Heavy Metal Tour: 150 8th graders visit Hastreiter Industries.

Giving students exposure to careers they may not have known existed is not only critical to their professional development, but also for businesses seeking future talent. The Heavy Metal Tour allowed students from across central Wisconsin to hop on a bus and explore local businesses in manufacturing. On October 3rd, Hastreiter Industries hosted 150 8th graders. We showcased high tech. careers that many were unaware of, let alone in their own backyard, via three stations for students to interact with.

The first station was CAD (computer aided design) and additive manufacturing – 3D printing. This was the most familiar station to the students, as some of our local 8th graders have already worked with Autodesk Inventor or used a 3D printer. However, familiarity created additional inquisitiveness as the students explored real world applications. The second station, CNC milling, was fresh information for the students as they came in contact with subtractive manufacturing for the first time. The third station showcased how the CNC mills were programmed via CAM (computer aided manufacturing) and metrology with the CMM (coordinate measuring machine). As I’ve written in a previous article about a STEM Day Camp, automation excites many individuals from Generation Z; the students were able to see such automation across the company in the programming, manufacturing and inspection. This in turn got the students to think about careers they may have never considered. Other topics included soft skills that will make them successful and even an early lesson in compounding interest.

Over 20,000 students have participated in the Heavy Metal Tour since 2011, the largest tour of its kind in the U.S. The tour is organized by the North Central Wisconsin Development Board, and Central Wisconsin Metal Manufacturer’s Alliance (CWIMMA); funding comes from the manufacturers participating in the tour, with excess going towards scholarships. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting the students and we look forward to our machine shop participating in the Heavy Metal Tour next year!