Published July 2003

EdCC composites program gets equipment boost

By Bryan Corliss
Herald Business Writer

A Marysville company that makes jet parts out of composites is donating the use of its equipment to an Edmonds Community College program that aims to train a new generation of aerospace workers.

Northwest Composites Inc. will give students in the college’s new materials science technology program 100 hours’ use of a key piece of equipment, officials at the college said.

The donation has a cash value of more than $100,000, the college said.

The students will use a Northwest Composites autoclave, said Jerilee Mosier, the vice president of work-force development at the college. That, essentially, is a large heated and pressured chamber that’s used to cure fiberglass-like composites.

It’s a key step in the process of manufacturing with composites, said Bill Karman, Northwest Composites’ vice president of research and development. Autoclaves turn resins into solids.

But autoclaves are expensive, he said. The one the company will let students use has computer controls to adjust temperature and air pressure, and would cost about $1 million if the school were to buy it new.

Having Northwest Composites donate the use of its equipment means that students “can use industry-standard autoclaves to really see what happens to the material,” Mosier said.

EdCC’s materials science technology program is expected to debut this fall, with a first group of 25 to 30 students, Mosier said. That will expand to about 50 students by winter quarter.

The program is being funded by a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.

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