Last week, we started taking a look at some of the great community colleges here in Nebraska. And even though we gave an introduction to some of the programs that the colleges offer, the post we wrote about the programs was just that: an introduction.

So today, we wanted to take a detailed look at some of the programs offered at community colleges in Nebraska. After all, we talk about manufacturing education so much here at NeMAC–so why not take the time to show you what we’re talking about?

Our focus for today’s post will be the Advanced Manufacturing Design Technology (AMDT) program at .

AMDT Basics

As you just saw, the AMDT is the . At Central Community College (with locations in Columbus, Grand Island, Hastings, Holdrege, Kearney, and Lexington), the program has a few goals:

• To prepare graduates with skills in precision measuring, dimensioning and blueprint reading
• To give graduates the ability to demonstrate machining practices and make precision machined parts to a specified tolerance according to a blueprint
• Above all, to provide graduates with the skills and technical knowledge needed for a career in the machining industry as a mold maker, a tool and die maker, CAD/CAM designer programmer, machinist, or CNC machinist

And that’s just the beginning. But the biggest goal is to prepare graduates for a career in manufacturing–and that’s where the courses come in.

AMDT Courses

Central Community College prepares AMDT students for a career in manufacturing through . They offer many more courses than the few we’ve listed here, but this is a good sampling of the types of courses you can expect:

• Safety & machine tool fundamentals: An introduction to the basics of occupational safety, based off of industry safety standards in manufacturing. Also an introduction to basic measurements and usage of shop tools.
• Advanced manufacturing applications: Learning how to plan part production efficiently on CNC equipment. After the course, students will know how to be efficient in setup, loading, and operating of CNC equipment.
• Die design II: Learning the design of a progressive strip fed die–the conclusion of a four-course series on die making.

In addition to the courses offered, there are a number of different program routes that students can take. From an , to a , you have a number of different options depending on your goals.

If you’ve read our advice about starting the manufacturing education process and want to start looking at a career in manufacturing, Central Community College’s AMDT program is a great place to start. For anyone in Central’s service area, we definitely recommend giving their courses a look if you’re trying to learn the skills needed to get started with manufacturing work.

If you have any questions about Central Community College’s AMDT program, or about manufacturing education at any of the community colleges in Nebraska, let us know in the comments or . We’re always here to help!

—

Photo credit: Manchester Community College