A plan was proposed and approved in late 2004, accompanied by new curriculum. We sold everything in the lab, then renovated and installed new Haas CNC machines. As the riggers pulled up, we could feel the change about to take place!
With new curriculum and technology in place, we opened the doors in Fall 2005. In less than a year we witnessed a total transformation by closing the books on the old and starting a new chapter in advanced manufacturing.
As the lab suddenly filled with students you could sense the excitement and energy in the air. Students enrolled, the program grew exponentially, funding sources opened up, approvals became easier, and suddenly we were being visited by local politicians, High Schools, manufacturing organizations, and even our own Governor Granholm!
Macomb purchased a wide variety of CNC machines for different reasons—from size and horsepower requirements, to feedrate and spindle speed. We not only teach the fundamentals of CNC programming and operation, but we also teach High Speed Machining. In fact, Iscar Metals demonstrated machining at 1600 inches per minute in P-20 tool steel donated by PCS, a local moldbase supplier.