Manufacturing College Gets Gift for Product Development Training
UGS, HP, and Labtec donate $7 million of software and hardware to Philadelphia facility
Philadelphia Area Accelerated Manufacturing Inc (PhAME), a Philadelphia-based "manufacturing college," was established in 1996 by local companies to address the need for skilled manufacturing workers in southeastern Pennsylvania. PhAME accomplishes its mission by providing area men and women the education and hands-on training needed to fill precision-manufacturing jobs.
A donation valued at $7 million of software, services, and hardware by Unigraphics Solutions (UGS), Hewlett-Packard (HP), and Labtec Inc is expected to elevate the PhAME curriculum to among the most advanced in the U.S. Students will be trained in the use of the fully integrated product development and data management applications possible with CAD/CAM/CAE systems.
UGS donated multiple copies of its high-end Unigraphics CAD/CAM/CAE and mid-range Solid Edge MCAD software along with extensive training services for both products. HP donated high performance graphics workstations and an advanced server that provides the platform for the UGS software. Labtec provided a quantity of their Spaceball 3003 FLX 3D motion controllers.
"This donation will allow us to structure a product development curriculum that will be second to none in the manufacturing education community," says Antonio J. Gallardo, manager of Educational Programs at PhAME.
"By providing Philadelphia area firms with employees trained in the latest computer-aided product development tools, PhAME is helping Philadelphia establish itself as a world-class manufacturing center," says Joseph J. Houldin, executive director of the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC). "Having workers trained in computer-aided design, engineering, and manufacturing is critical to area companies trying to reduce time to market. PhAME is now going to be able to provide these skilled people to the Philadelphia region."
"The availability of UGS software will open opportunities to our students for employment inside and outside the Delaware Valley," adds Gallardo. "In the Philadelphia region and nearby Pennsylvania communities, major companies such as Boeing, Smiths Industries, Ingersoll-Rand, Philadelphia Naval Foundry and Propeller Center, United Defense, Marconi Aerospace, and Mattel have an ongoing need for employees skilled in the use of Unigraphics Solutions software. In addition, possibilities for employment are opened worldwide to PhAME graduates at major Unigraphics Solutions software users, such as General Motors, BMW, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, Gillette and Northrop Grumman ESSD."