A special partnership is gradually developing with the Lycée de Cachan, a national benchmark for technical education. Jean-Luc Petit, the school's director of vocational and technological training, is also an active member of Symop, to which Heidenhain France belongs. Together with the other members of this organization, J.-L. Petit works to identify the precise needs of industry, which then enables him and his partners in the French education system to create or adapt school and university curricula in the best possible way.
So it was only natural that an open day should be organized, with the aim of giving students and teachers alike an insight into the evolution of the techniques and tools that are now available to companies and that these students will later use on the job market.
Make future prospects in industry more concrete
On October 4, specialists from Heidenhain France's sales and technical teams took it in turns to give presentations in an amphitheatre and at the foot of a machine, then to exchange views with the participants: in the morning with the students, then in the afternoon with the teachers.
Demonstrations were given on a 5-axis milling machine equipped with a TNC numerical control. To improve its performance, the school had acquired part and tool probes, as well as a calibration accessory to ensure optimum geometric definition of machining paths.
In the morning, students from a variety of backgrounds and with different levels of knowledge were given a presentation, followed by demonstrations, on the subjects of roughing optimization and programming tips. By familiarizing the youngsters with Heidenhain functionalities, the aim was to make them aware of what modernity can bring to the workshop. This helped to make future prospects in industry more concrete, and to answer the students' questions, thus confirming their career orientation.
The teaching staff took over in the afternoon, first in the lecture hall, then in the workshop. Beyond the functionalities already presented to their students in the morning, it seemed essential to remind them of the services and tools that the company makes available to them: Phare (the Heidenhain support program for research and teaching) and more particularly HIT (Heidenhain Interactive Training), the multimedia learning system for NC programming. Among other things, this tool is designed to help teaching teams better understand and pass on programming techniques to students.
Christian Roger, professor of mechanical engineering, is enthusiastic: " I really appreciated the preparatory work done with the Heidenhain teams: we shared the same concerns and objectives, namely to get the best out of our equipment and make it an optimum teaching tool. The day's participants bore witness to this: we now have better control of the 5-axis milling machine in terms of managing reference marks and defining the pivot point. And since set-up times have been greatly reduced, the machine can be used more safely and precisely. This makes it a much more didactic and efficient tool, which was of great interest to the young people.. "
The general consensus was that it was an event to be repeated!
The day was not an end in itself. The aim was to enable a beneficial exchange for all: students, teachers and Heidenhain France professionals alike. This teamwork with the Lycée de Cachan helps to tailor young people's training as closely as possible to what they will be working on later.
The results show that teachers, who like to pass on knowledge adapted to industrial realities, are enthusiastic about these exchanges, which help them to interest their young students.
Learn more: www.heidenhain.fr