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Wow – As of today, May 3, we have just 156 days, or 23 weeks, or 5 months until Manufacturing Day/Month 2017! We still have the end of spring, all of summer and start the fall season. But MFG DAY is such a big event in Florida, we all know that now is the time to start planning for 2017 events. There are many MFG DAY/Month events in Florida, but the focus today, and for FLATE and its network of statewide partners has and will always be on student industry tours. In looking back post manufacturing day/month data, MFG DAY/Month in Florida has experienced exponential growth, both in the number of tours and statewide uptick in participating and enthusiasm to participate in this national event that celebrates the spirit of innovation and excellence in American manufacturing/manufacturers. Even last year, when Hurricane Matthew’s unscheduled visit to Florida last on October 2 closed nearly 80% of the schools in Florida, most tours were re-scheduled and more students and educators than ever e...

On Thursday, April 13 FLATE hosted a Robotics Open House as way to celebrate National Robotics Week, which took place April 8-16. The open house featured a number of activities and stations geared to spark students and parents’ interest in robotics, STEM, and manufacturing related career pathways. The event lasted from about 3-6 p.m., and approximately 97 people (including hosts and visitors) attended the open house. The open house featured eight stations. Two local schools, McLane Middle School and Middleton High School, showed demonstrations of some robots they created and use in competitions. Hillsborough Community College engineering technology students displayed a robotic arm, 3D printer, and an electric car. FLATE staff created a presentation that featured a NAO humanoid robot. FIRST LEGO League prepared a display table that featured hands on activities. Additionally, there were several industry and educational partners from our Tampa Bay community that provided resources. Specia...

FLATE has new and exciting camps available for middle and high school students this summer! The summer camps will run Monday- Friday from 8:30 a.m.- 4 p.m., and will be hosted at Hillsborough Community College (HCC) Brandon campus in the Student Services Building, room 218 (BSSB 218). There will be three different camps: June 5-9: Intro EV3 Robotics Camp for middle school. June 12-16: Intermediate EV3 Robotics Camp for middle and high school. June 19-23: Engineering Technology Camp for high school. At the Intro and Intermediate EV3 Robotics Camps, students will have the opportunity to build and program the all new LEGO MINDSTORMS® EV3 Robot system, participate in team challenges, tour an advanced manufacturing facility, and learn about the science, technology, engineering and math used in today’s high-tech industries. At the Engineering Technology Camp, high school students will have the opportunity to use 3D modeling and CAD to design a functional robotic device, engage in 3D print...

SkillsUSA is a national organization with more than 13,000 chapters, which serves more than 300,000 students and instructors annually. SkillsUSA improves the quality of America’s skilled workforce through a structured program of citizenship, leadership, employability, technical and professional skills training. This organization enhances the lives and careers of students, instructors and industry professionals as they strive to be champions at work. SkillsUSA’s mission is to empower its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. One way that SkillsUSA enforces their mission is by hosting regional and state competitions. FLATE was invited to attend the SkillsUSA Florida State Leadership and Skills Conference in Lakeland on April 24 and 25. This competition allowed students to showcase their skills and help them to discover and grow their career passions and appreciate their own self-worth. Examples of competitions included wedding cake design, com...

Congratulations to the recent graduates across the state!  Eleven seniors recently passed their NIMS Industry Certification at Atlantic Technical College! One ATC student was offered a great job at Ligi Tool & Engineering, one to University of Florida, three to University of Central Florida, one to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, one to Florida PolyTech University, two to Florida Atlantic University, one to Broward College and one student was picked to take part in the Congress-Bundestag Exchange program.  “I'm very lucky to have 11 great machining seniors at Atlantic Technical College and Technical High School, they all will go on to great careers to manufacturing and engineering,” said Kevin Finan, a   Machining Instructor at Atlantic Technical College. As additional good news, The Gene Haas Foundation recently gave Atlantic Technical College’s machining program $12,500 as scholarships to help students continue their education in engineering and manu...

Congratulations to Monin, a Clearwater based gourmet flavoring company, for recently receiving a Marketing of the Year Award for its research process directing the marketing of its flavorings for coffee, tea, lemonade and cocktails. Monin was founded in 1912 in Bourges, France by small town manufacturer Georges Monin. Today, Monin is still family owned by a third generation Monin. The company strives to create flavors that excite the senses, and that can easily be used by people around the world in their everyday life. Monin has a global presence and can be found in 144 countries. The company came to the United States in the early 1990s. The Clearwater facility has three working production lines that output every flavor in the Monin product line. Monin has become well known as a manufacturer that uses only the highest quality ingredients. For over 100 years, their passion to create the best products available has remained constant. Fun Fact about Monin: Monin has created a syrup recyc...

The puzzle:   http://flate-mif.blogspot.com/2017/04/stem-at-work-puzzle-59.html Analysis: The pump is performing as expected if it uses 0.70 Joules during the 3.5 second test period. The actual puzzle answer requires the student to understand that the total energy value is the area under the curve from 0 to 3.5 seconds. This then allows for (a) simple linear integration formula practice or (b) reinforcement of the area approximation method for determining the area under the response data. For students with introductory calculus skills (a) the area can be determined as the integration results (sum) of the 4 linear equations between 0 seconds and 3.5 seconds. In the area approximation case (b), area under the curve above the 0.2 joules/second horizontal between 1.5 seconds and 2.5 seconds is approximately matched by same amount of area below that horizontal between 2.5 seconds and 3.5 seconds. This leads to the construction of a rectangle that is 3.5 seconds by 0.2 joules...