INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES TECHNOLOGY

ASSOCIATE IN APPLIED SCIENCE

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Created in response to industry needs, M-TEC’s Industrial Processes Technology certificate offers a way for you to gain expertise in three formerly separate technologies – computer-aided drafting and design; welding; and machine tool technology. The end result is that you will become an employee who will be in high demand in today’s competitive job market.

Gone are the days when proficiency in any one of these three areas assured you a good job. Today’s employers are looking for workers with a wider range of skills and, therefore, more flexibility on the job.

M-TEC’s instructors will guide you through the study of these closely related trades and introduce you to occupations in which you may use all three. It will be time well spent, leaving you well versed in the terminology and skills of all three fields, making you attuned to different concepts and allowing you to relate to many job situations on a professional level.

Students in this new consolidated program will gain proficiency in the following areas:

COMPUTER AIDED DRAFTING AND DESIGN

Through a combination of lecture, tutorial and textbook teaching, coupled with hands-on computer learning, M-TEC’s CADD courses cover the theory, as well as the practical. You’ll discover the need for creative ideas in the job market of the future. And of course you’ll learn the standards of the trade, including software programs you’ll need to know to bring those ideas to life.

With the understanding that change is now a constant in the drafting and design profession, M-TEC’s CADD instructors take pride in remaining on the leading edge. Students will learn two- and three-dimensional drafting and design concepts using AutoCAD, MasterCam and Solidworks software. These three main concentrations, chosen for their diversity as well as their use in industry, will provide you the solid foundation of knowledge in demand by future employers. Preliminary exposure to additional packages is also available.

CADD instructors are certified by the National Association of Industrial Technology and work with the Michigan Industrial Technical Education Society, staying as closely involved as they need to better forecast future innovations within the drafting and design industry.

The drafters and designers of yesterday were merely the first step in the total process in which an idea made its way to reality. Those skilled in CADD, as well as the related manufacturing skills, will be a huge part of that whole process; a greater and much larger process where thought and design will become synonymous with concept and production.

WELDING

Few professions have proven themselves as adaptable and eager to accept change as have the welding trades. Developed from the ancient craft of the blacksmith, today’s welders have at their disposal tools and techniques never before imagined and new methods continue to keep this challenging and rewarding skill at the technological forefront.

Welding at M-TEC is taught by instructors certified through the American Welding Society, who come from industrial or engineering backgrounds. In a computerized, interactive classroom, they will guide you through an industry specific core curriculum, where the groundwork for all future training is laid. They will teach you the mathematical skills you will need along with the terminology, theoretical concepts, and hands-on skills of the welding industry. Study how to measure and lay out projects, how to identify joints and welds, and the proper use, set up and adjustment of equipment. Study and learn the cutting process using gas, plasma and carbon arc methods.

As you gain comfort and ability with your new skills you will move from the classroom to M-TEC’s state-of-the-art welding lab for practical training in an on-the-job setting. Training in metallurgy will bring you up to date on the physical properties and characteristics of metals, the identification of alloys and how to heat and surface treat steel. You will learn to analyze welds, read welding blueprints and how to make common welds using different methods and practices.

As you advance, M-TEC instructors will show you the techniques you need in this skilled trade, using modern equipment you’ll need to be familiar with. And you’ll also receive cross-discipline training, learning about professions outside the welding trade, but in industries with which you’ll often work.

MACHINE TOOL TECHNOLOGY

As one of the first industrial trades to become fully automated, the machine tool technology trade leads the revolution in the manufacturing industry. The use of computers and robotics by our nation’s manufacturers gained its earliest foothold in the machining industry and tomorrow’s well-trained machinists will continue to develop new ideas and make use of new technologies – assisting industry as it strives to provide the demands of future consumers.

Your training in the machine tool technology curriculum will begin with the study of industry-specific safety practices such as electrical lock-out and tag-out procedures, workplace cleanliness and housekeeping, along with government-mandated safety rules and employee right-to-know laws.

Like all industrial trades, computers have caused a revolution in the machine tool industry. Those changes, coupled with the need to increase productivity and expand accepted concepts in quality, have driven the expectation of today’s employer to levels higher than ever. Partly for these reasons, M-TEC instructors maintain close ties to local industry, staying attuned to industry practices and abreast of changes the industry holds for the skilled worker of the future. In a combination of textbook, interactive computer and hands-on training, your instructors will teach you the basic skills you will need.

To give you an edge in this detail-oriented field, you will study the use of calipers, micrometers, blocks and various gauges including computerized measurement instruments – skills necessary to maintain the specific tolerances of finished parts. And you will study geometric dimensioning and tolerances, as well as machine tool blueprint reading.

As you build your skill level, your instructors will take you from the classroom to the college’s thoroughly modern lab at M-TEC, which contains all the machinery you will find in the work place, including the newest technology – electrical discharge machines (EDM) and computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines.

In the lab you will further acquire skills that you will depend on your entire career. You will learn cutter and drill sharpening and maintenance, including the welding of band-saw blades. M-TEC instructors will teach you to efficiently perform the processes of the machinist – grind, bore, angle cut, ream and counter-bore. You will learn the operation of lathes from maintenance, to set-up, to finished product – turning and knurling as well as external and internal threading. Instructors will teach you to cut profiles, drill and tap holes and cut radiuses.

The modern machinist could not do his or her job if they did not thoroughly understand metallurgy and so studying the characteristics of various metals is part of your training. M-TEC instructors will teach you the physical properties of metal, the behaviors of different types of steel and the constitution of alloys. You will be taught to heat and surface treat steel, to examine and identify metals and to work with cast iron.

If you plan to continue your training, to gain an associate in applied science degree with the intention to transfer to a four-year university, you will go on to complete two extra levels of machine tool training in addition to a small host of general education credits. Plus you will learn statistical process control and advanced metal machining.

KEEPING IN STEP WITH A CHANGING WORLD

M-TEC’s instructors are industry trained, with their own backgrounds in the three fields of study included in this program. They experienced much of the recent change first-hand and maintain close ties to local and broader industry, staying abreast of current trends. At M-TEC your instructors will share their experience, lending you their insight of major manufacturers so you will recognize movements in the industry and be aware of merging technologies.

Students in the IPT program at M-TEC may wish to concentrate on one of the three skill areas, or continue their education by enrolling in the Engineering and Design Technologies Program at Kirtland and work toward an associate’s degree.

What does it take to be successful in today’s high-tech job market?

• You enjoy working with your hands performing skilled operations and take pride in accuracy and quality.
• You have a strict eye for detail and the ability to pay attention to specifics.
• You can practice safe work habits and can maintain a safe working environment.
• You have good hand/eye coordination and good or correctable eyesight.
• You enjoy both physical, hands-on labor and working at a desk or in an office.
• You don’t mind working indoors, in a busy or noisy environment. You enjoy seeing the practical application of your skills and training.
• You have the ability to read instruments of calibration and measurement and mathematical skills which are at least average.
• You have the ability to work both independently and as a part of a larger team.
• You possess the willingness to accept and adapt to changing technology and the ability to incorporate that technology into your work habits.
• You are mechanically inclined with good problem-solving skills.

Technological advancement is considered the greatest force in the exciting field of industrial processes technology and should create the need for well-trained, highly skilled workers. Job opportunities should be excellent for people entering the field, provided they have the diversity of skills demanded by today’s employers; skills you will receive at M-TEC.

For more information about our programs, contact the M-TEC at Kirtland-Gaylord at 989-705-3600 or email us at mtec@kirtland.edu.