PJC students see design and engineering future at Dallas expo
Published or Revised January 11, 2017
At top are shown the PJC students attending the Solidworks Expo (from left): Josiah Newman, Hunter Powers, Kolton Leatherwood, J.D. Marrs, Corey Oglesby, PJC CAD Instructor Chris Malone, Christy Roberts, and Danny Mendoza. Not pictured is Carlos Vera of Paris and De’Ron Breece of Houston. They were able to see such things as the largest 3D printer (at the time) in the world and one of its products.
An integrated future of design and engineering with exciting developments in 3D printing were experienced by Paris Junior College students who attended the 2016 Solidworks World Convention in Dallas. Solidworks is one of the leading design programs in the world, and the company hosts the event annually in Dallas to promote new ideas, software and technology by bringing together some of the greatest minds, engineers and software developers from all over the world.
“We use Solidworks at PJC for the majority of our program,” said PJC CAD Instructor Chris Malone, “it is exciting for the students to see the technology of tomorrow and where we are going with design, especially now that PJC offers a certificate in 3D Printing and Rapid Prototyping. There are a lot of companies in Northeast Texas who use Solidworks; we spend a semester to a semester and a half on it. The students are excited to see what types of jobs are available and the keynote speakers were technology leaders from around the world. In one day, industries as diverse as brewing, aerospace and lingerie all gave demonstrations of how they were creating breakthrough projects using 3D design.”
PJC students on the trip included Carlos Vera of Paris, De’Ron Breece of Houston, Josiah Newman of Roxton, Hunter Powers of Sulphur Bluff, Kolton Leatherwood and Corey Oglesby of Cooper, J.D. Marrs of Blossom, Christy Roberts of Sumner, and Danny Mendoza of Mount Vernon.
They were impressed by a lifesize 3D print of a boy created by the SeeMeCNC Partdaddy delta 3D printer - at 15 feet tall it is currently the world’s largest - and the show met with rave reviews.
“I found what I want to do,” said Mendoza after seeing 3D automotive virtual design.
After watching a HAAS CNC (computer numerically controlled) machine turn a block of metal into a finished working part in less than 10 minutes, both Powers and Roberts agreed that they hope to be able to train on one of the new CNC machines recently purchased by PJC.
Hundreds of vendors from all over the United States and the world were part of the show.
“We met people from Japan, Germany, and The Netherlands,” said Malone.
The expo previewed new technology and featured hundreds of innovative products designed by Solidworks customers. Connected products are a new economy of goods and services based around web, analytics and apps working in a virtual cycle. This combination is creating unprecedented growth and leadership opportunities for companies across the globe. Everyone understands that a car is an automobile, but in this new economy, a car is a connected device with apps that happens to have four wheels.
“I think I chose the right field to go into,” said Vera.
