THATCHER — Eastern Arizona College cordially invites the entire community to attend an open house and “Steel Cutting Ceremony” at its new Fab Lab Industrial Technology Education Center on EAC’s Thatcher campus Friday, Oct. 14, 2016.


The open house and tours of the center will take place from 1-4 p.m., with the Steel Cutting Ceremony at 4 p.m. sharp outside the FabLab entrance on the building’s southwest entrance (located on South Campus on Stadium Avenue in Thatcher immediately west of the college’s Fine Arts Auditorium).


This event is scheduled in conjunction with National Manufacturing Day, which highlights the importance of manufacturing to our local and national economy and draws attention to the many rewarding, high-skill jobs available in manufacturing fields.

As part of this celebration, EAC hopes to demonstrate to the community its commitment to advanced manufacturing when it unveil its beautiful new facility and FabLab.


EAC’s advanced manufacturing program and FabLab were made possible through a partnership with the Arizona Regional Advanced Manufacturing Professional Upgrade Project (AZ RAMP UP).

EAC and a handful of other community colleges in Arizona provide state-of-the-art training for the next generation of advanced manufacturing workers as a result of this valuable partnership.
Funding for the FabLab project and EAC’s facility remodel came from a $2 million grant by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training Program. The FabLab is a direct result of this grant and is equipped with an array of flexible, high-tech, computer-aided machines — including 3D scanners, 3D printers, laser cutters and engravers, CNC machines, lathes, mills, and robotic plasma cutters — which will allow students and members of the community to create “almost anything.”


“We are proud of our new advanced manufacturing facility,” said EAC President Mark Bryce. “And we hope that you can join us on Oct. 14 for tours and refreshments between 1 and 4 p.m. and participate in the Steel Cutting Ceremony at 4 p.m.”