Mr. Nadeau in front of a new VMC2 Vertical Machining Center

Published: Jul. 14, 2022, 6:38 p.m.

Manufacturing technology head instructor Ron Nadeau and Career Technical Education Director Peter Taloumis met in the manufacturing shop at Westfield Technical Academy on July 12 for the arrival of new equipment purchased with a Skills Capital Grant of $246,306 that was awarded in the spring.

The purchases will incorporate computer numerical control (CNC) technology into all the milling machines on the underclassmen (grades 9-10) side, and advanced CNC technology in all of the milling machines on the upperclassmen side, upgrading them from EMX controls to new PhotoTrac KMX controls. Also purchased were three new bandsaws, a VMC2 CNC milling machine, and new TouchView 4K interactive displays for the computer-aided design (CAD) laboratory, among other items.

Students in manufacturing tech begin training halfway through their freshman year. They are introduced to the equipment in their sophomore year, and by halfway through their junior year they learn the CNC, and how to fully set up CNC machines.

“We can do [the work] manually or controlled by a computer,” Nadeau said. He said businesses with a tool room application still do things more manually, and CNC is used more for mass production.

The goals of the shop are directed by the advisory committee made up of industry professionals, according to Nadeau.

“That is the beauty of this style of teaching,” he said.

Taloumis said the juniors and seniors in the program are 100% employed, and at their jobs use both manual and CNC technology.

Also purchased were new interactive 4K TouchView displays for the CAD laboratory. Two years ago, the school upgraded the computers in the lab through a Perkins grant of $250,000. Nadeau said the CAD lab uses standalone equipment, because the software is too technically demanding to run on the Chromebook computers that students use in their other classes.

https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2022/07/state-grant-nets-250k-in-equipment-for-westfield-technical-academy-manufacturing-shop.html