Tyco Electronics Grant to Launch High-Tech Lab at  IMP

May 27, 2003

ROCK HILL—A generous grant from the Tyco Electronics Foundation, the charitable arm of Tyco Electronics Corporation, will enable York Technical College to begin building a state-of-the-art metrology lab at its Institute for Manufacturing Technology.

The $51,000 grant will allow the college to purchase a coordinate measuring machine (CMM), for use by students in the college’s Precision Machining program. CMMs, which have accuracies measured in hundred-thousandths of an inch, are computerized machines used to make three-dimensional measurements of finished parts. York Tech’s new CMM will be the first component of a fully equipped metrology lab at the Institute. (Metrology is simply the science of measurement, but it is also a critical part of quality control in manufacturing.) Such machines are standard in all serious manufacturing operations. The lab will complement the advanced machining technology already in use at the Institute, including a number of sophisticated computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines—which have similar precision.

York Technical College currently has more than 160 students in its Precision Machining program. Its Machine Tool curriculum prepares students for career opportunities such as tool & die makers, tool inspectors, methods technicians, and quality control technicians. The college offers two programs: a diploma program and a general technology degree program with a concentration in Machine Tool.