By TEJAS ATHNI, Gazebo Correspondent
Stratford’senvironmental design class took an excursion to the Thomson Bike Factory in Macon last week.
Brian Thomson, a Stratford alumni of the Class of 1987, invited the class to tour the facility to learn about the various aspects of a manufacturing plant.
The engineers at Thomson Bike Factory taught students about the various bike parts manufactured at the plant, as well as the planning and research behind the creation of the product. Additionally, students received tips on optimizing the design method.
The class was introduced to 3-D software modeling and the programming of a machine specifically catered to one task.
Thomson Industries, originally created for the manufacturing of airplane parts for Boeing, recently has shifted its focus to the manufacturing of bike parts. Since 1994, Thomson has produced patented bike components, specializing in seatposts, stems, and collars, and ships more than 120,000 parts a year to more than 30 countries.