Think snow: Penn College seniors design ice scrapers

With temperatures in much of the United States near 100 F, here's a story to help you think cool thoughts. Three Pennsylvania College of Technology students recently completed a project to design and manufacture injection molded ice scrapers that bear the college's initials. Penn College notes that the project encouraged cooperation between students majoring in two of the majors available from the School of Industrial & Engineering Technologies: plastics and polymer engineering technology and manufacturing engineering technology. Justin W. Crowther, of Bear, Del., plastics and polymer engineering technology; Michael A. Love, of Manheim, Pa., manufacturing engineering technology; and David M. Huston, of Greensburg, Pa., manufacturing engineering technology, spent 254 hours on the project. "As a group, we produced a working plastic part from sketch to end-use," Crowther said in a story for the school's PC Today web site. "This project was run as though we were working in industry to produce ice scrapers for a customer. This gave the group experience working with deadlines and working as a team to overcome problems." The opportunity to exercise project-management skills was important, the students said. "It has taught critical communication skills to me that a classroom atmosphere couldn't replicate," Huston said. "Balancing my full class load, as well as finishing this project, has taught me organizational skills that I will be able to use out in the workforce." The college's plastics and polymer technology program plans to continue making ice scrapers from the mold, providing both a learning tool for the injection molding process and a promotional item. Crowther noted that Mold Base Industries Inc. in Harrisburg, Pa., donated several hundred dollars in mold components for the project.