Manufacturing Day returns with food trucks, demos and hands-on fun

CHEYENNE, Wyoming – The public is invited to Laramie County Community College for Manufacturing Day, offering an opportunity to explore state-of-the-art facilities and learn more about the college’s cutting-edge programs.

The event is set for 11 a.m. Oct. 3 in Rooms CT-124 and CT-125 of the Career & Technical Building on LCCC’s Cheyenne campus. $10 vouchers for food trucks will be given to the first 150 people in attendance.

Personnel from LCCC’s Advanced Manufacturing and Material Center, or AMMC, will be available for facility tours and equipment demonstrations. Hands-on activities, games and giveaways will provide fun for the whole family.

Manufacturing today is a far cry from what previous generations understood about the sector, said Dave Curry, AMMC director. Today’s opportunities in manufacturing offer safe and fulfilling careers in a variety of exciting fields for anyone willing to do the training, Curry said.

“We’ve come a long way from smokestacks and punch cards,” Curry said.

The AMMC is serving as a facility to train new workers to meet the needs of the region’s manufacturing industries. It offers a location for the current and future workforce to receive training, a need not previously met in the region. At the forefront of preparing students for the new wave of technological advancement, LCCC is filling a critical role in education in navigating the opportunities it presents.

Included in the AMMC is the Concept Forge, a fabrication lab that provides entrepreneurs and other innovative workers with space and technology to produce items for business and personal interest. The Concept Forge includes 3D printers, sewing machines, laser cutters, a Glowforge, a sublimation printer, soldering stations, cutting tools and more. The space has been used to produce several banner projects, including a trailer wrap for the LCCC Harry C. Vaughn STEM Mobile Science Lab. Community programming is underway, with expert demonstrations of different technologies showing locals how to turn their ideas into realities.

“We haven’t found what we can’t do yet,” Curry said.

The college offers both credit and non-credit manufacturing programs that develop skills in areas such as 3D modeling, robotics, CNC mill and lathe operations and much more, leading to industry certifications and college credentials. Additionally, LCCC offers the CNC Precision Machining Bootcamp, a nine-week comprehensive course training students in essential skills such as print reading, precision measurement, manual lathe and milling operations, as well as CNC turning and milling.