Purdue University
Purdue is creating a new Smart Manufacturing (SM) undergraduate program integrating the 9-core capabilities and digitalization strategies of I4.0 to prepare a future STEM workforce for manufacturing. They are working collaboratively with partners to develop the Smart Manufacturing undergraduate program and student laboratories where students can imagine, create, innovate, problem solve, and build critical skills relevant to the emerging advanced manufacturing skill sets.
The classroom foundry will take full advantage of Industry 4.0 technologies. The mold machine, furnace, sand system and pouring robot will all be network accessible for tracking and analysis. The sand system will be PLC controlled and integrated with all aspects of the foundry including molding and mold handling.
The fully automatic sand system will provide students with a small scale, functional system to familiarize them with the way sand is prepared and handled during the sand molding process. The system will run in a fully automatic operation to provide prepared sand to a Sinto FDNX automatic molding machine, for use both in teaching and as a small-scale production facility.
Simpson & FEF Quotes
“Purdue’s Smart Manufacturing undergraduate program is innovative and sensational,” said Emily Shedlarski, MEng, Simpson. “Because of FEF, the Peter L. Simpson Fellowship Endowment, and leadership at Purdue, the students will have access to advanced data analyzing and industrial technology, which allows them to help implement or further develop their competencies at their future employer. The experience students can gain from FEF is invaluable.”
“These grants go a long way in supporting top tier FEF supported metalcasting programs said Brian Lewis, FEF Executive Director. Through the generosity of generations of the Simpson Family, we are able to help programs provide the latest in sand preparation technology for “hands-on” student learning.”
Simpson's Involvement
Peter L. Simpson was the founder of Simpson in 1912 and is the grandfather of Bruce L. Simpson and great, great-grandfather of Bruce W. Dienst. The Simpson Gold Medal at the American Foundry Society (AFS) is also named in honor of Peter L. Simpson. Simpson has been a continuous supporter of FEF every year since its inception in 1947. As of today, Simpson has achieved FEF’s Platinum Level of corporate giving and current Simpson President & CEO Bruce W. Dienst served as the FEF President in 2004 and remains active in FEF through the FEF President’s Advisory Council.
Simpson’s continued involvement in FEF lead to the hiring of Emily Shedlarski, MEng. Shedlarski was an FEF alumni of the University of Alabama at Birmingham under then KEY Professor Charlie Monroe. As a student, Shedlarski was an FEF Scholarship recipient and attended College Industry Conference [CIC]. Upon graduation, she became an FEF Alumni Ambassador and presented at CIC in November 2019, which is where she met Bruce Dienst. She has since become an FEF board member, KEY Contact for Georgia Southern, and Co-Chair for the FEF Fund Enhancement Committee.
About the Foundry Educational Foundation
The Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF) was established in 1947 by the leaders of the metalcasting industry to be the industry’s connection to educational programs at the college level. FEF includes a community college, four-year technology schools as well as traditional engineering colleges and graduate schools. It spans the broad range of higher education from production supervision to specialized research. The Mission of the Foundry Educational Foundation is to “strengthen the metal casting industry by supporting unique partnerships among students, educators and industry, helping today’s students become tomorrow’s leaders.
FEF is an Ohio-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation organized for charitable, education and scientific purposes that seeks to attract technology-oriented professionals to the metalcasting industry by educating the public about the high-tech, diverse, and rewarding nature of careers in modern metalcasting. For more about FEF, please visit
fefinc.org.
