Denso, Visteon Centers support hands-on design-to-product experience
College of Engineering & Science Dean Leo Hanifin presents Doug Patton, senior vice president of Engineering, Denso International America, Inc., with a model of his corporate logo developed in the new Denso Team Design Center.
Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Schirmer, Visteon Senior Vice President of Product Development John F. Kill, UDM President Gerard L. Stockhausen, S.J., and College of Engineering & Science Dean Leo Hanifin officially open the College’s new Visteon Prototype Center.
College of Engineering & Science Dean Leo Hanifin shows Visteon Senior Vice President of Product Development John F. Kill around the College’s new Visteon Prototype Center.
Educating tomorrow’s workforce is a shared goal of UDM’s College of Engineering & Science and its corporate partners. The Denso Team Design Center and Visteon Prototype Center, which were dedicated at UDM in September as part of the Presidential Inauguration Week events, provide state-of-the-art facilities for engineering students to acquire hands-on experience with computer-based tools and prototyping methods.
“The best companies use both virtual and real prototyping to dramatically reduce the time between concept and delivery of new products and processes,“ states Leo Hanifin, dean, College of Engineering & Science, with the new centers, UDM now has the “right facilities and equipment” to graduate engineers who can enter the workforce with experience in product/process realization.
The Denso Team Design Center includes:
- five design-team studios with high-tech computers and software along with conference tables, whiteboards and other resources.
- a presentation-practice room with projection system.
- new Sun workstations in the advanced computing lab, where students can design and model new products and processes on the computer.
Once the students have designed and modeled a part or system, they then may use the Visteon Prototype Center to:
- fabricate a prototype using a 3-dimensional printer or Emco CNC lathe and milling machine, which use the computer-generated instructions to machine a plastic or metal part.
- create integrated perception, control and propulsion systems for the prototypes and test them in the separate Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Lab. For example, the AV Lab supports students’ integration of sensors and actuators that allows a robotics vehicle to guide itself through uncharted terrain.
Two new labs support Manufacturing Degree Program
Students also have access to the new Manufacturing Processes and Manufacturing Systems Laboratories, which support the Bachelor of Manufacturing Engineering program on campus. Through a grant from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), students can begin their studies at Schoolcraft College or Macomb Community College and complete degree requirements at UDM. This program previously was taught only at Focus: HOPE and Ford Motor Company.
The Manufacturing Processes Lab houses equipment for forming, welding, casting, injection molding and painting, as well as woodworking for prototype projects. The Manufacturing Systems Lab allows faculty to teach students the integration of machining, material handling, perception and controls into complete manufacturing systems. Funding for the manufacturing labs was provided by Lear Corporation, Visteon and alumni.