Manufacturing Simulation Technology
Associate in Applied Science Degree

This program prepares the learner for computer based manufacturing simulation technician positions in industry by providing core skills in math, science, communications, computer aided design (CAD), quality, manufacturing processes and materials. The program also addresses manufacturing design and robotics in order to support the integration of these systems in a 3-D computer simulation of a robotic manufacturing work cell design. This emerging technology is based on “real-time” data and allows manufacturers to simulate several scenarios without the time loss and cost of physical prototype and/or expensive tooling. The Department of Defense, major automotive manufacturers, commercial aircraft manufacturing, aerospace, maritime/ship building, entertainment industry and industry equipment manufacturers are using computer simulation applications to reduce time to market and increase product quality. Development of this program has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to address the critical shortage of manufacturing simulation technicians in the Southeast Michigan region and beyond.

A graduate with this degree may be employed as a:

• Modelers and Simulation Technicians for manufacturing process verification
• Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP)
• Computer Aided Production Engineering ( CAPE)
• Data Base Administrator of the manufacturing data base which contains product data, process data and manufacturing resources (PPR)
• Programmers for PLC’s Robots, CMM’s or NC machines that can use simulation to create and validate the programs off-line.
• Industrial engineering professionals for plant and workstation layouts, ergonomic analysis and discrete event simulation.
• Production Planners that can utilize scheduling and simulation tools.