Advanced Manufacturing Debuts at CGCC this Summer

Tyler Luna makes a cut this morning at The Dalles Iron Works, this morning, Friday, April 2. Luna and his boss Jon Keyser were excited to hear that CGCC is offering an Advanced Manufacturing class this summer as the school pushes into a program that will utilize the new Skills Center set to be complete in the fall.

From Columbia Gorge Community College:

By Dan Spatz with additions by Tom Peterson

If you think welding is just about sticks, sparks and dark visors, think again.

This summer Columbia Gorge Community College is launching a state-of-the-art “Advanced Manufacturing” program that brings a whole new dimension to basic stick welding.

Three dimensions, actually, since students will create three-dimensional structures using computer-aided design, turning those designs into reality using a variety of welding techniques.

“That is awesome,” said welder Tyler Luna this morning at The Dalles Iron Works. “Welding and manufacturing go hand-in-hand he said, noting the importance of understanding design as well as machining.

Among other skills, students will learn blueprint reading, manufacturing processes, technical mathematics, tube and pipe fabrication and repair, stainless steel welding, design processes, aluminum welding, sheet metal fabrication, basic machining practices, quality assurance, CAD/CAM for manufacturing, solid modeling, industrial automation, lean practices, material science and programming for manufacturing.

All that, plus three levels of welding technology.

Robert Clark, program insturctor

“We are very excited to begin offering a manufacturing program local to the Columbia Gorge, and one that combines so many crucial elements of modern design, creation, and prototyping of metal products,” said Robert Clark, the program instructor.  “We hope to serve and train our students to take on the ever-growing technical manufacturing segment in the Gorge and the unique problems and solutions it requires.”

Jon Keyser, owner of The Dalles Iron Works

Iron Works owner Jon Keyser said the program was welcome news, noting the economy had blossomed with tech manufacturing in the past few decades. Keyser is a former welding instructor at CGCC and said his classes were solely focused on getting students certified in welding. Back then we had a few welding shops and Bernert BargeLines and that was it. 

However, manufacturers such as Insitu, have created a whole new need for employees with very specific vocational skills. 

“It’s hard to find skilled employees that you can turn loose on a project and have it turn out like it should,” Keyser said. Wages in the welding and fabrication bring between $17 and $32 an hour, Keyser said, noting that can go up significantly in union work. 

Once the CGCC program is fully developed, it will lead to a baccalaureate program, although this is still at least two years down the road. At that stage, the program will also likely include additive (3D) manufacturing, which is rapidly being adopted across multiple industry sectors from manufacturing to food processing.

Columbia Gorge garnered approval for its new program from its accrediting organization, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, in February. Students can begin enrolling this summer for Fall Term 2021.

“The program has been several years in the making,” Clark said. “We’re very excited to have students walk through the doors of our new facility and go through our new curriculum with them.”

It’s one of three new career-tech programs being developed in conjunction with the Columbia Gorge Regional Skills Center, which opens this fall on The Dalles Campus. The college will be opening a 50-bed student residential hall at the same time. Both capital construction projects were made possible – without the need for a local tax measure – by funding from the Oregon Legislature, City of The Dalles, Wasco County, Port of The Dalles and the college itself.

For information on the Advanced Manufacturing program, call (541) 506-6011 (Option 2) in The Dalles, (541) 308-8211 in Hood River, or visit online, https://www.cgcc.edu/admissions.