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Highlands High School students in Mr. Mike Santucci's Precision Manufacturing class recently had the opportunity to utilize their skills in a real-world application.
The students were challenged to design, model, estimate, order materials, and construct a new lighting & soundboard table for the Highlands Elementary School auditorium. It all started with a needs assessment, which was produced by the district's Director of Technology, Mr. Mike Losk.
"The original setup was not ideal," said Losk. "The wires that are needed to operate the lighting and soundboard for performances were all over the place."
Mr. Santucci took pictures of the setup in order to show his students what was currently in place. After reviewing the project parameters and the customer's (Mr. Losk's) needs and wants, the class was divided into two teams. Each team worked to design a solution in a 3-dimensional computer aided drawing program. Once a computer model was generated, the teams built a 1:8 scale model out of thin plywood and balsa strips. This physical prototype helped the students to determine any tricky construction issues that could arise before working with the actual full size pieces.
The final design that was approved was a blend of each team's ideas, making it a truly collaborative effort. Students researched material cost and produced an order requisition through Lowe's Home Improvement store in Tarentum. When the supplies arrived, the class worked diligently and logged their daily progress in journal form in order to meet the final deadline. Construction was completed in early December 2019 and the desk was delivered in time for the Highlands Elementary holiday choral concerts!
Special thanks to all of the HHS students who worked on this project:
Joshua Korb
William Gustafson
Zachary Raney
Logan McMillen
Emma Mock
Bryce Eddy
Michael Magdinec
Thank you to Mr. Santucci for providing information for this article!
