{"id":10007,"date":"2024-12-09T11:00:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T11:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=10007"},"modified":"2025-05-12T15:34:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T15:34:56","slug":"hands-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=10007","title":{"rendered":"Hands On"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shay Pilcher, a mechanical engineering research engineer working in the Montgomery Advanced Manufacturing Laboratories, works on a Trak TRL 1630RX lathe capable of manual, CNC and conversational turning.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Larry Montgomery believes in education, which trains the minds and hands of young men and women to work skillfully. <\/span><\/p>\n

If only he\u2019d gone to Auburn. <\/span><\/p>\n

Montgomery grew up like most future mechanical engineers. In his spare time, he took apart machines and tinkered with engines. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you needed help fixing your boat, he could lend a hand as best he could. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut,\u201d he said, \u201cI didn\u2019t know how to do it properly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Heading to college, Montgomery assumed, would surely change that. It didn\u2019t. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was accepted for undergraduate study in mechanical engineering, I highly anticipated the opportunity to develop practical skills through hands-on instruction,\u201d said Montgomery, a 1978 Georgia Tech graduate who spent most of his career in engineering and management with American consumer goods giant Kimberly-Clark. \u201cI was disappointed to earn a degree without ever touching a tool.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

At Auburn, he wouldn\u2019t have made it past his third semester without touching one. <\/span><\/p>\n

They call it \u2014 MECH 2020 Manufacturing Technology Lab: \u201cManufacturing technology lab for introduction of processes such as cutting, forming, machining and joining of metals and other materials. Basic and applied machine shop and manufacturing floor safety.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The place that makes it possible? The Design and Manufacturing Laboratory (DML) in the basement of Wiggins Hall, home base for the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering\u2019s unique approach to advanced manufacturing education. Which, thanks to the Montgomery Family Foundation \u2014 directed by Larry and his wife, Mary \u2014 just got a lot more advanced. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a particular passion of ours,\u201d Montgomery said, \u201cto help provide hands-on experiences for undergraduate engineering students.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Emphasis on \u201cundergraduate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The extensive equipment upgrade built into the $2.1 million renovation of what is now the Montgomery Advanced Manufacturing Laboratories includes a
variety of CNC machines \u2014 a Haas 5-axis machining center, a Haas 3-axis lathe and two Haas 3-axis machining centers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cUndergraduate \u2014 that\u2019s the key word,\u201d said Jordan Roberts, senior lecturer. \u201cYou see similar equipment to what we have in the DML used for research opportunities at several peer institutions, but those are relegated to self-selected upperclassmen for specific projects or research. That\u2019s something we fully support, but Auburn is unique in that, as far as we can see, no other four-year institutions provide their undergraduate students with a hands-on manufacturing experience as full as this one.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s getting fuller by the month. The DML was born in 2008 in the old Mech Shop, which served the college mostly as a space for research project fabrication. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDr. David (Doc) Dyer, who was department chair at the time, decided to convert that shop into what they called the Design and Manufacturing Lab to teach mechanical engineering students how manufacturing impacts design,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cYou know there\u2019s that line in the Auburn Creed about this being a \u2018practical world.\u2019 Well, Doc was a big believer in that. You can design things all you want, but can you actually manufacture those designs? That\u2019s pretty important. That was the consideration they were trying to impart in mechanical engineering students. That\u2019s what we\u2019re still trying to impart.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2012, the lab moved to the basement of Wiggins Hall. Students came, students went. <\/span><\/p>\n

The equipment, however, mostly remained the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Students working in the Design and Manufacturing Lab within the Montgomery Advanced Manufacturing Laboratories can utilize professional-grade
milling machines, lathes (including three manual Bridgeports and two large engine lathes), a Clausing radial drill, grinders and even a powder coat system.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Roberts, who earned a master\u2019s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from Auburn, took the lab\u2019s reins in December 2019. Hopes were high. Then, the world changed. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, the incredible challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic also brought plenty of unexpected opportunities. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot long after I took over, President (Christopher) Roberts, who was then dean of engineering, stopped by the lab for a presentation on safety,\u201d he said. \u201cAfterward, he asked me what could help take the DML to the next level.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

So, in March 2020, as the actual gears ground to a halt, the metaphorical gears started turning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we shut down, we were really able to take stock of what we had, what was working well, what wasn\u2019t working so well and what we could do to really enhance our students\u2019 experience,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cThat meant looking not just at the equipment and tools available but how the students were able to engage with them. We talked with college alumni, with alumni of the lab and with friends of the college to come together on how to build on what we had.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Friends like the Montgomerys.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Front, from left: Christian Brodbeck, director of engineering research operations; Montgomery Family Foundation principals Mary and Larry Montgomery; Jordan Roberts, senior engineering lecturer; and Mario Eden, dean of engineering, tour the new and improved Design and Manufacturing Laboratory, which anchors the recently renovated Montgomery Advanced Manufacturing Laboratories in the basement of Wiggins Hall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen we first met with Larry, it was very clear that we both have a passion for undergraduate engineering education that involves hands-on experiences \u2014 those high-impact experiences where our students can use the resources in this space to prepare for the career they will have,\u201d Roberts said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to the Montgomery Family Foundation gift, when our graduates walk into those environments, they are now going to be very familiar in ways they havenn\u2019t been in the past,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shay Pilche<\/a>r, a 2021 and 2022 mechanical engineering graduate now working for the Department of Mechanical Engineering as a research engineer, said replicating those enviroments required a few road trips. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I took this class several years ago, the machinery and the technology we were using was pretty outdated,\u201d Pilcher said. \u201cIt was almost like a hobby-level lab. We were getting experience, but weren\u2019t really being introduced to what was truly out in the industry. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne day, just after he took over as director, Dr. (Jordan) Roberts found me in class and asked if I wanted to work in the lab and plan how to really elevate what we were offering. What we and some of the other TA\u2019s (teaching assistants) quickly realized is that the lab wasn\u2019t what was represented [to students] when they leave school, which was the whole purpose of that introductory class. So we said, \u2018let\u2019s go tour some places, let\u2019s go look and actually ask some questions about what we needed to improve,\u2019 because we really needed to get industry-standard stuff in here,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

They got it in there.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Larry Montgomery, left, and Jordan Roberts, examine the Creaform MetraSCAN 3D. The state-of-the-art scanner is now available to Auburn Engineering students and faculty utilizing the renovated Montgomery Advanced Manufacturing Laboratories.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The extensive equipment upgrade built into the $2.75 million renovation of the laboratories and work areas now collectively known as the Montgomery Advanced Manufacturing Laboratories includes a variety of CNC machines \u2014 a Haas 5-axis machining center, a Haas 3-axis lathe and two Haas 3-axis machining centers. The lab also features advanced 3D printing capabilities with metal printing systems from Markforged and One-Click Metal, a Stratasys Fortus large-format polymer printer and a Meltio metal printer integrated with the Haas 5-axis machine. In the DML alone, students utilize professional-grade milling machines, lathes (including three manual Bridgeports and two large engine lathes), a Clausing radial drill, grinders and even a powder coat system. The lab also provides dedicated space for student project assembly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have three different methods of printing metals, which is great given how important additive manufacturing is becoming in today\u2019s manufacturing environment,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have an incredible inspection room with half a million dollars in measurement machines, including a state-of-the-art Creaform MetraSCAN 3D scanner<\/a> that can scan anything from a trinket to a vehicle, which is something we have actually done for some (Department of Defense) partners.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But the new era doesn\u2019t just include new resources, it includes new offerings. The increased functionality of the space, which now incorporates additional square footage previously utilized mostly for storage, has inspired proposals for seven additional technical electives throughout the next several years supporting a Mechanical Engineering Advanced Manufacturing Certificate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur students can now walk into the DML, and when they go to a co-op, an internship or to their career, they\u2019ll see very similar techniques, very similar machinery and they\u2019ll know the verbiage and the procedures,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cThey will be better engineers because of what\u2019s been done here. Again, it comes back to that line in the Creed. We\u2019re instilling the tools for success in a practical world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pilcher agrees.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEngineers can do things in theory all day long \u2014 crunch numbers, make the most beautiful design you\u2019ve ever seen in your life,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if you never understand what fabricators and machinists have to go through, if you don\u2019t step into their shoes, you don\u2019t understand the process you have to go through to test those designs and make them real products. <\/span><\/p>\n

And, in some cases, designs can\u2019t physically be made even with the massive advancements in tech over the past couple of years. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese classes and these designs are designed to show students, \u2018Hey, just because it looks good on paper, doesn\u2019t mean you can physically do it in real life, and if you can\u2019t do it in real life, you have to go back and forth with the machinists and fabricators.\u2019 We\u2019re giving them the knowledge of exactly what they need to be designing. That saves time, that saves money, that makes you a far more effective engineer for a company. And that\u2019s what Auburn is producing \u2014 effective and efficient engineers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Just like Larry Montgomery wanted to be.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI came out of college probably as a pretty decent heat transfer and thermodynamics guy, but I was lacking the skills I was really looking for,\u201d Montgomery said at the October dedication of the Montgomery Advanced Manufacturing Laboratories<\/a>. \u201cAcademia of the day determined that it wasn\u2019t relevant, that working with your hands \u2014 creating something and holding it in your hands \u2014 was passe, that it wasn\u2019t needed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut having spent my career as a mechanical engineer, I am convinced of the value of hands-on experiences to complement classroom instruction. We were motivated to make our gifts because of how the Auburn Engineering culture stresses the practical application of knowledge. This is particularly important for success in business today,\u201d he added. <\/span><\/p>\n

George Petrie couldn\u2019t have said it better himself<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n