This week I took my students on a
field trip. This is my second year taking my engineering classes on a field
trip to Standridge Color Corp. to show the students the true potential of the
equipment in our lab. The students work with the equipment that fits on a
tabletop and cut plastic and steel but when they go on the trip the equipment
is ten to twenty times bigger and is cutting stainless steel and aluminum. Standridge is a company that produces
plastic color pelts, sleeves, and silk. They produce material for diapers,
Mountain Dew bottles, the soles of Nike shoes, nurse gowns, and many other
things that contain plastic. The companies ask for specific types of plastic,
then Standridge produces it in pelts, and the company melts it down to the
product.
The most impressive thing about the
company is that they build and maintain all their equipment on site so they
don’t have to rely on outside factories to build parts. Standridge buys the
materials and uses the same machines that we have in the classroom to replace
broken parts. The students are always surprised at the size of the equipment
and its what it can do. The company also has water jets that have the
capability to cut through 6 inches of stainless steel.
Overall the field trip helps give
the student an idea on what the equipment in our classroom can do. Last year we
went on the trip and one of my students brought his resume and got a job at
Standridge and is working there his senior year as a senior. They started him
off at $15.00 an hour and he has been promoted since he started. I also had
another senior start in January at the same rate. The company believes in hiring
high school level employees because it allows them to be modeled easier than
college level. Overall this
was a great experience for my students. I think in CTAE it is so important to
expose the students to the applications of the classroom lessons, and field
trips seem to be a great way to do this.
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