9451529 Davis Chesterfield-Marlboro Technical College, a small (1,020-student), rural two-year college engaged in technician education at the Associate degree level, proposes to improve its approach to Machine Tool Technology instruction through the development of a laboratory course in Integrated Manufacturing Systems. The new course will provide a laboratory environment centered around a modular integrated manufacturing cell, permitting students to perform experiments and develop scientific and technical skills in the fields of applied metallurgy, precision measurement, statistical process control, robotics, metalworking, computer numerical control, and programmable logic controller theory in any integrated format which simulates the interactive, process-based technology of modern manufacturing. While the college presently teaches the individual skills described above, there is no opportunity for students to perform experiments and projects which apply these techniques in the collaborative, integrative structure which is typical of a modern production environment. The equipment required to develop the proposed course includes a lab-scale Computer Integrated Manufacturing cell, together with a personal computer for process input and statistical process control data analysis, and two computer output devices.
