IACMI, Mastercam announce dynamic workforce program partnership

America’s Cutting Edge, managed by the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, has added Mastercam as a featured option for program participants

April 10, 2024 – The machining industry’s talent pipeline just got a huge boost.

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) and Mastercam announced today their partnership supporting America’s Cutting Edge (ACE), a workforce development program targeted at revitalizing the United States machining industry through online and in-person training.

ACE connects top national experts with students and incumbent industrial workers from diverse backgrounds, levels of education, and work experience to build interest in all facets of machining, including software development, metrology, design, operation, and entrepreneurship. To date, ACE has delivered online courses to more than 9,000 students from all 50 states and in-person bootcamp style training to more than 1,200 students, all at no cost to participants.

Prior to today, there was only one other computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software ACE provided for its online computer-numerical control (CNC) machining course.

This partnership between IACMI and Mastercam will open the ACE machining course to a much wider audience, as Mastercam is the world’s most widely used CAM software.

“I am thrilled to add Mastercam as an ACE partner,” said Dr. Tony Schmitz, ACE curriculum developer. “As we expand our reach, we want to provide opportunities for our participants to choose their computer-aided manufacturing software to match their current and future needs. This partnership makes our program more accessible to students as Mastercam is the most widely used CAM software.”

Peter Mancini, Manager of Education at Mastercam, noted, “At Mastercam, we take pride in the fact that our customers shape the future of manufacturing, so we are excited to partner with America’s Cutting Edge and its national initiative to restore the prominence of the US machine tools sector.”

When registering for the CNC machining course, participants will choose their preferred CAD/CAM program. They may also choose to complete both pathways online.

Schmitz believes this will lead more prospective or current machining professionals to become ACE certified.

“I anticipate that we’ll increase ACE participation through this partnership,” said Schmitz. “It is our intent to provide the CNC machining course to both add new participants to the machining pipeline and provide training on the relationship between vibrations and machining parameter selection for those already familiar with CNC machining. This partnership will provide new learning opportunities for those already using Mastercam.”

“This partnership provides an outstanding product as an option for America’s Cutting Edge machining students,” said Joannie Harmon, IACMI vice president of workforce development. “Those who are familiar with or curious about Mastercam will benefit from the training ACE provides, and industry will benefit as more people get the skills they need to fill critical positions. All in all, it means a larger pipeline of talent; it’s a win-win.”

The Mastercam path is available now. Click here to register for it.

About ACE

America’s Cutting Edge, supported by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, is a national computer numerical control machine training program designed to reestablish American leadership in the machine tool industry through transformative thinking, technological innovation, and workforce development. The curriculum combines advanced training tools and techniques from the University of Tennessee, the scientific expertise of the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the proven workforce development capabilities of IACMI.

www.americascuttingedge.org

ACE has expanded beyond the initial testbed of the University of Tennessee to include seven training hubs at North Carolina A&T State University, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, Marshall University Advanced Manufacturing Center, University of Florida, St. Cloud State University (Minn.) and University of St. Thomas (Minn). There’s a growing network of over two dozen machine tool training partners in 11 states, including high schools, trade schools and community colleges.

About IACMI

IACMI – The Composites Institute is a 145-plus member community of industry, universities, national laboratories, and federal, state, and local government agencies working together to benefit the nation’s energy, manufacturing, and economic security. IACMI is managed by the Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation (CCS), a not-for-profit organization established by The University of Tennessee Research Foundation. A Manufacturing USA institute, IACMI is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Materials Manufacturing Technologies Office, as well as key state and industry partners.

www.iacmi.org