Click to read full interactive newsletter
First ATDM Additive Manufacturing Cohort Graduates
Ten students and their instructors celebrated successfully completing the first cohort of the ATDM Additive Manufacturing track during a completion ceremony held at IALR.
The first Additive Manufacturing cohort has graduated from the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program. This new track was added in November 2021 and is an important addition given the growing significance of the new technology in advanced manufacturing.
Students in the Additive Manufacturing track earned several credentials including OSHA 10 and a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt. They are waiting on certification results for Certified Additive Manufacturing Fundamentals, which is issued by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and Autodesk Certified Associate in CAD for Mechanical Design, which certifies skilled use of Fusion 360 CAD software.
Daniel Hyler, a Pittsylvania County native, who graduated from Chatham High School in 2021, completed the first CNC Machining track last summer and just completed the first Additive Manufacturing track this month. “It has been very helpful, and a lot more than I thought,” said Hyler. “The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn. I would recommend it. The environment is the best. The teachers work well with you.”
After completing the CNC Machining ATDM track, Hyler started working for FasTech as a CNC Machinist in October. Now, he will use his skills learned in the Additive Manufacturing track to help him in his job where he runs CNC mills and additive manufacturing machines.
“The entire group was really driven,” said James Hubbard, who served as the instructor through Danville Community College, an ATDM instructional partner. “We didn’t know what to expect – several didn’t even know what modeling was – but now they’re modeling assemblies and intricate things of that nature. Their skill sets will allow them to get a job in any modern manufacturing environment.”
Another student Rashida Grear, from Norfolk, Va., who works at Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC) and is an active-duty sailor in the U.S. Navy also praised the program. “MARMC is trying to learn more mass production methods of operation,” said Grear. “We do things very manually, but we are getting newer equipment to train sailors on.” Grear stated that her ATDM training will prepare her for her role on a team that will be dedicated to 3D printing which will be extremely beneficial.
In addition to the Additive Manufacturing track graduates, the second cohort from the ATDM Welding, Metrology/Quality Assurance and CNC Machining tracks also graduated in March.
The ATDM program is specifically designed to help adult learners with varying educational and workplace experiences earn the skills necessary to make an immediate impact in the defense industrial base. The four-month curriculum is designed to offer the skills and nationally recognized credentials directly requested by the industry.
IALR November/December 2021 Newsletter
IALR Launches New Additive Manufacturing Lab
IALR’s new additive manufacturing lab features 12 Markforged 3D printers (six metal and six carbon fiber), a wash station, a sintering oven, a 5-axis Haas CNC machine and an Instron® electromechanical testing system.
The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) has established a new Additive Manufacturing Lab on IALR’s campus. Additive manufacturing is expected to play a critical role in the future of manufacturing as the industry is starting to regularly evaluate additive processes and their application to integrate into their existing manufacturing capabilities.
“IALR’s new additive manufacturing training capability is evident that this technology is transitioning from the R&D phase to commercialization,” said Executive Director of IALR, Mark Gignac. “As the technology is starting to become part of the everyday manufacturing world, this lab is taking the technology from being experimental to using it on the plant floor. One of the region’s latest start-up companies in the Rapid Launch Facility, FasTech, has recently integrated additive manufacturing into their capabilities. This localized adoption proves that unique and leading-edge activity is taking place in Danville-Pittsylvania County.”
The additive manufacturing lab’s print farm includes six Markforged Metal X™ (Gen 2) 3D printers and six Markforged X7™ carbon fiber 3D printers. The print farm also includes a wash station and a sintering oven. In the lab, a 5-axis Haas CNC machine is used for post-processing additive parts as well as machining test specimens that will be used for mechanical testing and evaluating material properties. To support that activity, an Instron® electromechanical testing system has also been installed to provide the testing required for additive parts.
The 3D printing is extremely beneficial because it allows manufacturers to go from design to complex metal parts faster, easier and at lower costs. Implementing metal 3D printing can greatly improve business efficiency and agility by getting products to market faster, reducing manufacturing costs and replacing inefficient manufacturing workflows, whether through eliminating the need for detail drawings and machine programming, or drastically shortening lead times that bog down product development processes.
Additionally, the new lab will open the door to new opportunities for collaboration with innovative companies such as Phillips Corporation, who has been instrumental in providing guidance and technical support while developing the additive manufacturing training capability. 3D printer manufacturer Markforged is also exploring further collaboration.
DCC instructor James Hubbard (left) and technician Eric Collie (center) help student Marion Jones incorporate hardware into his composite 3D-printed part to increase the life of wear surfaces. Jones is part of the ATDM program taught at the lab.
