CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
27 July 2012
Company News
Mastercam Announces 7th Annual “Innovator of the Future”
CNC Software, developer of Mastercam CAD/CAM software, has announced the winner of its 2011-2012 IOF (Innovator of the Future) competition: Zachary Roy, a student at the E. C. Goodwin Technical High School (New Britain, CT).
Mastercam’s Innovator of the Future competition helps introduce students to real-world manufacturing by challenging them to put their own creative twist on a specific part to be judged by a special guest from the manufacturing industry. In the 2011-2012 competition, students designed and machined a guitar bridge to be judged by Senior Designers from Taylor Guitars, a manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars. Prizes were a major motivation for students with the winner receiving a $1,000 scholarship and a trip to El Cajon, CA to tour the Taylor Guitars Factory, where over 500 guitars are produced each day.
It was clear the winner put his best efforts into his entry. Zack says, “We immediately started working on the fixture. Once that was done we began coming up with the outside shape for the bridge itself. We started with that bottom "w" shape that we saw on a lot of Taylors bridges. Then Mr. Langdon [Zack’s instructor] suggested I put an arch on top for the "wow factor".
When asked about the IOF competition, Zack’s Instructor enthusiastically replied, “Zack is a very dedicated student who has great attendance, drive, and want to produce great quality products. Having a student like Zack is one of the main reasons why I continue to teach and help young manufacturers and adults.”
Larry Breedlove, Chief Engineer of Product Development at Taylor Guitars says, “There were several entries that exhibited a high level of technical abilities, and it was interesting to see the variety of approaches to satisfying the design question. In the end, it comes down to how elegantly any given design interacts as a component of the guitar ‘package.’ Zack’s entry was an obvious winner for us, in that it is a simply handsome bridge that we can easily see as that component.”
While the $1,000 scholarship will undoubtedly help to defray educational expenses, Zack and his instructor will also be whisked to sunny California for a tour of the Taylor Guitars factory.
For more information on the Mastercam Innovator of the Future competition please visit www.mastercam.com/IOF. To learn more about Taylor Guitars, go to www.taylorguitars.com.
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