“It was a school project,” said Ryan Clark, 17, Mayville, Wis. “I wanted to use the SOLIDWORKS program at school, and I wanted to get more experience with the CNC plasma table, as well. So, I came up with the idea of making a decoration for my bedroom.”
Clark, who is a student at Mayville High School and a member of the Mayville FFA, received a merit award on his creation at the Dodge County Fair. Many steps were involved to make the project come to life. “I ran some ideas passed my technical-education team, Dave Seiler, and came up with an outdoorsy American-flag theme.”
“I started by tracing the design in SOLIDWORKS, converted the code to the CNC plasma table, and ran the code on sheet metal. From there I sanded the metal, made mounting brackets by turning pieces of metal on a lathe, welded them on to the metal flag design, and primed and spray painted the flag black.”
The metal creation is attached to a wood back drop. “I found some really old barn wood, cut it to length, burned the edges with a propane torch, drilled holes for mounting, added LED light strips, and bolted the flag to the wood.”
Facing the challenges of this project were very important parts of the education process. “Learning SOLIDWORKS was difficult; there’s a lot to it; and, really, painting metal to make it smooth was also pretty difficult. However, learning basic machining processes inside a shop was extremely beneficial.”
Following his high-school graduation, Clark plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in agriculture engineering. “I want to work on a design team for heavy machinery.”
The Dodge County Fair continues through Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024.
Written by Dori Lichty — farm wife, 4-H Mom, and full-time communicator
