Electric Guitars: A Vehicle for STEM and Distributed Manufacturing Education

The Perfect Hook for Students from Any Background

Doug Hunt, Instructor, Southern Wells HSTom Singer, Professor, Sinclair C.C.

AgendaElectric Guitars: A Vehicle for STEM and

Distributed Manufacturing Education The Perfect Hook for Students from Any Background

A Little History guitars and our national movementGuitarbuilding.org overviewHow Does it Tie into Manufacturing Engineering Technology Education?STEM Guitar Distributive Manufacturing Industry IntegrationSustainabilityHow to get involved

NSF Support Acknowledgement• This material is based upon

work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number

• 0903336 Design, Construction, Assembly of a solid body electric guitar

• Other previous grants 0802305, 04042023, 9550953, 9454571

A Little History…..• Initially created out of a need to

be heard among many horns in big band music and from a popularity in Hawaiian and Western swing music.

• The result changed popular music for decades and had immeasurable impact on our culture.

When? - Electric Guitar Patent

Aug 10, 1937: First-ever electric guitar

patent awarded to the Electro String Corporation

1935 Rickenbacker flying pan guitar1936 Gibson ES-150

1944 Kauffman & Fender lap steel guitar

Early milestones in electric guitars

Four guitars that changed music

1949 Fender Broadcaster1952 Gibson Les Paul

1954 Fender Stratocaster1958 Gibson ES-335

A Little More History on the STEM Guitar building

Project• 1995 Rapid Prototyping • 1998 NCME National Center of

Manufacturing Education• 2004 “COLLABnFAB” Prototyping

& collaboration • 2006 PLM “The launch of guitar

building in the classroom”• 2009 STEM Guitar Project– NSF funded projects – CA, IN, OH , PA

NSF STEM Guitar Project Over view

• Started just over 3 years ago– 4 community colleges, 2 high Schools

& a University– HS and community college faculty

training• Focus on the Math & Science of

the guitar– “ Technology of the guitar” by Mark

French a Co-PI on the project

Curent Regional Adopters High School and college adoptees

states– Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,

Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin

– Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas

–Nevada, California, Hawaii, Utah, Washington

–Maryland

Overarching Themes STEM Guitar Project

• Collaboration and Sharing• Curriculum, guitar designs,

build techniques, innovation• Manufacturing and

entrepreneurial business operations has become a unplanned emphasis

Guitarbuilding.org

Curriculum BookCovers a wide

array of science, technology & engineering, and math concepts

Curriculum Book• Lesson plans created by

many contributors both NSF grant team members as well as past workshop participants

Book FormatINTRO

BACKGROUND INFO

SAMPLE PROBLEMS

INDEPENDENT WORK

Book Format

Manufacturing Matters• Who Says?• What do they say?– Enabling Innovation– Securing the Talent Pipeline– Improving the Business

Climate

What About EDU?

Bring Manufacturing Directly into the Classroom

“total active learning extravaganza”

Felder, Brent, ACTIVE LEARNING: AN INTRODUCTION - PG 2

STEM Guitar Distributed Manufacturing

• Relies on the contributions and coordination of off-site locations

• Allows for specialization• Capitalizes on existing tools and

machinery• Strong central planning is

essential for success• Generates revenue stream for

participants

STEM Guitar Distributed Manufacturing

• Collaboration is key• Use of file sharing among

manufacturing locations– Communication– Design files– Machining CNC files

• Countless other schools access the machining files via the guitarbuilding.org website

• Foray in to Cloud Manufacturing

Examples• Southern Wells H.S., Poneto, IN

– Fretboards– R&D for prototype instrument

development• Stebbins H.S., Dayton, OH

– Fret wire rollers– Ferrule punches

• Sinclair C.C., Dayton, OH– Coordinates production– Orders bulk hardware– Produces bodies and necks– Packs and ships guitar kits

Incentive is Key for Southern Wells

• Students earn credits toward their guitars

OR• towards other guitar merchandise

– (typically purchased from Sweetwater)• Student receives healthy portion of

the income per unit• Balance of IPU is used for

perpetuation: tools replacement, consumable supplies for the production of the item to occur

Student-centered• Students take ownership of

their work– See first-hand the creation of

revenue• Gain first-hand experience in

Quality Control– Students are expected to have a

hand in Q.C.• We reject items that are not to

spec– Students realize rejected items

do not generate revenue

Room to Grow• Began at 125 kits year

2009-2010 school year• Projected 800+ kits 2012-

2013 school year• Sinclair is approaching peak

production capability

Room to Grow• Based on innovative ideas from

workshop participants• Possible new and improved products– Electric Bass guitar– Amplifiers with speakers or headphone

jack– Injection molded plastic items: string

nuts, knobs– Wood items: body blanks, neck blanks,

fretboards– Specialty luthiery tools

Ties to innovation and the guitar industry

– Stewart Macdonald connection • Tools and product

development• Global awareness

– Guitar String analysis • (Purdue - New

Philadelphia HS) • D’Addarrio String

Manufacturer– Compensated Fretboard

project • (Purdue – Southern Wells)

Compensated Fretboard project

Southern Wells HS

• Guitar features a modified string nut and fret spacing based on research conducted by French. Guitar has been shown to Fender R&D for their consideration

Industry Partnerships

Industry Partnerships

ATE Center Interaction• National Center for Manufacturing

Education– Back office business operations

support• Materials Education – Northwest US hub for project– New sustainable model test location

• Supply Chain Management – Logistical analysis – Inventory control

Next Steps and Sustainability

• Need to have complete sustainability in MFG processes

• Exploration into wider distributed MFG supply chain

• Develop additional STEM curriculum and link to national standards

• Create a collective Community on Guitarbuilding.org

How to get involved– Guitarbuilding.org– Guitarbuilding.org - production

files • Kick the tires test out the designs /

curriculum• Set up a web conference chat to

explore next steps• Host a Professional development

event for your faculty and regional area

• Stay tuned for next summer’s schedule (out in December)

Thank You

– Upcoming Events• January Arizona State University (combined FABLAB and STEM

guitar event)• March 25@ Edmonds Community College Materials Ed ATE center

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0802305, 0903336

Doug Huntdhunt@swell.k12.in.us

Tom Singerthomas.singer@sinclair.edu

An Introduction on our hands on project

• John Martincic, Owner, Forrest Scientific

Distributor of:• CNC Routers• Laser Engravers• Plasma Cutters• CAD/ CAM Software

www.forestscientific.com