Manufacturing Showcase 2025 Student Participants

Solar Gaming System

Our project utilized a solar panel to generate DC current. And what that does is it goes to our inverter and turns that DC into AC which can then be used to generate power for a TV and gaming system. We recently showed off our project at our recent showing and hope to attract more kids to our program to show that you can still have fun while doing a lot for our earth.

About Nolan: I became interested because I want to do something about our planet. I really want to spread the message and expand information to everyone who might not know how important nature and the rest of our planet is.

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Heat Pump Installation

Replacing / installing a heat pump system, working and bending sheet metal, evacuating and charging the system with refrigerant.

About Jaime: My family helped me chose this field and I hope to be able to get a successful career out of it.

Heat Pumps

Heat pumps are units that transfer heat and cooling to areas such as houses and buildings. I believe the skills of knowing how to calculate how much refrigerant is needed, knowing functions of each component and being able to braze line sets will be very helpful in putting the equipment together. This concept aligns with my career aspirations because heat pumps are being pushed to be the future of heating and cooling.

About Baltazar: I was interested in how HVAC systems operate and I hope to be a great technician and understand different systems.

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5- Axis Mill Spider-Man Bust

The project incorporates advanced knowledge of CNC technology and programming. It displays the innovative concepts taught at ECC in the Industrial Manufacturing Technology (IMT) curriculum. The skills I have acquired while studying in the IMT program are safety, setting up machines, running machines, knowledge and understanding of programming using software or by hand, and this is just to name a few. This project aligns with my career aspirations because I plan to one day be a programmer who gets to program advanced parts such as this using a multi-axis machine.

About Stacie: I enjoy working with my hands and problem solving so my advisor guided me into the path of the IMT program at ECC. Ever since that day, I fell in love with the industry and never looked back. I hope to take all of my training and apply it in the industry while continuing my education and turning my knowledge from ECC into a bachelor's degree in Engineering.

Aluminum Voron 2.4

Voron Design is a non profit organization that works with the open-source 3d printing community. They provide free designs & BOM on custom core XY 3d printers, primarily put together with ‘off the shelf’ standard parts/hardware.

Over the years at ECC, I learned CAD modeling, conventional machining, G-code programming, and CAM programming. These skills go hand in hand with prototype work on projects of this complexity.

Converting a design optimized for 3D printed plastic parts to fully metal will utilize all skills mentioned above and open my eyes towards skills I’m still unaware of. This project will show and grow my versatility in the manufacturing field from design to post-build debugging.

About Druv: I would like to start a business in the manufacturing field a few years from now. It helps to understand all aspects of the business from design to job site maintenance.

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Gone for a Walk

The concept is a creative charging station/lamp/holder where our imagination created a cute and fun structure. It focuses on the innovation of space and the convenience of having a multiple uses in a single design.

About Maria Fernanda: Since I was in high school, I always liked to experiment with electronics and build things with my hands. After creating something and taking a final look at whatever I'm making, I feel proud of the results and the work I put into it.

C U B E

The space cube.

About Andy: Working in the maintenance field brought me to study Maintenance Technology. My training at ECC is only the beginning of the maintenance journey.

Gone for a Walk

This concept will be a charging station but will also be a phone holder and lamp all in one. During our time here at ECC, numerous skills that we have learned were incorporated into our project, such as wiring the entire project and fitting all the pieces together to form the final outcome.

About Delanie: I've always been interested in maintenance work - whether it is turning a wrench on a tractor or now in the industrial field. Smithfield made this opportunity possible for me by sending me here to ECC. I will always be grateful for this chance to expand my knowledge and grow.

Lamp

In this project, I learned how to use galvanized pipe, how to make threads, and how to connect electrical cables.

About Jaime: I work at the Smithfield company. I'm very interested in industrial mechanics, and they gave me the opportunity to practice with the company's mechanics. They also sent me to school. I really like this career and have learned many things I never imagined I would. I'm very happy to have attended ECC Community College.

Night Lamp

My project is a lamp shaped like a robot holding a cane, made out of black piping. The idea is to mix something fun and creative with something functional. It’s a different take on everyday materials—using plumbing pipes to build something artistic and useful at the same time. That’s where the innovation comes in, and it’s also a small step toward sustainability by rethinking how we use materials.

About David: I come from a foreign country, and I’ve always felt a deep passion for solving problems and learning new things. I love facing challenges, finding solutions, and discovering how things work. Learning is something that constantly drives me, and among all my interests, languages hold a special place. I believe each new language is a window into a different way of seeing the world, and it excites me to connect with different cultures through words. For me, every day is a chance to grow, to understand a little more, and to get closer to the people around me—no matter where they come from.

Copper Faucet

Today, everything is expensive to buy and I believe we can make cheaper and more convenient products at lower costs providing more flexibility.

About Suan: I have been dreaming of going to college but it has seemed impossible for me. Today, I have the opportunity to learn my maintenance skills at ECC and it is leading to brighter future like a light in the dark

Industrial Christmas Tree

I decided to make a Christmas with different components we use in the field.

About Mitchel: I have always enjoyed working in mechanical equipment. I was offered a position at work to do this and saw it as an opportunity to grow my skill. I have enjoyed doing this and am looking at continuing once I am done with this program. With what I’ve learned, I hope to move on to bigger and better things.

The Man Who Lights the Tree

I wanted to show different techniques and how to utilize everything I have learned in this class and classes in the past. My work is a collaborative effort between myself and another classmate. We wanted to show that throughout this program that we could not have made it without each other, and I feel like that shows in our work.

About Tyce: I started with ECC because of being granted an opportunity with my employer to be a part of an apprenticeship program.

Smoker

We are making a smoker using the pulse spray method - a type of GMAW. We will use fabrication, welding, and cutting techniques. I would love to do fabrication at some point in my career so it’s fun to do a project like this.

About Lucas: I became interested in welding from watching YouTube videos. I hope to join a union for welding in Wisconsin once I’m done at ECC.

The Fridge Smoker Grill

The general overview of this project is a heavy-duty smoker/grill designed to captivate and maintain the heat that you need in order to smoke or grill whatever your culinary heart desires. Standing at almost 5-6 ft tall and at a length of 4 ft you can cook almost anything in here. With the team that I worked with, led by my instructor Tom, I presented the idea of this massive design that we all worked together to create. During the creation of this monster, we innovated multiple cutting processes and techniques to get the dimensions to put this thing together. We’ve implemented a welding technique called pulse spray transfer that is specified to the GMAW process in order to get the penetration that’s needed to ensure that the structure of this smoker will do its due diligence for the culinary arts department, throughout its lifetime at ECC!

About Marcos: I am a senior, wrapping up my degree in applied sciences of welding, fabrication, and manufacturing at Elgin Community College. I currently work at one of the biggest steel distribution plants nationwide. I became interested in this field because it was one of the opportunities where I could enhance and showcase my abilities as a hands-on individual. With the courses that I have taken during my attendance here, I plan on starting up my business as a welder/fabricator by the end of this year. Hopefully, this will not only benefit me and my family, but also society in the near future. With the ability to provide jobs to the community and great service to whoever chooses to grant me the opportunity to work with them, I will strive to perfect my craft!

Smoker

Our project involves using different forms of sustainability welding practices to fabricate a smoker that can be used by the Culinary Arts Department. We used skills like angle grinding, plasma cutting with a plasma torch, MIG welding, filing, as well as Solidworks to design the dimensions and layout of the project. The concept aligns with my career aspirations because I want a job where I can design and build real-world applications and projects.

About Jax: I became interested in Welding because I have a friend who is an underwater welder and my dad was an industrial technology teacher. I hope to get as many certificates as I can, as well as obtain an associates degree in welding fabrication. I want to find a good job and be able to do something I enjoy doing.

Smoker

We will be building a smoker for the ECC culinary program. They have chosen a large design with a fire box as well as the ability to turn it into a grill. We will be tackling this project using MIG welding, or more professionally known as GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding ). Not only will we be using MIG welding but we will be using a MIG welding process called pulse spray. To sum up pulse spray: a welding arc transfers small metal droplets onto your work surface while the arc fluctuates between high current and low current. This high and low fluctuation allows the weld to cool down, giving you a stable, smooth, all-position weld. This process is also much faster than traditional short-circuit MIG. Pulse spray also allows you to make stronger, more penetrating welds, making it more efficient and safer for professional job applications. We will use pulse spray for the entire smoker.

About Patrick: I have been welding since I was pretty young. It wasn’t until I took a welding class at Elgin High School during my junior year that I decided I wanted to pursue welding and fabrication. In ECC’s welding program, I wanted to get a vast understanding of welding. Not just how to weld but how to do it efficiently and make it perfect every time.

Smoker

We decided to fabricate this smoker based off “TMG Fridge offset smoker”. Smokers are a great sustainable cooking method relying on a natural energy source. Although we had pictures for inspiration, our team designed the actual blueprint with our own custom dimensions for everything using Solidworks design platform for our blueprint.

We also went the route of using MIG pulse spray transfer as the method for welding together the entire build. This is a very efficient process that allows quick welding production and conserves energy. ECC’s welding teachers taught me how to read blueprints and measure precisely. I also learned multiple cutting processes, how to operate several power tools, and the MIG weld in the spray transfer process effectively, all of which are essential skills in the production of this smoker. I’m grateful for the opportunity to build this with my team because moving forward, I’ve gained more experience in fabrication and collaboration skills.

About Everly: My parents raised me to value having a good work ethic. My dad has been in the trades my whole life, and following his lead seemed like a noble ambition. So, I chose to pursue welding in the hopes of being proud of doing something hard and rewarding.

Smoker for the culinary arts department

A group of volunteer students came up with the concept of making a smoker for our school. We came up with blueprints which we all learned and utilized a CAD program, which some other students had taken classes for. In a couple of welding classes, we learned pulse spray. We configured the correct settings for the materials we had and practiced perfection. Experiencing group work.

About Jessica: I grew up in a trades family. No one was a welder, so I wanted to perfect it to contribute to a different expertise in trades. I want to accomplish getting into a career that I'll enjoy and have more knowledge about.

Leg Vise Work Station

This project is made from 100% up-cycled, repurposed, and restored parts. All the steel utilized to make the stand, tool holders, etc. was made from donated scrap steel. Even the main support tubing was left over from previous projects.

This workstation was made to support and revolve around a 125-year-old Leg Vise. This vise was found in the barn of an old homestead near Bartlett IL. I acquired it a few years back and restored it. One of the things I love most about the welding program here is that we are taught skills needed to create nearly anything from tooling, to manufacturing equipment, to fine art.

In an era of “just throw it out, and get a new one,” the welding program promotes using what we have to produce what we need to the extent that is possible. These principles closely align with my work as both an artist and a blacksmith. I am grateful to have found a program rooted in integrity, sustainability, and productivity in education.

About Timothy: I became interested in the welding program from my work as a blacksmith and professional artist. I had heard many good things about the program, took 101, and decided to pursue a degree in welding.

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