As automation and AI continue to transform the manufacturing industry, the need for seamless integration across all production stages has reached an all-time high. By digitally designing products, controlling the machinery that builds them, and collecting precise data at each step, digital integration streamlines the entire manufacturing process — cutting down on waste materials, cost, and production time.
Recently, the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) teamed up with OPEN MIND Technologies to host an immersive, weeklong training session on hyperMILL, an advanced manufacturing software enabling this digital integration.
OPEN MIND, the developer of hyperMILL, has been a longtime supporter of research operations in Georgia Tech’s Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility (AMPF). “Our adoption of their software solutions has allowed us to explore the full potential of machines and to make sure we keep forging new paths,” said Steven Ferguson, a principal research scientist at GTMI.
Software like hyperMILL helps plan the most efficient and accurate way to cut, shape, or 3D print materials on different machines, making the process faster and easier. Hosted at the AMPF, the immersive training offered 10 staff members and students a hands-on platform to use the software while practicing machining and additive manufacturing techniques.
“The number of new features and tricks that the software has every year makes it advantageous to stay current and get a refresher course,” said Alan Burl, a Ph.D. student in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering who attended the training session. “More advanced users can learn new tips and tricks while simultaneously exposing new users to the power of a fully featured, computer-aided manufacturing software.”
OPEN MIND Technologies has partnered with Georgia Tech for over five years to support digital manufacturing research, offering biannual training in their latest software to faculty and students.
“Meeting the new graduate students each fall is something that I look forward to,” said Brad Rooks, an application engineer at OPEN MIND and one of the co-leaders of the training session. “This particular group posed questions that were intuitive and challenging to me as a trainer — their inquisitive nature drove me to look at our software from fresh perspectives.”
The company is also a member of GTMI’s Manufacturing 4.0 Consortium, a membership-based group that unites industry, academia, and government to develop and implement advanced manufacturing technologies and train the workforce for the market.
“The strong reputation of GTMI in the manufacturing industry, and more importantly, the reputation of the students, faculty, and researchers who support research within our facilities, enables us to forge strategic partnerships with companies like OPEN MIND,” says Ferguson, who also serves as executive director of the consortium. “These relationships are what makes working with and within GTMI so special.”