Waukesha County Technical College has received $188,000 from the
Lutz Family Foundation to buy an automated manufacturing cell for the school's robotics program.
[caption id="attachment_162689" align="alignright" width="300"]
Walter Lutz.[/caption]
The FANUC manufacturing cell, which is widely used by local manufacturing companies, will be located at WCTC's
Integrated Manufacturing Center.
“This cell will provide our students with real-world applications of how equipment is configured to work together in an automated environment,” said Mike Shiels, dean of the WCTC School of Applied Technologies. “It’s equipped with a FANUC robot, three-axis machining center, conveyer system and Rockwell programmable logic controllers.”
The Lutz Family Foundation is administered by Walter Lutz, former president and owner of Hartford-based
Signicast Investment Castings.
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A FANUC automated manufacturing cell.[/caption]
“I believe that for the United States to be great, it’s got to be a producer," Lutz said. "It’s got to make stuff, and manufacturing is a big part of that. I hope the donation makes a difference in the fact that students are learning using the latest technology. It’s a great incentive for them to gain the skills they need and then go on to apply those skills at their job.”
Nearly 200 students are currently enrolled in WCTC’s AST/Robotics associate degree program.
