Black River Technical College’s Machine Tool Technology and Gunsmithing students took to the streets of Jonesboro on a one-of-a-kind industry tour recently. At each stop students were able to see various kinds of machining for many different purposes.
Their first stop was Jonesboro Tool & Die(JTD) owned by Shannon Lenderman. Students saw multiple machines in action including a blanchard grinder, punch press, CNC lathe and mill, boring mills, laser cutting machines, and wire EDM machines. JTD is a state-of-the-art facility that has cornered the market in Northeast Arkansas, however remains competitive with bordering states and maintains a monopoly, in regard to the type of machining/manufacturing produced.
The second stop was Erosion Technologies Inc. (ETI) owned by Waylan Deen. Students saw a smaller number of machines, though just as important, as ETI is set up for specialized and very close tolerances serving a niche category of machining. They serve the automotive, aerospace, energy, food, medical and die/mold industries. ETI specializes in CNC milling, two and four axis wire EDM, and small hole EDM.
The final stop for the students was Southern Cast Products (SCP) owned by Doug Irmie. Southern cast provides cutting edge solutions including robo-molding, foundry, metallurgy, and iron casting as well as using robot casting and rapid prototyping. The facility is set up to design, alloy aluminum parts, machine the parts and ship directly to the customer. SCP is the only machine shop designed to efficiently run all aspects.
Spring registration for Concurrent and Technical Courses is under way right now. It is open to current 11th and 12th grade students or recent graduates.
For more information on BRTC’s CTC program contact Darenda Kersey at (870) 248-4184 or email at darenda.kersey@blackrivertech.edu.