Close to a decade ago, John Hersey High School (JHHS) in Arlington Heights, Illinois, made a transition from a traditional classroom-based pre-engineering program. The new program is geared towards helping students understand the entire manufacturing process. Previously, a JHHS student would design a project in computer-aided design (CAD) software and then send it out to a local job shop to have it manufactured. The student never experienced the actual manufacturing phase. Students had to wait to receive their finished item, which caused significant delays if once the part was in hand, the student decided that the CAD file needed updating. Today's courses and extra-curricular activities at JHHS center around a total manufacturing concept. In the school's computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) lab, students use Autodesk Inventor to design their products. Once their designs are complete, they import them into another application, Mastercam, to create their computer-aided machining (CAM) files. This allows students to manufacture their part on one of several computer numerical control (CNC) machines at the school--two mills, a router, a lathe, and a plasma cutter. For most of their products, it only takes about 30 minutes to set up the machine and cut the part. After inspecting the finished product, the student can return to his or her computer to modify the design based on the prototype and the manufacturing process. This gives students an experience similar to what happens in industry.