Penn State Erie, The Behrend College

VISI Machining lets students at Penn-state-Erie learn CNC machining quickly and then to develop high-end NC programs for core and cavity work.

Penn State Behrend is one of only four academic institutions in the United States with an accredited Plastics Engineering Program. Their campus in Erie, Pennsylvania, houses the largest plastics lab in the country dedicated to undergraduate studies and utilizing multimillion-dollar state-of-the-art computers, software, materials, and plastics manufacturing equipment.

Five years ago, Jon Meckley, Chair of the Plastics Department, was looking for a new machining system for the Penn State Behrend Plastics Lab to replace their previous one which had proven to be too difficult to use. He needed a system that would be easier for students to learn and use, but that could also develop sophisticated high-end toolpaths needed for mold core and cavity work.

After his investigations, Jon chose the VISI-Machining system from Vero International for the Plastics Lab.

“The student program in the Lab is all about teaching students the entire process of bringing a plastic product design to market – from part design and verification to tool design, tool build, and product manufacturing. The deficiencies in our previous system detracted from our ability to educate students in the higher-level processes of bringing a product from art to part,” explained Jon.

To date, the use of VISI-Machining in the Lab has proven extremely beneficial for Penn State Behrend. “My students are able to pick up the entire subject matter of CNC machining within two class periods. We cover an overview of machining, then go on to cover roughing, semi-finish, and finishing NC toolpaths. After that, students are able to work on developing their own core and cavity programs,” Jon says.

“What’s more,” explains Jon, “it’s very rewarding to see our students go off into industry grounded in world-class, state of the art, technology.”

About the Organization:
Name: Penn State Erie, Behrend College.
Business: Mechanical Engineering education in Plastics Engineering Technology.

Benefits Achieved:
• Students are able to learn all aspects of CNC programming in only 2 class periods.
• Once educated they are able to develop their own mold core and cavity programs.

Comments:
“VISI-Machining has given us a system that is easy to learn and that can develop the sophisticated core and cavity NC programs we need.”