. The students you have most likely have much interest i to pursuing that field of study. It would have been one of my choices had it been available.

 

[Frank(Mi.)]

Yep, good to see this is still taught somewhere. I too would have loved the opportunity to take classes like this. Nothing like it around here when I was young...

 

[DoubleR]

I sure wish I could have had the opportunity to have taken a class such as yours. It would have done me more good than all the college prep classes I took. I would take a class like that now if I could.

 

[Tony in SD]

Thank you for passing that knowledge to the next generation of engineers. Hands on seems to be a thing of the past in a lot of places of higher learning. We did casting in high school with a choice of lead or aluminum. We also had to make our own mahogany patterns, which I still have both the pattern & casting. It had to be smooth as a babies butt. It was amazing to me how every little irregularity on the pattern showed up in the very fine sand mold and casting.

 

[DoubleO7]

I like!

I worked 20 years drafting up aluminum casting furnaces like that.

None that small, smallest could barely fit in a pickup box.
Some like what we built for Ford, GM and Chrysler had to be shipped with oversized escorts.

 

[westga]

Your post brings back fond memories of my college days of the mid 1970s.

 

[37 chief]

My favorite classes were wood shop, and metal shop. Our metal shop also did sand casting with aluminum. Those classes were removed years ago. Stan

 

[dr sportster]

My metalshop teacher had a mold spit back on him due to too much moisture. Casting was cancelled the following year We built block walls to keep the sand in . Missed casting which I would have been fascinated by [and still am]. When that accident happened the molten aluminum immediately burned through his shoe to his foot . It was a bad shop accident

 

[Russ from MN]

Very interesting! I majored in shop in high school, but nothing nearly that interesting. It led to becoming a millwright, doing construction and later in-plant mechanical maintenance, worked out well for me.

 

[old]

I was always taking science and math and history classes which left no time for shop

 

[rustred]

in high school i took electronic's, we built little tube radio's, and also a test light. took wood shop classes, took welding classes, and mechanical. it was part of the corriculum to get your 100 credits for the year. i avoided math and physics. went to the first wek of physics , could not make head or tail out of the teacher drawing on the black board. never went back till the end of the symester to write the test for the heck of it. the teacher gave me 50 percent. i know i did not have 20 percent. one time i borrowed 20.00 from him to go drinking during that spare . that was funny. paid him back also. lol. he was a good guy and when he spoke every one heard him, had a very load voice.

 

[moresmoke]

Good to see. I went through engineering school 25 years ago. The only thing hands on was a couple days on WW2 vintage South Bend lathes.

Today, I get to listen to all the complaints from customers regarding mistakes the engineers made.

 

[Crazy Horse]

Good stuff. My last 4 years of teaching I took on some wood shop classes about half time. Someone on staff had to step up after a teacher retired or they'd cancel the program. It was a lot of fun, junior high kids (grades 7,8,9 up here). I remember thinking the first skill to teach was to how use a hammer and hand saw. I was wrong ..... first skill in the second term was to how to use a broom and a dustpan, most of the kids had never used one believe it or not.

 

[Vito]

Good thing you have them learning what it takes to do what they will be designing . Will make better engineers .

Vito

 

[Paul from MI]

Sounds like a great class. I started off with a BS in Mechanical Engineering, didn't like office work and ended up a Journeyman Tool & Die Maker and Master Electrician. Had a great career, never out of work one day in 45 years.

 

[Texasmark]

I said many times that before a graduate is placed in a design engineering positiion, he/she needs a 2 year technician internship actually installing, using, and repairing the types of equipment that we built to get a feeling for what you do and don't do with your slide rule and drafting pencil.....er ah computer.