Future Workforce (Youth) – Manufacturing Stories
MACHINIST
As a machinist at a local company that makes vehicles for emergency responders, Rhonda starts her day programming machines to meet precision product specifications. To do this, she needs to read and interpret engineering drawings, blueprints, charts and tables to determine the machining operation to be performed and plan the best sequence of operations. Mid-morning, her manager asks for her to help troubleshoot software issues on a multi-million dollar piece of equipment. After lunch, she jumps back into her earlier task, machining the parts for a new brake line that needs to perform in extreme weather and in intense conditions.
INDUSTRIAL ELECTRICIAN
Madison loves solving problems and working with her hands. Today she is working on a building expansion: her company has invested millions renovating the production floor, expanding the shop and bringing in new equipment from Germany. As she has for the past few weeks, she starts her day reading through drawings, schematics, blueprints and electrical code requirements to lay out new electrical lines in the new building. She double checks yesterday’s installation of switch boxes, feeders and other electrical components and tests hookups for continuity, current, voltage and resistance. She works with her team to troubleshoot and repairs any defects.
TOOL + DIE MAKER
As a tool and die maker, most of Jayden’s day is spent computing and verifying dimensions, sizes, shapes, and tolerances of workpieces. Today is no different. He is setting up a machine tool to make a new metal piece that will be used in electric busses, which will be shipped all over the world. The template is based on sketches Jayden developed last week after reviewing the product specifications and schematics with the engineering team. Next, he’ll make metal molds for molding plastics. After his lunch break, he’ll be heading to a safety training workshop on CNC machine safety.