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tabletop
mill educational table top routers wood |
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tabletop
mill educational table top routers wood |
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The school purchased a Techno Series III Gantry system with X,Y, and Z axes. The motion of the axes is controlled by a machine controller which receives its signals directly from an ordinary PC. The Techno system allows for all kinds of milling, routing and engraving, and makes such procedures simple to execute. A user draws whatever design he or she wishes to cut, using AutoCad, MASTERCAM®, or another design program. This file is then translated into a code which is understood by the controller. Once the material is mounted on the table, and a bit attached to the Z axis, the milling, routing, or engraving can be executed at the touch of a button. Whatever was drawn can now be created. It is this instant conversion from picture to product which has made the Techno machine such a success with the Cochrane students. Previously, students did learn AutoCad in their design classes. However, once they had designed something, they were done. The students could go no further than produce a two dimension picture of what a product would look like. But now, they can actually create the product, and according to Gary Martin, a manufacturing teacher at Cochrane, that has made a huge difference. Students are much more enthusiastic now that they can actually see real, finished products. As a result, enrollment for the course is up. A number of factors made the Techno system Cochrane's choice. The biggest factor was the size of the table. With the Techno gantry, the students can cut panels as large as 40"x50". In addition, they can get travel on the Z-axis up to 7". Other available machines are table-top models which are much smaller. Such machines are only useful for producing wax prototypes of products. With the Techno machine, the students can create products which they can conceivably sell in the market place; and, in fact, the exact same Techno system which the students are using is actually used in the woodworking, engraving and other manufacturing industries. This realism was also a major selling point for Cochrane , since it truly prepares the students for the "real world" of manufacturing. Yet even though the Techno machine is a professional tool, the price was still acceptable for the high school to make the purchase. And the educational benefits of the machine have made the purchase more than worth it. The students of Cochrane High have already used the Techno machine for a wide variety of projects. Sophomores have used the machinery to make personalized chests of drawers. They drew personal emblems using AutoCad and then used the Techno system to engrave these onto the chests. They then used the Techno machine to cut dado joints into the side panels which could then be used to put the chests together. The juniors used the system to create plaques out of Melamine. Again using AutoCad, the students created designs for their plaques and then, with the Techno system, cut grooves into the Melamine. After coloring the grooves with grease pencils, the juniors had plaques decorated with images ranging from suns to cartoon characters. Perhaps the biggest project attempted has been by the seniors who have used the machine to build kayaks. The kayaks require two halves of a continuous curve cut out of plywood sheets just under 1/4" thick. Previously, this would be done by use of a template, a handsaw, and a plane, and was not an easy procedure. Now, the seniors can draw the pattern directly on AutoCad and cut the kayak instantly on the table.
At a reasonable price, Cochrane has been able to incorporate a machine used extensively as a tool in manufacturing fields as a teaching tool in the field of education. The Techno system allows students to easily convert drawings into finished, professional- looking products. Enthusiasm is up, as is enrollment. In addition, the Techno machinery has allowed Cochrane to update its courses as well as integrate its curriculum. In all, thanks to the Techno system, Cochrane has been able to improve the quality of its students' education. And that means Techno passes with honors. |
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When Cochrane High School in Ontario, Canada, wanted to advance
and improve their Technology Education program, they chose Techno to help
them make the grade. The school has a number of separate technical
departments including a drafting department, a woodworking shop, a welding
shop, and an auto shop. However, students were losing interest in the
programs, and enrollment was beginning to decline. The government awarded
the school money to integrate the various departments, thereby improving
the program. 
The fact that they
can create finished products so easily has allowed the students to make
things outside of their required projects. One group of students used the
Techno system to design and create a miniature backboard which could be
attached to a garbage pail for impromptu basketball games. Martin affirms
that the machine has opened up new ideas for students, because they are
enthusiastic about creating something that looks professional. Increased
enthusiasm means increased learning – and this has indeed been the case.
Martin cites one instance where a student wanted to engrave a taxi sign
for his father's taxi stand. 
machinery
has allowed Cochrane to integrate their Manufacturing courses as they
planned. Drafting courses and woodworking courses have been clearly
integrated since students can now learn AutoCAD in design class, and use
the program they made there to create a project in woodworking class.
Martin sees the transportation department soon becoming integrated also.
Previously, students in transportation classes only learned about
automobiles. However, the curriculum will soon extend to other modes of
transportation since models of these modes can be created using the Techno
gantry. Down the line, Martin sees even nontechnological courses, such as
English and marketing, being linked to the manufacturing courses thanks to
the machine. Since the students can produce professional-looking products
on the machinery, and since the school is located in a tourist community,
the students may soon begin selling the things they make on the Techno
machine. This will allow the school to teach such areas as economics and
advertising with real life examples. Integrating all these subjects is a
goal which Cochrane now finds within its reach with the Techno system.
