Our previous program spotlights have featured Central Community College, Northeast Community College, and Southeast Community College, all of whom are members of the .

For a change of pace, today, we’re going to talk about a program at , which used to be a part of the NCCA but which is now independent. They’re located in the eastern, metropolitan area of Nebraska, and are a great school for anyone looking for training in the Omaha metropolitan area.

More specifically, we’re going to talk about Metropolitan Community College’s .

The Program

As MCC notes in their introduction to the program, “The Mechanical Design Technology program provides opportunities for students to learn the necessary skills to enter the manufacturing industry as drafting technicians.”

As with many of the other programs we’ve spotlighted, students in this program at MCC have several options:

• Associates of applied science: The flagship of the MDT program, the  takes 99 credit hours to complete, and includes classes in classical drafting techniques, state-of-the-art computer-aided design, and exploration of manufacturing materials and processes.
• Certificate of achievement: The  takes 49.5 hours to complete. It’s more advanced than a career certificate, providing students with basic skills in classical drafting techniques and computer-aided drafting, but isn’t as advanced as the AAS.
• Career certificates: Finally, MCC offers several career certificates under the MDT program, including certificates in , , and . Career certificates are a great option for students who want to get out into the field as soon as possible.

For students who are interested in a career in manufacturing, but who may be more technology-oriented or who would rather design than build, the Mechanical Design Technology program is a great option.

The Courses

Students in the MDT program will take some of the following courses:

• Tool Design Processes: A comprehensive study of the principles of the design for jigs and fixtures, dies and gages. It examines the study of tool steel and other materials. Students explore use of standard components, vendor catalogs, handbooks, and the CAD system.
• Inventor Fundamentals: This course is hands-on and provides an understanding of the features and functions of Inventor software. It examines principles of solids modeling and parametric design and covers complex part modeling techniques, drawing view creating and editing, and assembly modeling.
• Design for Precision: This course presents dimensioning techniques that apply to manufactured products. It introduces geometric dimensioning and tolerancing used in the selection and application of dimensions. Students use the micrometer, caliper, and other precise measuring instruments to measure actual manufactured products. They examine fits and allowances and current ANSI standards. Students complete lab assignments using CAD software.

We’ve said before that there are a lot of career options within the manufacturing industry, and Metropolitan Community College’s Mechanical Design Technology Program covers the tech side–an aspect of manufacturing that we haven’t talked about as much up until this point.

And coincidentally, MCC is one of the best programs in Nebraska for this area of manufacturing. So if you like computers and technology and think that manufacturing is the place for you, don’t be afraid to give it a shot!

Do you have questions about mechanical design or drafting? Let us know in the comments or –we’d be more than happy to answer any questions you may have! What’s more, if you feel like doing more research on your own, check out the following sites:  and .

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