OMAX Corporation recently served as one of the guest judges at Georgia Institute of Technology's latest Capstone Design Expo, a culmination of 40 mechanical and biomedical student projects from the school's mechanical engineering senior design course.
"The Capstone Design Expo is a great opportunity for student teams to showcase the hard work and creativity they've put into their semester-long projects for outside sponsors," said Craig Forest, Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech in the GW Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. "As part of the expo, the school uses an esteemed group of judges to help select the three most innovative, useful and market-worthy projects."
Each team consisted of four to five students who worked together to define their project, perform research, develop a design and then fabricate, test and refine their prototypes, all under the tutelage of faculty and external sponsors or mentors. In the past, student teams have worked on commercial projects for Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola.
The students created their project prototypes in the Woodruff School's Invention Studio, a facility that invites all Georgia Tech students and faculty to come in and develop their own inventions using advanced machine tools and electronics equipment, including an OMAX 2626 JetMachining Center. The Invention Studio is free for them to use and open 24 hours a day.
Steve Brown, Director of Government Educational Solutions for OMAX, was one of the 40 expo judges. He and representatives from Shell Oil, Metronix, Inc., Emory University and several other organizations were tasked with determining how well the student teams applied prototyping and analysis to solve real-world problems.
A new type of sternal retractor, a device that cuts through the human sternum and cranks open the rib cage, was named one of the winning projects for its ability to eliminate blood loss and avoid rib cracking, common problems of current designs. First, second- and third-place winners received a cash prize of $500, $300 and $200, respectively.
Brown has been involved with Georgia Tech since 2009 when the university, per the request of Professor Forest, purchased the OMAX 2626 for the Invention Studio.
"We graduate approximately 400 mechanical engineers per year, and all of them have utilized the OMAX waterjet machine," said Forest. "It is the workhorse of our Invention Studio, and I absolutely love it. Students enjoy the fact that it is so easy to use. In fact, most of the prototypes presented at our recent Capstone Design Expo were made using the OMAX 2626."
Forest became familiar with the OMAX brand of abrasivejet machines while attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to earn his Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science degrees. "We had several OMAX machines at MIT, and I used all of them. I find they are the best waterjets on the market."
According to Brown, several other universities across the nation utilize OMAX machines as part of their curriculum, including Harvard, Princeton, University of California at Berkeley and Florida State.
For more information contact:
OMAX Corporation
21409 72nd Ave. South
Kent, WA 98032
253-872-2300
omax@omax.com
www.omax.com
www.maxiemwaterjets.com
Southwest
TX, OK, NM
OMAX Corporation
21409 72nd Ave. South
Kent, WA 98032
253-872-2300
omax@omax.com
www.omax.com
AR
Michael Garner
Jeffreys Manufacturing Solutions-West
7123 I-30, Suite 28
Little Rock, AR 77209
501-562-8040
Federal Government
Jason Blair
Phillips Corp. - Federal Division
7390 Coca Cola Drive
Hanover, MD 21076
410-564-2900
Southeast
FL
OMAX Corporation
21409 72nd Ave. South
Kent, WA 98032
253-872-2300
omax@omax.com
www.omax.com
AL, FL Panhandle, MS, TN
Michael Garner
Jeffreys Manufacturing Solutions-West
7123 I-30, Suite 28
Little Rock, AR 77209
501-562-8040
GA, NC, SC, VA
Larry Hubbard
Jeffreys Manufacturing Solutions
8500 Triad Drive
Colfax, NC 27235
336-665-1080
Federal Government
Jason Blair
Phillips Corp. - Federal Division
7390 Coca Cola Drive
Hanover, MD 21076
410-564-2900
Northeast
W. PA, W. VA
OMAX Corporation
21409 72nd Ave. South
Kent, WA 98032
253-872-2300
omax@omax.com
www.omax.com
CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT
Joe Klier, Jr.
Brooks Associates
300 Longwater Drive, Unit A
Norwell, MA 02061
781-871-3400
DE, MD, Southern NJ, Eastern PA, DC
Ed Kilgallon
Lance Company
3599 Marshall Lane
Bensalem, PA 19020
215-245-4200
N. NJ, Metro NY, Long Island
Rick Fiorillo
Shore Machine Tool Sales
437 River Street
Oceanport, NJ 07757
732-222-9414
Federal Government
Jason Blair
Phillips Corp. - Federal Division
7390 Coca Cola Drive
Hanover, MD 21076
410-564-2900
Midwest
IA, MI, MO, NE, N. OH
OMAX Corporation
21409 72nd Ave. South
Kent, WA 98032
253-872-2300
omax@omax.com
www.omax.com
IA
Ken Erickson
Erickson Machine Tools, Inc.
409 Market Street
Story City, IA 50248
515-733-4361
KY, Southern OH
Glenn J. Osborne
G & W Machinery Sales, Inc.
4315 Salzman Road
Middletown, OH 45044
513-539-2700
www.gwmachinery.com
N. IL, IN, WI
Larry Dierking
Tristate Machinery Co.
129 South Wheeling Road
Wheeling, IL 60090
800-433-9181
MO, S. IL
Brad Zimmerman
Zimmerman-McDonald Machinery, Inc.
2272 Weldon Parkway
St. Louis, MO 63146
314-291-9360
brad@zimmermanmcdonald.com
www.zimmermanmcdonald.com
MN, ND, SD, WI
Andy Archer
Productivity, Inc.
15150 25th Avenue North
Plymouth, MN 55447
763-476-8600
Federal Government
Jason Blair
Phillips Corp. - Federal Division
7390 Coca Cola Drive
Hanover, MD 21076
410-564-2900
West
N. CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY
OMAX Corporation
21409 72nd Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032
253-872-2300
omax@omax.com
www.omax.com
AZ
Greg Whelan
Arizona CNC Equipment, LLC
1235 S. 48th St., Ste 1
Tempe, AZ 85281
480-615-6353
www.arizonacnc.com
S. CA
Garry Frost
Machinery Sales Company
17253 Chestnut Street
City of Industry, CA 91748
626-581-9211
Federal Government
Jason Blair
Phillips Corp. - Federal Division
7390 Coca Cola Drive
Hanover, MD 21076
410-564-2900