PRESQUE ISLE – An Atlanta-based company that specializes in producing three-dimensional design tools has donated a software package and related services valued at $70,555 to Northern Maine Community College for use by students and faculty in the precision metals manufacturing program.
IronCAD, LLC, a leading provider of 3-D design productivity solutions, has provided NMCC with the educational software, which includes the company’s latest version of IRONCAD, v11. The software incorporates customer-driven enhancements, including support for 64 bit operating systems and Windows Vista.
“In the last few months, we have had the opportunity to rollout several projects using IRONCAD,” said Dean Duplessis, NMCC precision metals manufacturing instructor. “The 3-D solid modeling package is well-suited for our area of training – the metal trades. I have developed single component files, as well as some elaborate assemblies, which tie into a bill of material.”
According to Duplessis, one of the key features of the new software is its ease of use. Included are catalogs of predefined features, with a drag and drop design environment including drag and drop sheet metal part creation.
“The IRONCAD software has allowed us to take setup sheets and instructions to a whole new level; one that closely emulates what our students will see in industry. A large component of efficiency in today’s manufacturing facilities is setup reduction – it’s one of the seven Lean Manufacturing building blocks,” said Duplessis. “This continuous improvement is achieved by constantly re-evaluating best practices, making necessary modifications and documenting them accordingly so everyone involved is on the same page. The implementation of IRONCAD into the PMM program has enabled students to experience this first-hand and better understand the importance of process documentation and complete manufacturing accountability.”
In addition to enhancing the student learning experience, the new technology has allowed students to quickly get up to speed in 3-D design.
“At IronCAD, we believe educational institutions need to be given design tools that will allow them to spend more time teaching design principles rather than spending most of a semester teaching a student how to run a particular system,” said Gary O’Connor, IronCAD’s vice president of marketing. “IronCAD products have proven to be the easiest to learn and use, and we are happy to work with Northern Maine Community College and provide the students and instructors with this important learning tool.”
IronCAD’s flagship product IRONCAD has won many industry awards for its innovative technology and leads the industry in its ease of use and design productivity. IronCAD products are being used successfully by thousands of customers worldwide.
DEAN DUPLESSIS, Northern Maine Community College precision metals manufacturing instructor, works on the new three-dimensional IronCAD Software donated to the college by the Atlanta-based company.
