The Mechanical and Transportation Technology department at Algonquin College welcomed a group of students from the 1st Carp Scouting group on March 18, 2024. The event was initiated and organized by Dan Hewitt — a scouter and faculty member at the College — and head scouter Sarah Millar.

 Dan, who is a Red Seal tool and die maker, wanted to educate the group on how things are made and showcase some of the equipment to manufacture parts and components. Many people don’t realize that everything starts in a machine shop.

The students had a chance to engage in some activities. Jason Demers, one of the department's faculty members, presented them a quick lecture on what design means in industry and reviewed the steps involved to design a part. Jason displayed models of parts the youth could relate to, from garbage cans to bicycle parts. They loved this presentation and engaged with many follow up questions!

Next, they visited the manual machine shop and got familiarized with the process of part production in a tool room, which involves cutting metal from the raw stock material to the final part by following the part drawing to meet all the necessary requirements. Dan stressed that drawing or print was like a contract; it is the requirement and the job of the toolmaker to use the needed equipment (commonly referred to as machine tools) to cut and shape the material and give the client a part that matches the design that was requested.

They had a chance to visit the computer numerical control (CNC) shop to see the turning lathes, milling machines and how they operated. There was a live demonstration of a part being machined, while Dan explained how these machines are capable to receive a program based on the part preparation from a computer-aided manufacturing software, stating: “We take a solid model of a designed part, bring it into the software, apply the necessary toolpaths, identify the cutting tools required, set the machine up and start cutting metal!” 

The scout group observed an A-Z production of a scaled down Stanley Cup prototype cut out of aluminum. A lucky cub scout was able to hit the green button on the CNC lathe to activate the cycle of the machine to produce the Stanley Cup. It was demonstrated that once set up by the programmer/toolmaker, these machines could produce a Stanley Cup in a few minutes. 

At the end of the visit, they had a chance to visit the MakerSpace and familiarized themselves with 3D printing, observing the printers in action and producing some very cool items! The group was very impressed with this lab and were visibly getting creative in their thinking by the questions being asked.

A special thanks to Davis Nguyen and the MakerSpace team who made this visit amazing for the learners.

Dan stressed that it is ok to work with your hands and you can make a great living working in a manufacturing trade such and machining and toolmaking.

Dan and Sarah emphasized that this is what scouting is all about: exposing youth to new things and adventures.

Thanks to the College for allowing the 1st Carp Scouting group to visit! It was an amazing experience for all.