CMC Report

November 2025 – by Al Mangels

The NESMA Technical Development Committee (TDC) met on November 12th, 2025.

We started the meeting by reminding attendees that although Manufacturing Month (October) is behind us, NESMA member companies remain willing to host plant tours for students.

On October 22nd and 24th, 8 students (employees) of Lee Spring volunteered to take place in in two pilot sessions of the new SMI 200 – Mechanics of Spring Materials course. After reviewing the feedback, the takeaways were that the course is a viable component of the recommended SMI course sequence, was best delivered in two 3-hour sessions, and those with shop floor experience seemed to grasp the material better than those who didn’t have as much of that experience, such as the other students from quality or purchasing.

We then discussed the PMA/ CONNSTEP hosted event that occurred at the MASC center on November 10th. At that event, there was a presentation by Anthony DiCaccio (CONNSTEP) on cybersecurity readiness and compliance requirements for businesses working with the Department of Defense. He emphasized that CMMC compliance will be mandatory within the next year for DoD contractors, and achieving such compliance would parallel ISO 9001 compliance in that companies must establish documented procedures and undergo third-party audits. CONNSTEP can help.

Following that, there was a presentation from Patrick Hayden (UniMetal Surface Finishing), explaining how he and several others from his industry collaborated to establish a Metal Finishing Training program at MASC that is now ready to launch. I found this very encouraging, as we at NESMA are also trying to establish such a program for springmaker training at MASC.

The NESMA course envisioned would be similar to other MASC programs in that a typical cohort would include somewhere between 200 and 260 hours of training, delivered 20 hours per week over a 13-week period. This format allows students to work part-time while in training, and also includes manufacturing fundamentals training as well as the industry specific training. However, launching such a program would require support from several NESMA members, so I ask again, if any NESMA members would like to participate in the development of this springmaker course, whether it be curricula, equipment, materials, instructors or simply guidance, we certainly could use your help, and please let me know.

We then had a presentation by David Weinholtz from MakerspaceCT. MakerspaceCT is 28,000 sq. ft. manufacturing and innovation hub in Hartford. Their facilities include machining, welding, woodworking, plastics, and digital fabrication labs. Their mission Is to bridge education, creativity, and industry through hands-on technical training. Their standard programs include Engineering Primer (EPP), Engineering Fundamentals Course (EFC), and Building on the Trades Initiative. But most importantly, MakerspaceCT offers customizable training programs for companies, and potential collaboration with NESMA members, in cases, for example, where the proposed MASC program would not be a good fit, such as for incumbent workers who cannot be spared for as many hours per week. Perhaps we will try to organize a NESMA event at their facility so other NESMA members might become familiar.

Elsewhere in the community, we heard from Mark Jurczyk from Bristol Tech, who reports a full cohort of 28 students and who will host an advisory committee meeting on December 4th. We also heard from Larry Pomerlau, who mentioned the new CTECS Executive Director Dr. Alice Pritchard, and noted a shortage of instructors throughout the system as a possible obstacle for further growth. We also heard from Jill O’Brien from Plainville Adult Education, who reported the success of their Career Gallery event, their availability for funding for field trips, and open enrollment. And we heard from Angela DeAngelo from our FLM Committee who are still working towards continued school outreach and student engagement.

Subsequent to our monthly meeting, on November 13th, the NESMA TDC hosted a webinar on Artificial Intelligence (AI) featuring speakers Dr. Amy Thompson, Chief Technology Officer, Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), and Dr. Michael Gendron, Chair of Management Information Systems, Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), who are both experts in this field. Our aim was to determine what might be required to prepare future springmakers to use these new AI tools should they come to the forefront. What we learned, as the speakers discussed the nature of AI, is that for small to medium size manufacturers such as NESMA members, the best approach for implementation at this point is probably to focus on a specific use-case, such as predictive maintenance, energy and resource optimization (e.g., coolant, water, electricity), scrap reduction through anomaly detection or real-time quality checks beyond traditional vision systems. As far as student readiness, the term coined was “AI Literacy.” We wholeheartedly thank Dr. Thompson and Dr. Gendron for taking the time to participate on this panel.

Also on November 13th, I attended an Open House at the new University of New Haven’s Center for Innovation and Applied Technology, where Paul Lavoie presented their plans for the new center with the aim to provide Advanced Technology skills to the next generation of manufacturing workers, driven by industry requirements. Their plans look impressive.

Last but not least, on November 20th, NESMA hosted an equipment demonstration of the PENSA C64 CNC wire bender at the MASC center in Waterbury. While a few NESMA members attended, we were also joined by about a dozen current MASC students. The demonstration went very well and was particularly engaging for the students who were favorably impressed. This is important, because the usefulness of the machine for training purposes is one of the primary determinations to be made.

The next NESMA Technical Development Meeting will be Wednesday, December 10th (2:00 – 3:00 PM). For more information about the Technical Development Committee, or any of the upcoming workforce development events, I can be reached at amangels@leespring.com .