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Students Get Hands On In New Engineering Class: An Article in The Elkhorn Independent features Barry Butters

Michael Reader

The Elkhorn Independent recently featured an article outlining Precision Plus’ joint venture with Elkhorn Area High School to teach Project Lead The Way’s Capstone Course “Engineering, Design and Development,” whereby students will be taking the class at both the school and hands-on at Precision Plus  This is perhaps the first time that this capstone course is held primarily at a manufacturing facility.

Congratulations to Barry for leading such a ground-breaking endeavor!

Click here to read the full article on The Elkhorn Independent.

MSOE’s Rapid Prototyping Consortium Continues a Long Standing Tradition of Research and Innovation in Additive Manufacturing Industry

Michael Reader

Mike Reader, President of Precision Plus and Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training were asked to speak at the October 17, 2014 meeting of the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Rapid Prototyping Consortium.   The meeting also featured Reed Pulver, National Accounts Manager of All-State Industries and Vito Gervasi Director or R&D, Rapid Prototyping Research. Tom Bray, Dean of Applied Technology Center at MSOE began the meeting with a presentation on the history of the organization and recognition of long standing members.

For over 23 years, the consortium has forged together one of the most successful academic-industry partnerships in additive manufacturing, and is a powerful ally to businesses to drastically cut down on the turnaround time for producing a prototype. A driving force of the consortium has been MSOE’s Rapid Prototyping Research Department, which is credited with many rapid prototyping research accomplishments, such as creating—and patenting– a complex, three dimensional lattice structures modeled after the atomic bond structure found in diamond (TetraLattice), and developing an algorithm to produce the first complex protein model built using rapid prototyping.

The Rapid Prototyping Consortium has consistently been at the forefront of technology. “Today, with its 10 installed systems and over 15 material choices, the center supports about 65 consortium companies on a daily basis with their new product development needs.” Among member organizations, the consortium includes not only industrial companies, but also educational institutions.

Rapid Prototyping Center’s tagline is “Use tomorrow’s technology today.” Sheku Kamara is the director of the consortium.

Precision Plus Participates at Beloit Memorial High School’s Career Fair

Michael Reader

In a continued outreach to area schools, Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus spent the morning of October 6, 2014 at Beloit Memorial High School’s Career Fair.

We have developed a great working relationship with the Beloit School District with tours of our facility for their administration and teachers, classroom visits for presentations about manufacturing, and financial support for robotics clubs. We were more than happy to help out when Ryan Rewey the Director of Career & Technical Education at Beloit reached out for our participation in the fair.   What was unique to this career fair was that it included opportunities for elementary, middle school as well as the high school students. We will be also supporting the next Beloit Memorial venture on October 21st at 6:00pm when they introduce a new Career and Technical Education program. – Barry Butters

Here are some highlights from Beloit Memorial High School Career Fair:

Butters explaining to a high school student how the bottle filling component is machined.
 A high school student examines a component with an eyeloop to see the surface finish.
 A group of high school students who visited the table.
 A group of middle school students who visited the table.
 A group of elementary students who visited the table.

Precision Plus Featured in Wisconsin STEM Pathways Magazine, Fall 2014

Michael Reader

Precision Plus is honored to be featured in the latest issue of Wisconsin STEM Pathways Magazine.  The article, entitled Companies in the Classroom–Putting the Classroom in the Workplace, chronicles the company’s two year journey from a concept to the reality of having an internship and a apprenticeship program for high school and college students, as well as a fully equipped classroom within its facilities.  To download a PDF of the complete article, click here.

 

Precision Plus Welcomes Students to Its 2014-2015 Apprenticeship Program

Michael Reader

Five apprentices have joined Precision Plus 2014-2015 Apprenticeship Program.   We are so excited to have you on board!

Jake Brown – Jake is a junior at Elkhorn High School. He participates in the E-Tech Robotics Club and enjoys working on computers. Jake plans to work in the engineering field.

 

 

Jayce Newman – Jayce is a senior at Elkhorn High School. He has participated in baseball at school. Jayce has taken a Project Lead the Way course every year. He enjoys putting together car audio systems.

 

 

Caitlin Sanders – Caitlin is a senior at Big Foot High School. She participated in softball and volleyball until she tore her ACL. She is also involved in FFA.  She enjoys working on engines and welding.

 

 

Kyle Gorst – Kyle is a senior at Elkhorn High School. Kyle likes to fish and hunt. He participates in the swim and golf teams at school. He is an accomplished swimmer, making it to the State Swim Meet last year. He also enjoys country music.

 

 

Amanda Mudlaff – Amanda is a senior at East Troy High School. Amanda is the Captain of her Cheer and Pom Teams and participates in the Track and Field Team. She is a FFA member, Wrestling Manager, Multi-Cultural Club Member, and a Youth Cheerleading Coach. Amanda is also a National Honor Society member.

LAST MINUTE NEWS!     Jessica Flock (Sr., Elkhorn HS) has joined Precision Plus as an intern for school year 2014-2015.  Welcome!  More details to come!

Precision Plus 2014 Summer Interns Headed Back to School

Michael Reader

The second year of Precision Plus’ Summer Internship Programs comes to an end, as the 18 interns head back to their respective high schools (East Troy, Badger, Elkhorn Area, Richmond and Wilmot) and colleges (U.W. Madison, U.W. Platteville, Milwaukee School of Engineering).

Although the internship program includes classroom time, the students spent most of their time on the floor, observing and learning from seasoned professionals and putting their new knowledge to work—hands-on.

Featured below are a few of Precision Plus summer interns in action.

 [pb_slideshow group=”7″]

The end of the summer internship program was highlighted by field trips to several area manufacturing facilities as well as to the new iMET Center.

On August 8, 2014, the students and Precision Plus’ Director of Education and Training Barry Butters toured the iMET (SC Johnson Integrated Manufacturing and Engineering Technology) Center– within Gateway Technical College– located in Sturtevant, WI . The iMET Center is a state of the art training facility. It also houses a FAB lab. “Fab labs are a global network of local labs, enabling invention by providing access for individuals to tools for digital fabrication, to make almost anything.” The students found the 3D scanner and 3D printers of particular interest.

On August 13, 2014, a trip was coordinated to visit the Haas Factory Outlet Open House, located in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

The students saw the latest generation of Haas machines. Of particular interest were the vertical mills, as Precision Plus does not use this type of machine. The students were amazed at how fast the mill could change tools. Haas has worldwide reputation as a technology leader in CNC machining.

The students also enjoyed seeing Kurt Busch’s Haas NASCAR #41 up close prior to performing in the Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway on September 14 following IMTS 2014.

On August 22, 2014, the interns were given a tour of MacLean-Fogg in Whitewater, WI by Randy Race, Director of Engineering. The company was founded in 2012 by merging two successful and complementary plastic injection molding businesses: Engineered Plastics Corp. in Menomonee Falls, WI and MacLean-Fogg’s Polymer Technologies in Whitewater. Their experience in practical plastics design, tooling, processing, and engineered materials is extensive and it is well known throughout the world.

The students learned all about plastic injection molding machines and about how automation has been a key player in the running of these machines.

But the field trip that left most interns awe-struck was the Spring Grove, IL tour of the Scot Forge facility. The tour was arranged through Zach Ford who is Scot Forge’s Technical Education Liaison.  While at Precision Plus, we sometimes have to use tweezers to hold our parts to measure them, Scot Forge manufactures things that have to be crawled inside of to measure. The sheer size difference was amazing to the students, and it gave them a much wider understanding of the variables in manufacturing.

We wish all of our interns success in their studies, and look forward to keeping up with their achievements.  In college, or college bound are:

  • Michael Reader MSOE (Jr.) and 4-year summer intern
  • Carson Filko MSOE (Fr) and 3-year summer intern
  • Britt Campbell MSOE (Fr.) 1-year Youth Apprentice/summer intern
  • Hunter Parks MSOE (Fr.), 1-year Youth Apprentice/summer intern
  • Riley Bruce MSOE (Fr.) 1-year summer intern
  • Kyle Poplar MSOE (Sr.) 1-year summer intern
  • Jon Stopple, UW-Platteville (So.) 2nd year intern
  • Bob Dall, UW-Madison (So.) 2nd year intern
  • Brad Killen, UW-Madison (So.) 2nd year intern
  • Jake Ruemmele UW Platteville (Jr.) 1st year intern

Precision Plus Intern Matt Dowell Places 5th at SkillsUSA Nationals

Michael Reader

Precision Plus intern Matt Dowell and his team placed 5th out of 22 teams at the National SkillsUSA Competition in Kansas City, MO.

Matt and his teammates Mikaela Coose and Cecily Fico earned the a trip to the national competition by taking 1st place in Wisconsin’s SkillsUSA Engineering Technology/Design Competition in Madison on April 29-30, from six teams competing in this category. Precision Plus congratulates Matt and his teammates!

Their product, called ecoTUBE,  is an innovative medical tube designed to dispense 100% of any salve or ointment.

The national competition spanned from Monday, June 23 through Saturday, June 28, 2014. In the Engineering Technology/Design category, teams of three students demonstrated their ability to design an innovative an engineering project and present those ideas along with a display and live model. During the presentation, students were judged on their performance as a professional team, presentation of their project to a panel of judges from the engineering field, their storyboard presentation model, and the overall effect of the presentation.

Matt and his teammates developed their project while taking the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) capstone course Engineering Design and Development (EDD) at Wilmot Union H.S. Their advisor for the SkillsUSA competition was George Troupis.

HISTORY OF THE PROJECT

Problem Origination: Team member Mikaela Coose’s dog suffers from dry-eye syndrome, which requires regular application of an ointment medication. The ointment comes in a tube, most similar to that of a toothpaste tube, but smaller in size. Because this medication is costly and a substantial amount remains in the tube after it is squeezed out, the team decided they would redesign the current not user-friendly squeezable tube design for these types of applications.

PROJECT DETAILS

Design Statement: Patients find it increasingly difficult to utilize the full value of expensive salve medicine due to the current structure of medical tubes.

Design Objective: Design and develop an innovative medical tube that allows patients to more adequately utilize the full value of costly salve medicine.

Target Market:

  • Elderly or Individuals with Arthritis – due to the limited force needed to squeeze the medication out compared to other containers
  • Handicapped or Disabled Individuals With Limited Motor Skills
  • Anyone Looking to Save Money – The product’s low waste results in cost savings

 Description of Product Overview (As Shown On The Video Above):
The design was rendered in Autodesk Inventor, and 3-D modeled using the same software.

  • The first segment shows ecoTUBE’s assembly sequence
    • The spring moves left into the far left component
    • The assembly moves from left to right, snapping the left most pieces together
    • The plunger gets screwed on
    • An O-ring is added to seal the assembly
    • The product is placed in the tube
    • The sub assembly from before gets snapped into the tube
    • The cap gets placed on it.
  • The second segment shows an working model of ecoTUBE
  • The third segment demonstrates the child lock on the bottom of it. Initially it just spins, but once pushed in, it twists the entire unit

Note: There is also a model that does not include the child lock, and is geared for over-the-counter products such as sunscreen, toothpaste, etc. The team included a child lock on the original design presented, as their target market was medical-type applications.

Personal Project Roles Of The Team Members:

Matthew Dowell – Headed up the CAD modeling and prototype building

Mikaela Coose – Presentation materials such as the PowerPoint and Storyboard

Cecily Fico – Much of the documentation such as the design brief and made the label

ABOUT THE TEAM:

This was not Wilmot’s first trip to Kansas City, as Mikaela Coose (past Senior) and Matt Dowell (past Junior), made their second trip along with new member Cecily Fico (past Sophomore) to the 50th SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference. Having placed 14th in last year’s competition in the Engineering Technology/Design category, Coose and Dowell learned what it would really take to bring their presentation to the next level.

With Fico on board, the Wilmot team devoted most of their free time throughout the school year to work on their ecoTUBE – coined for its economical and ecofriendly qualities – an innovative medical tube designed to dispense 100% of any salve, such as medicine gels, toothpaste or sunscreen lotion.

During the week of June 22 -27, 2014, Coose, Dowell, and Fico had the opportunity to demonstrate and explain their creative idea to each of the judges in personal interviews as well as to the public. They also took on a spontaneous team problem-solving problem, involving building a roller coaster for a marble out of provided materials. The team ended the competition week with a professional presentation of their product. Wilmot came very close to medaling at the Awards Night, but were completely thrilled to find out the team notably placed 5th in the Nation.

Although Coose will be moving on to study engineering at Olivet Nazarene University, Dowell and Fico have a promising future as they look forward to using the priceless experience they have gained to improve and eventually compete at the next SkillsUSA Conference in 2015. Dowell is looking to a future of becoming a mechanical engineer, and Fico desires to be a civil or architectural engineer.

The Last Two School Visits by Precision Plus During Academic Year 2013-2014 Were a True Testament to the Spirit of Collaboration

Michael Reader

During the 2013-2014 school year, Precision Plus has made a concerted effort to visit as many area schools as we possibly could. Neither Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training, nor Mike Reader, Precision Plus’ President, allowed snow or sleet, extremely cold temperatures, rain, or heat stop them from making themselves available for meetings, events, or to speak to a class full of students about manufacturing.

Butters explains to a student how a part is machined

The last two visits of the year were to the Real School in Racine, Wisconsin on their Career Day, and to Burlington Area High School to speak to students in Casey Miller’s advanced metals and pre-engineering classes. Both schools had invited Precision Plus to come to their facilities.

Butters demonstrates how the PartMaker software is used at Precision Plus

But, how did they know about Precision Plus and their efforts to close the manufacturing skills gap? These schools made use of a common resource: Inspire Wisconsin, powered by Career Cruising.

Inspire Wisconsin—the Pathway from Talent to Careers—has a distinct mission:

Inspire Wisconsin’s mission is to develop and disseminate an organized, integrated community-development platform for life-long career planning and learning which creates bridges between employers, educators and students and connects students and adult job seekers with work-based learning experiences and job opportunities.

By bringing all parties to the table–employers, educators, students, parents and job seekers, Inspire Wisconsin offers an opportunity for maximizing careers and talents. Its leadership says it all: respected individuals from education, industry, and government, who understand the importance of a highly skilled and educated workforce.

Finally, Career Cruising, developers of “The world’s most engaging and inspiring career learning program” makes it all possible. By integrating with Inspire Wisconsin, their tool can be used by Wisconsin schools. Their interactive program helps “people of ages achieve their full potential in school, career and life,” and provides an arena for matching needs with initiatives, and talent with careers.

And that is how, the last two visits of academic year 2013-2014 came to be. There were a direct result of separate entities working together: Inspire Wisconsin, Career Cruising, the schools, and Precision Plus No shots in the dark here. Instead, targeted, skilled shots that hit the bulls-eye.

Precision Plus looks forward to a great 2014-2015 year!

Thank you, Mr. Butters: Letters from Delavan Darien High School Students

Michael Reader

On May 21, 2014, Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus visited Delavan Darien High School to address Project Lead The Way students on the skills companies are looking for in new hires. These included critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as soft skills. Butters also made a presentation on the inventor and PartMaker software as it is used at Precision Plus Brad Pearson, an intern at the company came along to tell the students about his own experience at Precision Plus Following the presentation, Butters met one-on-one with the students to share some of the soft skills and strategies necessary for having a successful first job interview.

This presentation followed a meeting that Butters and Mike Reader, President of Precision Plus had with Delavan Darien High School educators and staff on May 15, 2014. Reader and Butters addressed the above-referenced “new hire” skills, which are sought after by manufacturers hiring around the country, as well as the important role that a solid background in Science, Technology, Math and Engineering (STEM) plays in this equation.

Shortly after the meeting with the students, Barry Butters received several letters from the students:

“Thank you so much Mr. Butters for making time for me and my peers to practice on when the time actually comes when we have to go through the actual processes of being interviewed…” Read this letter

“I was really nervous, but you were very friendly and I appreciate your time.” Read this letter

“Thanks for spending time to help me with my interview skills. I appreciate the advice.” Read this letter

“You pointed out a few things that can help me in the future, thanks.” Read this letter

“Thank you for taking your busy work schedule to interviewing me and trying to improve my skills…” Read this letter

Thank you students: Amy, Dylan, Kole, Tyler and Cristina!

On May 8, 2014, WFAW-AM 940 Interviewed Mike Reader and Barry Butters on Precision Plus’ Educational Initiatives To Overcome the Manufacturing Skills Gap

Michael Reader

On Thursday, May 8, 2014, WFAW’s Morning Magazine radio host Michael Clish, interviewed Mike Reader, President of Precision Plus and Barry Butters, the company’s Director of Education.

The interview was centered on the current U.S. manufacturing skills gap and the tangible educational initiatives Precision Plus has put in motion to overcome the skills gap. You can listen to a podcast of the interview now.

Morning Magazine’s radio host Michael Clish,  and Mike Reader, and Barry Butters of Precision Plus discussed the inroads that were made last year at the company.  Precision Plus purposely cast its nets in all directions in an effort  to attract local education institutions,  fellow manufacturing companies, local and state, and U.S.  government officials, and the best and brightest of young minds to join their internship program–all with a common goal and purpose:  to overcome the current skills gap in manufacturing.

Listen to a podcast of this insightful conversation , or download a PDF transcript.

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