Waste not, want not! Machine Tool Receives Grant

Waste not, want not! The Machine Tool Department received a Faculty Staff Grant from the Sheridan College Foundation to bring in Dr. Hetland, an expert in Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T), to do a training at Sheridan College. GD&T is a complicated language using symbols and numbers on blueprints which allows machinists to make the most precise products possible from the designs that were drawn by engineers. Being able to read and understand GD&T language prevents waste that can occur when inaccurate parts are created from misinterpreted blueprints.

A famous example of such a mistake… How NASA Lost a Spacecraft From a Metric Math Mistake | SimScale.

There is a general lack of knowledge of, and a lack of standardization in GD&T language. This training, held at Sheridan College for three days in June of 2021, gave the participants a solid understanding of reading the GD&T language on blueprints, and trained them to international standards.

The GD&T training session was advertised to local industries so industry partners in the area could have access to, and see the value of the proper use of GD&T. The training was enthusiastically attended by industry professionals from Sheridan companies L&H Industrial, Craftco Metals, Weatherby, Kennon and Gunwerks, in addition to the Sheridan College and Gillette College faculty members.

The information from this training has been incorporated into the curriculum for students in the Machine Tool Programs. This advanced knowledge will give our students an edge when they enter the workforce, since they will be able to design and manufacture efficiently, and understand the accuracy needed for the quality required, with the least amount of waste.

All parties involved in the GD&T training agreed it was a great success. Not only did our faculty and students gain valuable real-world knowledge, but our community partners were able to benefit from the training as well. This collaboration bodes well for our students, since our local industries -who understand how well our students are trained – hire many of our graduates!

Faculty Staff Grants, funded by generous donors to the Sheridan College Foundation, provide funding assistance for projects that fall outside of the Sheridan College budget.