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Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (ERC/RMS)The Portable Manufacturing System Project (PMSP)To increase the interest in and understanding of manufacturing among middle and high school students, the University of Michigan's ERC for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (ERC/RMS) designed a short course on manufacturing and built a portable manufacturing cell that is taken to local schools for hands-on experience. More recently, this Portable Manufacturing System Project (PMSP) has been upgraded so that the cell can be also operated via the Internet. The goals of the PMSP program are to • expose middle and high school students to manufacturing engineering through a hands-on engineering activity,• provide these students with an opportunity to interact with engineering students, and • motivate the students to consider engineering and technology-related careers. The PMSP cell is composed of a CNC milling machine, a robot, and a personal computer (PC) that controls the entire system. To facilitate simultaneous access by multiple student users, six additional PCs are included in the cell. The PMSP cell and all necessary equipment are set up at the participating school. In a two-week long program, students from the ERC/RMS teach the middle and high school students about basic concepts of manufacturing, computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and simple computer programming. Building upon these skills, the students learn how to use the robot and a milling machine. The program enables students to bring a simple product from concept and design to the manufacturing stage. Throughout the program, the students develop their problem-solving and teamwork skills by working in groups of two. The PMSP has introduced manufacturing engineering to over 950 students;
plans are to impact 500 students in the Ann Arbor school district each
year and to expand to other local districts. The PMSP also reaches the
general public through museum exhibits. These programs help to attract
a talented and diverse group of students to the field of manufacturing. To learn more about this topic:
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Students at Mack Middle School are working on Learn More |
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