SHERBURNE – A collaborative project between Chenango Valley Technologies (CVT) and a Sherburne-Earlville technology class is coming to a close this week.

The project began when Scott Bugbee, a S-E high school technology teacher, reached out to CVT President Shawn Baker after S-E acquired a three-dimensional printer.

“I contacted Shawn and told him we would like to work with him on projects ... If we designed some school themed item, (he said) he'd be more than happy to produce it,” said Bugbee when explaining how the project came about. He then presented a challenge to the students in his Computer Aided Design (CAD) class to produce different key chain designs. A vote was conducted that selected the top three designs. A winner was then voted on by the superintendent and principals of the district. Kody Armstrong's design was chosen as the winner and Bugbee submitted his class' computer generated model and three dimensional prototype so CVT could create the mold.

Baker explained that the project with Bugbee's class was an opportunity for students to see a real world example of how the technology in their class is used.

“I showed them the real world process,” he said. “I treated them like a customer the best I could. They got to see the processes a company would go through. It was a good example of how a plastic product is developed.”

At the beginning of the project, he made an appearance in the classroom to explain the initial process.