Moraine Park Technical College Electromechanical Technology students were awarded new robotics technology after placing first at Lab Midwest’s Team Robotics Competition.  

Moraine Park students Anthony Biel of West Bend, Timothy Vukosich of Fond du Lac, and Gregory Van Slyke of Hartford participated in the Team Robotics Competition this fall. The students were presented with the award by Lab Midwest and Fanuc, Dec. 9, at Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac campus. 

“The recognition is awesome, and I’m glad we were able to win some new equipment for our program,” Biel said. “I placed second at the competition when I was in high school, so I was really excited when I got the chance to compete again and represent Moraine Park.” 

The Team Robotics Competition is part of the Wisconsin Manufacturing & Technology Show– the largest manufacturing technology show in the state. The competition allows high school and college students across Wisconsin to test their robotic programming knowledge and compete against other students using Fanuc technology. Each team was given three hours to complete a set of tasks using a Fanuc Fenceless LR Mate 6-axis robot. The students were judged on their ability to complete the objective, the complexity of their programming, teamwork and general robotics knowledge. 

“We appreciate the students’ incredible work preparing and participating in the competition,” Mike Dietrich, vice president of K-12 and training at Lab Midwest, said. “We love providing opportunities for the students to show off their skills, and we’re very thankful to Moraine Park for building our future workforce.” 

The students were awarded a PLC/HMI Training System from Rockwell and APT Manufacturing to be used by the Moraine Park Electromechanical program. 

“The Electromechanical Technology program plans to use the technology to teach programmable logic controller to industrial robot integration,” said MPTC Electromechanical instructor, Craig Habeck. 

Moraine Park’s Electromechanical Technology program is a 2-year associate degree program. In class, students learn how to think critically and use technology to solve problems and program, use and maintain electromechanical and automated equipment. For more information visit morainepark.edu/academics/programs/electromechanical-technology/. 

Moraine Park Mechanical Design Technology Instructor, Kim Olson, has been involved in several international presentations for Formlabs, a 3D printing manufacturer.

Earlier this spring, Olson presented for Formlabs about Injection Mold Design. There were 1100 registrants and over 360 live attendants from all around the world. 

In June, he gave his second presentation titled Considerations for Injection Molding with 3D Printed Molds vs. Metal Molds. There were over 300 attendees.

In both of these presentations, there were 90-minute Q&A portions where attendees could ask Olson direct questions about his work and 3D printed molds.

His most recent presentation was last week, Oct. 26-27, for the Formlabs Global User Summit. He was one of 40 presenters from countries all around the world.

“There is additive manufacturing and there is subtractive manufacturing,” Olson said. “Think of subtractive manufacturing as carving away at clay. You keep taking clay away until you’ve created something. Additive manufacturing is creating something by building up from nothing. That’s where Formlabs and 3D printing comes in.”

Olson has been teaching at Moraine Park’s West Bend campus for the past 25 years. Some of his classes include AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Jig and Fixture Design, Tool Design and Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerance. 

Before bringing his expertise to Moraine Park, Olson designed zinc cast dies for an automotive lock manufacturer in Milwaukee for 15 years.

Over the last 3-4 years he’s gained a significant amount of experience using Formlabs with Moraine Park students.

“We’re all passionate about what we do,” Olson said. “The satisfying part comes when we get the opportunity to share what we do with others.”

For more information on Moraine Park’s Mechanical Design Technology program, visit https://www.morainepark.edu/academics/programs/mechanical-design-technology/.

In celebration of Manufacturing Month-here’s an exciting opportunity to help start your career in manufacturing.

Moraine Park is helping combat the skilled worker shortage by providing skill development through the Manufacturing Skills Academy.

This program, also known as manufacturing boot camps, offers the opportunity to explore a unique career pathway. The manufacturing boot camp is a 3-month training program in either CNC Machining or welding. During the program, you are part of a paid internship with a local employer. This means you’ll be paid while you learn! At the end of the program, you’ll have a college certificate and, in most cases, the opportunity to turn your internship into a full-time career.

Your first step toward your new career begins at our information sessions this November– offered both in-person and online. Here, you’ll learn about each career, meet the instructors and get the next step enrollment information.

One more great feature, Moraine Park’s boot camp programs are tuition-free. The tuition and materials costs are covered completely by grants and community support.

No previous manufacturing experience is necessary and there are no income limitations.

So, what are you waiting for? Space in the program is limited- sign up for your information session today to get started!

Information sessions are on Nov. 9 at the Fond du Lac campus and Nov. 17 online. Registration is required and information can be found here.

More information on Moraine Park’s boot camps can be found here.

This summer, teens from the Fond du Lac, Tri-County, and Jackson Boys and Girls Clubs will be learning about various careers through the MPTC Dream Big community service project.

The Dream Big project started in 2017 with  area BGC teens visiting MPTC or MPTC students visiting the Clubs each semester to help teens learn more about the over 100 careers available through MPTC. This past year, due to COVID, no visiting was possible. The MPTC Student Community Impact Team, in partnership with faculty leaders, came up with a plan to offer summer career exploration of welding, blueprint reading, cosmetology, and culinary through interactive videos with fun hands on activities.

Dream Big is a great community partnership opportunity to showcase MPTC careers and for area teens to get excited about career choices! Tri-County Boys and Girls Club Director of Operations Mindy Collado said, “We are so excited for these Dream Big opportunities! Thanks for stopping in today and delivering all the goodies. The teens already had a lot of fun and I am sure we will get good use out of the careers materials all throughout this summer! Thank you MPTC!”

Moraine Park is continuously working to address the needs of local industries, and the recent change to one of their main manufacturing programs did just that.

Quality and Advanced Manufacturing Technology (QAMT) is a restructured version of the Process Engineering program. The new program kept many of the same outcomes of the Process Engineering program-adding in a significant focus on automation.  

“Process Engineering was a very successful program,” Tom Roehl, Moraine Park instructor, said. “The reason for the change was simply to include some curriculum around the newer technology we are seeing in the industry. Many of our manufacturing partners are relying heavily on advanced manufacturing, and we want our graduates’ skills to match the needs of our industries.”  

QAMT is a two-year associate degree program. The first class began in fall 2020.   

“We are seeing significant support for this program from our manufacturing partners,” Roehl said. “All of our students in this program are employed in the manufacturing field, and some have seen promotions since starting the program. This tells us that what they are learning in the classroom is directly benefiting their career and our local industries.”  

The College worked with the program’s advisory committee, comprised of industry leaders, to create a curriculum that meets their needs.   

“Many of our manufactures are moving to an Industry 4.0 or smart factory environment,” Roehl said. “This program update will ensure our students are learning skills that will prepare them for success in the field.”  

There are currently 10 students in the program, and they all hold full-time jobs outside of school.   

“We try to format our courses to offer solutions for the working adult,” Roehl said. “We understand that committing to a full-time school schedule isn’t always a feasible option, and I’m proud that this program offers options for both full and part-time students.”  

The statewide median salary for graduates is $45,132, in job roles such as Quality Assurance Technician, Manufacturing Engineering Technician, CNC Programmer, and Robotics and Material-Handling Technician- to name a few.  

For more information on QAMT, visit morainepark.edu. 

Chairs spread out across the cafeteria.

Air fives for congratulations.

Alumni and business partner videos.

Masked pictures.

Family and friends attending on zoom.

Individually wrapped “cake”.

The Fall 2020 Welding and CNC Boot Camp completion definitely looked different from the ones MPTC’s Economic and Workforce Development has held before. But then, so did the entire boot camp.

Boot camp is always intense. The phrase, “We call it boot camp for a reason,” gets thrown around often as the normal stresses of learning to be a student again, balancing home and work life, and life hurdles get in the way. This semester the addition of quarantines and resulting virtual attendance and loss of hands on time added to the challenge.

But nine remained and we celebrated your accomplishment the only way we could. EWD wishes the best to our boot camp completers and acknowledges the extra hurdles you overcame, the extra patience you showed, and the extra flexibility it took to make it though.

We’re proud of you and your unique accomplishment.

We hope the unique ceremony showed just how much.

MPTC’s Economic and Workforce Development boot camps have been held continuously since fall of 2012 at little or no charge to students. Recruiting for spring has already begun. If you’re interested in being part of boot camps, or just want to know a little bit more about them, look us up at www.morainepark.edu/bootcamps.

Last winter, just a few weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic, Brenda was beginning the CNC Boot Camp training through the department of Economic & Workforce Development.  She already had years of manufacturing experience but wanted to upgrade her career in the field of computer operated machining. 

When this training was forced to go virtual, Brenda struggled. But MPTC staff encouraged her to persist and even allowed her to seek an internship outside the region when she was forced to move closer to family. Ultimately, Brenda flourished in this field and earned her Entry-Level CNC Certificate and a job offer by June. Her new employer was impressed with her CNC training and complemented her instructors. 

Brenda says, “I’m glad I stuck with it! And when I was offered a better position last month, they were glad I knew how to run multiple machines; I’m earning more money today than I ever have!” 

Are you interested in getting into a new career in just 3 months like Brenda? What about earning a college level certificate with hands on training and a PAID internship as part of the program? Even better – there is NO TUITION for students! Tuition and materials are covered 100% by a combination of grants and community agency support. No experience necessary and no income limits applied!

Spring Boot Camps are starting soon, so check out the upcoming opportunities to learn more about this amazing program.  Visit morainepark.edu/bootcamps to sign up for an upcoming information session.  

Are you interested in a new career in just 3 months? What about earning a college level certificate with hands on training and a PAID internship as part of the deal? Even better- NO TUITION for students! Tuition and materials are covered 100% by a combination of grants and community agency support. No experience necessary and no income limits applied! Check out upcoming opportunities with Moraine Park’s Manufacturing Boot Camps. We offer 3 month training programs in CNC Machining and in Welding where you can earn an entry level certificate and take part in a paid internship at a local business with the opportunity for it to become a full time job offer when you complete the program.

Unsure what Welding and CNC Machining have to offer? Come check us out at our Test Drive on December 9^th where you can tour the labs, participate in a workshop for CNC or Welding and try your hand at creating a project with the help of our instructors. Participating is FREE and you are not obligated to apply or enroll after. Spaces will be limited due to COVID-19 protocols, so please sign up early.

The first step to enrolling in Boot Camps is attending an Information Session, where you will learn more about Boot Camps and next steps. Information sessions will be held in January 2021 and Boot Camps will run March-June 2021. Boot Camps are a full time program for 3 months and run Monday-Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.

Sign up for an Information session now

Visit www.morainepark.edu/bootcamps to sign up for the Test Drive or for an Information Session to learn more!

We are excited to introduce Dan Zoschke, our new Welding Instructor in the Economic and Workforce Development Department. In his role, Dan works with participants who are learning and crafting their manufacturing and welding skills.  He will also be working with students in our short term manufacturing boot camps as well as support the growth of that program.

Dan came to Moraine Park Technical College from a long career in Manufacturing.  He has worked at Apache Stainless Corporation as a Welder/Fabricator specializing in custom built tanks.  This included Tig welding several different types of metals including Stainless, Hastelloy, Titanium and other high alloy materials.  Dan has also worked at Central Cable Contractors as a Maintenance Welder.  During his time at Central Cable, he had performed high level skilled welding on light and heavy duty equipment in control environments as well as in the field using all welding processes.     

Dan is passionate about manufacturing and is excited to share his skills with current and future business partners as well as boot camp students. 

“I am eager to meet and work with our business partners as well as our boot camp students.  I am looking forward to making a positive impact in the lives of boot camp students.  I am also excited to support the growth of skilled trades within our district as well as promote sustainable careers in manufacturing.”

Interested in learning more about our contracted training, visit
https://www.morainepark.edu/experience-mptc/services/business-industry/