Campus Connection: MSC Southeast CNC team advances to national championships

Ivey Wadman Vehrenkamp is a member of Minnesota State College Southeast's CNC team, which competed this month in Project MFG's 2023 National Advanced Manufacturing Championship in Greenville, South Carolina.

During the last week of the semester, most Minnesota State College Southeast students were wrapping up final exams, presenting their capstone projects, and getting ready to walk across the stage at commencement on Friday, May 12.

But five of the college's CNC machine tool students were out of town all week and missed the graduation ceremony.

Instead, they were in Greenville, South Carolina, at a national competition, having made it to the "Final Four" in Project MFG's 2023 National Advanced Manufacturing Championship.

The students weren't just competing against three other teams from across the country, they were being filmed for Season 3 of the reality web TV series "Clash of Trades." Talk about pressure.

It all started when instructors Rick Hengel and Todd Ives were at a CNC convention over a year ago. They kept walking past a booth hosted by Project MFG and finally stopped to talk with the representatives.

Minnesota State College Southeast CNC team member Ellery Keisel speaks at the Project MFG National Advanced Manufacturing Championship in Greenville, South Carolina.

As Rick explained it, "They told us, we do a five-axis machining student competition and it's free — we pay for everything. We told them we don't have a five-axis machine and they said not to worry about that, because you can do the first part of the competition on a three-axis machine. So we signed up for it."

He forgot all about it until an email came last fall asking him to select five students for the contest. In the first round of the competition, they received requirements for parts to be made by the students on campus, then sent to Project MFG to be judged.

The team included Austyn Warren as programmer, Joe Schultz and Ivey Wadman Vehrenkamp as CNC machinists, Brad Bishop as manual machinist and Ellery Keisel in charge of welding.

"We got the part done and sent it in, and then I didn't think much about it. Then in January, we got another email — ‘Congratulations, you’re in the top 16 teams and you’re going to Wichita for Regionals!’" said Rick. "At this point, I realized that in the regionals we would be competing on a five-axis machine — and this was going to be a new challenge because we don't have a five axis at our school and we don't teach 5 axis programing."

Then he learned that Rushford Manufacturing has a Haas five-axis machine. "They were gracious enough to give us an entire day to work with one of their employees and learn how to use it. I can't thank Rushford Manufacturing enough for what they did! We never would have made it to this level if it was not for them."

The team included Austyn Warren as programmer, Joe Schultz and Ivey Wadmen Vehrenkap as CNC machinists, Brad Bishop as manual machinist, and Ellery Keisel in charge of welding.

The MSC Southeast team drove to Wichita in February to compete against three other teams at the regional competition, where they had to produce a "product" within time and cost constraints.

"At the contest, our team's work was good, but they didn't finish everything on time. However, our teamwork was noticed by Project MFG. They really talked about how well our team worked together," Rick said.

"In this competition, you’re not only racing against the clock, but you’re also racing against other teams to try to make the parts as quickly as you can — while maintaining a tight tolerance on the parts and maintaining good surface finishes," explained Austyn Warren.

The group drove home, and once again, Rick said he didn't think much about it. The next email arrived on March 28, 2023. "We made it to nationals!"

"We really didn't expect to do too much, we just gave it our all," said Ivey Wadman Vehrenkamp. "Then we found out we had made it to nationals, and everyone was shocked, but happy! It's not every day you end up in a national championship, so it's a rare opportunity."

With lots more practice and preparation, the team departed bright and early on Monday morning, May 8, for Greenville. They sent home a message by video mid-week to the whole college community.

Speaking for the team, Austyn Warren said, "We’re not going to be able to make it to the graduation ceremony, but we’re hoping to bring home some hardware and help put Minnesota State College Southeast on the map!"

"As of press time, we don't know the results of the championship, but whatever happens, we couldn't be more proud of our CNC Machine Tool Team," said Dr. Marsha Danielson, president of Minnesota State College Southeast. "Their success is a reflection of the excellence of their instructors — Rick Hengel, Todd Ives and Casey Mann — and we wish them all the best!"

Above and Beyond award recipients from across the Winona area are recognized at the 2023 Above and Beyond Awards night held May 11, 2023 at Saint Mary's University. Two of the award recipients were not present at the awards.

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