My journey into the world of digital manufacturing began in 2005 when my next door neighbour built a 4’ x 8’ CNC machine in his garage. Little did I know that this would take me on an adventure that would last nearly two decades. It has been a wild and exciting ride, filled a many great challenges, exciting changes and a tremendous sense of accomplishment. It has taken me to over 40 states in America and every Canadian province and territory and several other countries.
Throughout this adventure, our emphasis has been on providing resources to educators to assist them in the successful implementation of CNC and Laser technology into their classrooms, wood shops, maker spaces and industrial technology programs. While I cannot firmly verify this, I do believe that Jeremy, David and I have become the largest supplier of digital technology products and training in North America with over 3,500 schools and counting. This is an accomplishment we are immensely proud of. In fact, this year over 80% of our machines were provided to educational institutions and we see that number continuing to grow.
Over the past several years, we have seen an increased emphasis on revitalizing the teaching of skilled trades in education. This has been particularly true in regards to digital manufacturing, as industry began to become more automated. In the early 2000s, we saw that digital manufacturing was primarily the function of post-secondary institutions, but today most of our machine installations have been to high schools and even senior elementary grades (middle schools, junior high schools, etc.). We are thrilled to have been a part of this change and are firmly committed to seeing that trend continue.
Recently, many school administrations have began to shift emphasis towards teaching more quantitative CAD/CAM skills at an increasingly earlier age. As such, we see the need to shift our priorities to providing a higher lever of training to teachers to facilitate this shift.
Over the past year, we have began a collaboration with LeeVerage Integration to provide a higher level of training to teachers in industrial technology and vocational trades education. LeeVerage is one of North America’s foremost authorized training centres for AutoDesk Fusion. With Fusion, teachers can provide their students with the tools to expand their skills to include generative 3D design, something that, until now, has been more a post-secondary function. Additionally, Fusion provides the ability to provide a platform for design that crosses over to all digital manufacturing disciplines, including CNC machining, laser cutting, engraving and even 3D printing. Best of all, Fusion offers full site licensing to educators at no cost and, as a cloud based software platform, can be used on all devices including PC’s, laptops, Mac computers, Chromebooks, etc.. Students and teachers can also learn at home which offers added flexibility in terms of teaching circumstances.
It is my opinion that, as we move into the second quarter of this century, we need to be providing teachers with the resources to better equip students for the ever-changing landscape of post-secondary training and, ultimately industry.
Recently, the province of Ontario passed legislation requiring all secondary students to take a skilled trade as part of their high school experience. This change has caused a severe shortage in qualified teachers to provide such training. While we have no capacity to solve all the problems associated with this change, we do feel uniquely qualified to help equip teachers in facing these challenges as it relates to digital manufacturing. We are seeing similar initiatives in other jurisdictions in both Canada and the U.S.
Effective immediately, Simply CNC is offering several onsite training modules for school districts and boards to help prepare teachers for this changing landscape. All these will be using Fusion 360 as the framework of our workshops.
Location: Onsite
Duration: 2 days (12 hours of instruction)
Maximum Attendees: 10 teachers
Cost: $5,900
Focus: Attendees with learn the basic 2D, 2.5D and 3D CAD skills using Fusion 360.
Certification: Attendees will be issued a certificate of completion to verify they understand the basic fundamentals of Fusion CAD.
Follow Up Support: Included
Travel Cost: Included (slightly higher if the location is more remote)
Location: Onsite
Duration: 1 days (6 hours of instruction)
Maximum Attendees: 10 teachers
Cost: $4,400
Focus: Attendees with learn toolpath strategies  and tool settings. Additionally each person will design and manufacture a simple project to verify they understand these fundamentals.
Follow Up Support: Included
Travel Cost: Included (slightly higher if the location is more remote)
Location: Onsite
Duration: 1 days (6 hours of instruction)
Maximum Attendees: 10 teachers
Cost: $4,400
Focus: Attendees with cutting and engraving and laser settings. Additionally each person will design and manufacture a simple project to verify they understand these fundamentals.
Follow Up Support: Included
Travel Cost: Included (slightly higher if the location is more remote)
This 2 day course will combine Level 201 and 301 at a cost of $5,900.
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If you would like to get more information on how to advance your digital technology program and equip your teachers and students to better prepare for the changing manufacturing world, simply CLICK HERE and we will reach out to you to discuss how we can help!
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Regards,
Steve Stevenson
Co-founder of Simply CNC Inc.