The Advanced CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and Computer Integrated Manufacturing students at Port Townsend High School are looking to put their prototyping skills to the test of running a small business from the classroom.

Prior to this year, educator Tim Behrenfeld’s quartet of students learned computer drafting, and how to use laser- and 3D-printers, before they came up with their own product designs, then contacted local businesses to make products that would fit those stores’ expressed needs.

For advanced students this year, Behrenfeld wanted them not only to hone their product design, drafting and public relations skills further, but also to put those skills to an even more community-based use.

“The students looked around a bit, but could not find a place in town where someone could get a prototype for a product they might want to sell, or a physical model of an idea they might want to pitch to a company,” Behrenfeld said.

Behrenfeld’s plan is for students to meet prospective customers at the high school, where those clients would communicate their ideas, complete with measurements, illustrations and other specifications, so the students fully understand what their consumers want.

CAD drafts of those ideas would be based on the supplied specifications to produce initial prototypes, which would then be evaluated by customers during follow-up meetings, to determine what, if any, modifications would need to be made.

Behrenfeld assured potential clients they will not be charged any fees for this service, at the same time he cautioned them to keep in mind the limitations of what sorts of prototypes can be made at the high school’s manufacturing shop.

Laser and 3D printing, as well as simple 3-axis milling work in plastics and aluminum, are among the current options, although students are working toward more complex 3-axis CNC (Computer Numerical Control) milling work, and possibly even CNC lathe work.

Sophomores Torin Brostrom and Oliver Moore, junior Jordan Bowman, and senior Greyson Poole hope their new business can become an integral and continuing part of the advanced students’ curriculum.

Bowman doubts he’ll pursue this field professionally, but he still sees it as useful to develop these skills, so that he understands the nature of such production.

Poole is considering pursuing biomedical engineering, and appreciates both the practical applications and the “tangible proof” of work that such professions afford.

“Even if they don’t go into this field, this teaches them what it’s like to deal with customers on a professional level,” Behrenfeld said.

Brostrom shares Bowman’s appreciation of the work’s “real-world” applications, while Moore echoed Poole and Bowman’s fondness for the collaborative nature of their learning experience and production process, which involve brainstorming among peers with similar interests.

“Engineering is no longer about all these people working in isolation in their own little cubicles,” Behrenfeld said. “It’s a team effort, whether that’s done through in-person collaborations or Zoom conferences.”

All four students likewise expressed enthusiasm over working with the same technology that employers in the field use.

“The more we use these tools, the more things we discover we can do,” Poole said.

If you have questions, or want to pitch a design for the students to prototype, email Behrenfeld at tbehrenfeld@ptschools.org.

Behrenfeld also welcomes emails from retired machinists who are savvy in the use of CNC milling machines and CNC lathes, and who might be interested in helping out his class.