Thanks to the Richard and Marion Leonhard Foundation, students in Candor’s Technology class have a new TRAK K3 CNC Knee Mill that will especially help them to expedite this year’s toy production. Richard Leonhard, an owner at Southwestern Industries Inc., the manufacturer of the milling machines, made the donation valued at upwards of $80,000 through his Foundation.
According to Chris Buza, of TRAK Machine Tools, the new machine has the capability of being used manually or as Computer Numerical Control (CNC) units, and offers students the ability to manufacture.
From left, Chris Buza and Gary Wood, of TRAK Machine Tools, work on the installation of the new K3 CNC machine at Candor High School. The machine was donated to the school through the Richard and Marion Leonhard Foundation at a value of upwards of $80,000. (Photo by Wendy Post)
“This gives [students] an idea of basic machining,” added Gary Wood, who was working with Buza on the Candor installation.
For the students at Candor, these new machines take them to the next level of machining. Stephen Lindridge, the school’s technology teacher, was excited to share the news about the machine, and stated that they are currently working on toys, and the machines will make things go much faster.
Candor’s Technology Teacher, Stephen Lindridge, holds up a diagram of the toy the students in his class are working on this year, a skid steer and a truck and trailer. (Photo by Wendy Post)
During the 2019-2020 school year, the students manufactured a toy combine harvester utilizing a plasma cutter, welder, and laser cutter; this year the 17 students in Lindridge’s class are making a skid steer, truck, and trailer.
“When done, this will be our fourteenth toy,” said Lindridge about the 10-week project, adding, “We expect to be done at the end of January.”
Candor Senior Will Zimmer works in Stephen Lindridge’s Technology Class. Soon he will be instructed on the new TRAK K3 CNC machine donated through the Richard and Marion Leonhard Foundation. (Photo by Wendy Post)
For Lindridge and his students, the donated machine is a generous Christmas gift, and it all began when Wood ran into someone that graduated from Candor and has his own machine shop in Cortland, Nick Evenson, owner of Custom Machining Technology, Inc.
According to Wood, he met with Lindridge after speaking with Evenson, and the Candor School was a good fit for the gift from the Foundation, which offers three of these types of awards each year.
As for the students, they will get a head start on a much-needed trade.
On the left, Gary Wood, from TRAK Machine Tools, and Technology Teacher Stephen Lindridge talk to students about the new machine they are installing at the Candor High School. The new TRAK K3 CNC machine was donated to the school through the Richard and Marion Leonhard Foundation. (Photo by Wendy Post)
“Ninety-five percent of machine shops are hiring,” said Buza, adding, “Many machinists have retired.”
December’s donation will give students the skills needed for modern manufacturing technology and prepare them for high demand jobs.
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