Last week Siemens announced that it has given an in-kind PLM software grant with an estimated commercial value of $373 million to Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. The grant is intended to help prepare a highly-skilled STEM workforce for the advanced manufacturing industry. The university is also exploring how it can leverage the software grant to develop a retraining program that could provide both employed and unemployed workers with the skills they need to succeed in the digital factory of the future.
The PLM software will be an integral component of the industrial engineering program established in 2015, and other engineering programs. Students will implement course and capstone projects using the software suite. Additionally, the software will enable the students to create digital twins (simulated versions) of their final products as a more efficient alternative to creating a physical prototype.
This in-kind grant of software includes:
- Tecnomatix® portfolio, the industry-leading digital manufacturing software
- NX™ software, a leading integrated solution for computer-aided design (NX Design), manufacturing (NX Manufacturing) and engineering
- Fibersim™portfolio of software for composites engineering
- Simcenter™portfolio, a mechatronic simulation software, testing systems and engineering services
- Kineo™Kit Lab software, which will be used for teaching robot path planning and kinematics
Ikechukwa P. Ohu, Professor, Industrial Engineering at Gannon University said, “We are already using Jack software (from the Tecnomatix portfolio) for our ergonomics class. We will be using the Manufacturing Process Planner for our forthcoming Project Management and Production Planning and Control courses, to demonstrate digital process design and management. We plan on having our Computer and Information Sciences colleagues use the application too.”
“We will also be using the PLM applications for teaching factory layout and optimization, dimensional quality (in the Quality Assurance and Control course), factory production throughput assessment and optimization (Supply Chain & Logistics Engineering, and Production Planning & Control courses). We are also developing a course on computer aided design, manufacturing, and engineering.”
