Providing Students with Practical Experience in Quality Control Through Industry Partnerships

In an economic climate where manufacturing industries are seeking individuals that have both higher education and practical hands on experience, now is the time for faculty members to seek out and embrace partnerships with industry that bring active learning projects inside the classroom.At Purdue University, this is exactly what is being done in the Quality for Manufacturing course, where for the past four years, the faculty member has made efforts to bring practical, industry driven, experiential opportunities into the classroom.Through partnering with various manufacturing companies, students are now able to gain real world experiences, using mechanical drawings and parts straight from the manufacturers to complete a series of quality control measures and report back the company management team about their procedures.This includes conducting a gage Repeatability and Reproducibility study, designing and fabricating all necessary jigs and fixtures for holding/mounting the parts, and developing sample Production Part Approval Process Plans.As this project has grown in popularity, so has the desire to introduce other technologies that students will interface with once they become professional practitioners.Therefore, during the summer of 2018, with the support of industry partners and internal grants, the School of Engineering Technology was able to develop a new 1100 sq.ft.metrology lab.This lab will provide the opportunity for students to hone skills in programming and operating various measuring equipment including three CMM machines.In collaboration with Hexagon Metrology, students will also have the opportunity to gain certification on the machines.The opening of this new space has led to more industries being interested in partnering with the faculty to provide real world parts and industry expertise, to aid in building the student's educational experiences.This paper will discuss in more detail how the collaboration with industry partners have aided in students learning, creating an active/project based learning curriculum, provided career opportunities for students and how the new space will be leveraged to continue building off of four years of partnerships.