Hurco hosted a SkillsUSA competition between Indiana students at its international headquarters in Indianapolis in April to help support and promote youth in manufacturing.
The Competition
On April 20, students from South Adams Area 18 Education Center and Prosser Career Education Center faced off in a competition organized by SkillsUSA, which works to empower students to become skilled professionals. Although Hurco has helped with SkillsUSA competitions in the past, the company was proud to host the event for the first time Saturday.
SkillsUSA has many competition categories; this was the Automated Manufacturing Technology competition.
"The competition evaluates teams in the integrated manufacturing technology fields of computer aided drafting/design (CAD), computer aided manufacturing (CAM), and computer numerical controlled machining (CNC)," explained SkillsUSA. "CAD operators construct the part geometry; the CAM operator generates the tool paths; and the CNC operator sets up and machines the part."
The Winner
The teams were judged on a points-based scoring system provided by SkillsUSA. There were 27 scoring categories that ranged from -50 points for safety violations to +150 points for surface finish/dimensional accuracy.
Competition was fierce, but Prosser managed to edge out South Adams to take the victory!
(Prosser's winning part)
"It was close, and both teams excelled in different areas, but Prosser's programming and time management ultimately helped them win," said Hurco Applications Engineer Antwan Minor-Smith, who assisted with the event.
Prosser moves forward to the championship at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
Youth in Manufacturing
Hurco has made it a priority to support education and industry partners who work to attract younger generations to manufacturing. As a manufacturing technology company, Hurco sees firsthand how the skills gap and labor shortage are impacting the industry and causing difficulties for machine shops across the country. By focusing efforts on not just introducing youth to the manufacturing industry but equipping them with the skills it takes to succeed, Hurco hopes to contribute to a bright future for American manufacturing.
In addition to partnerships with Vincennes University, Oakland Community College, Ferris State and Area 31/Ben Davis High School, and assisting with educational events such as SkillsUSA and Make48, Hurco aims to help ease the pain of the skills gap and labor shortage through its products.
Hurco automation allows shops to maximize the contribution of their existing employees, increase productivity and increase machine utilization, while the 3D Import feature is a skills gap buster that enables machinists to go from "solid to part" seamlessly and eliminate extra steps.
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