A Lego-based Outreach Module Aimed at Promoting Advanced Manufacturing Careers to K-12 Students in the United States

Abstract

Abstract A Lego-based Outreach Module Aimed at Promoting Advanced Manufacturing Careers to K-12 Students in the United States (Work in Progress) Advanced manufacturing has recently taken center-stage in the United States (US) with thefederal government rolling out major programs that are aimed at promoting US-basedmanufacturing. While these initiatives point towards a possible resurgence of the high-valuemanufacturing sector in the US, achieving the above goal is currently hampered by two majorroadblocks. First, there is a serious shortage of trained manufacturing professionals in the US,and second, there is a poor perception of manufacturing jobs amongst the youth in the US thathas affected recruitment and retention of professionals in this field. In the light of the currentcircumstances, there is a serious national need to recruit K-12 students to pursue manufacturing-centered education fields and careers. This paper presents the details of a novel Lego-basedmicro/nano-scale manufacturing education outreach module that has been developed specificallyto address this need. The three main goals of the outreach module include: 1) Pedagogically-appropriatepresentation of the current manufacturing workforce crisis and the need for trainedmanufacturing professionals in the United States; 2) Inspiring student interest in manufacturingengineering; and 3) Enable student learning by introducing additive and subtractivemanufacturing concepts at the micro/nano-scale. These goals are achieved through a highlyinteractive 50 minute in-class activity that comprises of a presentation that promotes activelearning and a hands-on demonstration of micro/nano-scale manufacturing techniques usingLego-based three-axis motion platforms. During the presentation, the module instructors beginby challenging the current notions of manufacturing that the students might have. The conceptsof additive and subtractive manufacturing and the notion of micro/nano-scales are thenintroduced by using common life examples. The size-scales are then tied into manufacturingconcepts such as tooling geometry and part specifications for miniature 3D parts. Once thisfoundation is laid, the instructors highlight the role that micro/nano-scale manufacturing plays inadvancing technologies such as micro medical robots, microprocessors and medical tooling. The heart of the outreach module is a Lego-based 3-axis motion platform that has beendesigned to demonstrate both additive and subtractive manufacturing concepts at the micro/nano-scale. The platform incorporates a Lego NXT controller that provides motion control over avolume of 10 cm X 6 cm X 15 cm using stage encoders with a positional accuracy of 0.35 mm.A battery-operated icing dispenser with different nozzle geometries is used as the tooling head todemonstrate additive manufacturing concepts. In addition to the additive manufacturing unit, aLego-based micro-milling machine and a metrology unit are under development. The finalconference paper will include the details of the outreach module content including the design andbuild of the motion platforms, the curriculum material and the assessment instruments used forthe outreach activity. In addition, the paper will also present the assessment results from theprograms that were run in local high-schools in upstate New York that point towards the efficacyof such modules. The results from this study have the potential to be adapted easily by varioushigh-schools to encourage K-12 students to pursue manufacturing-centered education and careeropportunities.