Class of 2021 Capstone Project Highlight: Fabrication & Fire Pits
At Thaddeus Stevens College, hands-on learning is key in supporting student success. Each year, sophomore students take their classroom experience and apply it to challenging, real-world projects. Senior capstone projects provide valuable, hands-on experience to graduating students. Throughout this year and as the end of the semester approaches, students and instructors across campus have been working diligently to ensure that graduates are able to refine their abilities and skills in preparation for the workforce.
The 2020-2021 academic year has been one unlike any other, presenting many unique challenges due to the pandemic. Despite this, students in the Metals Fabrication and Welding Technology program have completed their senior capstone fire pit projects with expertise, pride and passion for their trade.
“Many of the students came to the lab early, stayed late and even work Saturdays, taking advantage of extra lab time provided by the faculty,” said Steven Hower, Metals Fabrication and Welding Assistant Professor. “All of our students are to be commended for their hard work and diligence to get the project completed in the face of adversity.”
The projects were created from a given set of drawings and specifications with added individual artistic and functional designs customized by students. Each fire pit was fabricated from ¼” carbon steel plate and ¾” carbon steel pipe.
“Even though we were short on time this semester we were able to finish the capstone project. We were able to accomplish this feat with the direction of our instructor Mr. Hower and the willingness of everyone in the class to put forth the time and effort it took to get this far,” said Justin F., a sophomore Metals Fabrication and Welding Technology student. “I am thankful for this project, it taught me a lot about working with metal and included multiple welding processes that we will use in our careers. It was also nice to be able to build an aesthetic and durable fire pit that we were able to take home and use after we put so much effort into it.”
The Process
While discussing the project and process, Student Zachary R. added, “This project was fun because it incorporated all the methods of fabrication and welding that we learned up to that point. It was also challenging because each calculation, cut, bend, and roll had to be absolutely correct or it could turn into a big problem later in the project.”
Congratulations to the students of the Metals Fabrication and Welding Technology program on completion of their capstone projects and for a job well done!
Learn more about the Metals Fabrication & Welding Technology program or begin your application.