Blog Layout

Getting Plugged In

Jim Wilson • May 3, 2023

***Reprinted with permission of author***

Check out ATech Training's video series highlighting the new Classroom Management Program. These videos provide step by step instruction on how to operate the CMP!

Congratulations Forsyth Central High School

ATech Training had the opportunity to sponsor a team for the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow competition. This year we had the pleasure of sponsoring a team from Forsyth Central High School. The Forsyth Central High School team won the National Championship this December! Congratulations to all the members of the team. ATech Training is very proud of their hard work and dedication.

ATech Equipment Certificate Winner

Congratulations to Sean Reisdorf on his new ATech Training equipment! He won a $1,000 equipment voucher at the MATA Conference in October and was able to cash it in for some new ATech training equipment for his school, North Farmington High School.

Sean stumbled into auto technology accidentally. He was a retail manager when his car failed to start one day. He had it towed to the dealer where they told him he would have to pay $500 for a new timing belt.

Shortly thereafter, he enrolled into the auto program at Waubonsee Community College. Within a few months, his instructor placed him into a nice garage and his new career began. After finishing his two degrees at WCC, he earned some scholarship money and was admitted into the auto program at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale). After graduating from SIU, he landed his first OEM job and moved to Detroit from 1999 to 2006. In 2005 he realized how cyclical the industry was and enrolled into college again, this time at Ferris State for a degree in education. In his first semester at Ferris, a professor asked him “if he had any idea what it would be like teaching high school auto students”, and Sean replied “How hard could it be?” She then advised him to sit in or sub for a few classes to see if he liked it. He sent in six letters and received six job offers. So, without knowing what he was getting himself into, he took the plunge into high school teaching in 2006 and hasn’t looked back.

He did take a break from high school teaching from 2016 to 2018 to teach dealership technicians but returned to teaching at the high school level (he still teaches for the OEM during the summer months).

He started at North Farmington High School in 2018 with great plans and goals. Then COVID hit and things got delayed.

North Farmington has several ATech trainer including the 1800 series and S.E.T boards. Winning the door prize at the MATA Conference has enabled him to purchase more ATech trainers. Since 2022-2023 is the first school year back to in-person instruction, Sean has again started implementing his plans and goals with the freshmen. He also includes what he can to the other classes he teaches.

If you would like ATech Training to highlight your lab on social media or in our next newsletter contact us!

Upcoming Events

Conferences

June

06/06/2023 - 06/09/23: Florida Automotive Instructor Conference: Orange Technical College, Orlando, FL

06/19/2023 - 06/23/23: Skills USA National Leadership and Skills Conference: Atlanta, GA

July

07/10/23 - 07/13/23: NACAT Conference: San Jacinto Community College, Pasadena, TX

07/17/23 - 07/20/23: ASE Instructor Conference: Embassy Suites, Concord, NC

07/19/23 - 07/22/23: UNOH Instructor Conference: Lima, OH

August

08/01/23 - 08/03/23: Midwest Teachers of Transportation: Center Lakes College, Brainerd, MN

Come Visit ATech Training's booth at any of these events!!

Free In-house Training Sessions

June 13th and 14th

July 25th and 26th

August 8th and 9th

September 12th and 13th

Start time each morning is 8:00 am and runs until about 4:30 pm.

The training is for two days (up to 16 hours). Training time will count towards NATEF/ASE Education Foundation requirements. We will provide certificates of training to workshop attendees.

Whether you are new to, or already have, ATech equipment, the goal of this training is to help instructors explore ways to improve their understanding and use of ATech training aids and equipment in the classroom.

If you want to register for a workshop or need more information on local hotels, etc.

***Make sure you receive a confirmation email from ATech Training before scheduling travel***

Save the Date

gskentucky.org

Quick Start Video Series

Take a look at ATech Training's new Quick Start video series. This series dives into basic information found in the operations manual for each trainer. Allowing students and instructor to follow along easier when setting up trainers and performing activities.

Contact Us

If interested in any of our trainings or products please contact us!

If you would like ATech Training to highlight your lab on social media or in our next newsletter contact us.

Call Us Email Us

< Older Post Newer Post >

The Engineering End of Year Roundup

By ATech Training • February 3, 2025

The automotive industry is an ever-changing landscape of engineering innovation. As always, this atmosphere of change has once again made the attempt to lurch forward. There are multiple changes and challenges coming for automotive technicians in the near future. Some small, some large, and some totally ground-breaking. I won’t be going too far into the technology of some of these innovations as some are not only complicated, but quite difficult to describe. I will, however, do my best. As a round-up of older developments let’s take a look at these technologies from Nissan, Konigsegg and Liquid Piston that seemed far-fetched only a few years ago. Seven or eight years ago Nissans developed a variable compression engine that changed the stroke of the piston as needed to alter the performance characteristics. Thus, aiding both performance and fuel economy. When a change in compression is needed, an actuator motor adjusts the pistons position changing the compression from 14:1 (economy) to 8:1 (performance). This engine is now offered in many of their newer vehicles and will be installed in all of their Nissan Murano SUVs in the 2025 model year. It is an engineering marvel that seemed like magic only seven or eight years ago. The engine has proven itself fairly reliable and Nissan is hoping that it will perform as their new standard looking forward. Of course, their engineers are now on to greater things.

Cylinder Deactivation

By Jeff Bogue • October 25, 2024

What's Old Is New...

Engines of the Future are Already Here!

By Jeff Bogue • December 12, 2023

I have been dreaming about and studying engines and engine performance of cars, trucks, and motorcycles for the better part of 45 years. It’s a hobby. It keeps me busy on cold winter evenings. It’s something that has become a large part of my life and, like playing with dogs, is something I love to do. I have written about engines and the engineering that is involved in them for the last 15 years, and I have always been forward-thinking. When a new engine is being lauded by the manufacturers as the next big thing, I read all about it and report those findings here. In the past, I have written about every one of the engines in this article at one time or another, and each one was glowingly revealed by the engineers with the statement “We can expect these engines in our cars in the next few years”. Well, a few years have passed and now most of these engines ARE in our cars and trucks and should be reaching repair shops and dealerships now. We just haven’t heard that much about them because people, as a general rule, really don’t care that much about which engine is in their car if it gets good gas mileage, is reasonably reliable, and has a little umph to get on the highway. Well, that is not us. We care. We study it. It’s what we do and why you are where you are reading this article. Without further ado, let us look at the “Engines of the Future” that you can buy (and service) now.