San Antonio, Texas
June 10, 2012
June 10, 2012
June 13, 2012
2153-5965
Engineering Technology
14
25.247.1 - 25.247.14
10.18260/1-2--21007
https://peer.asee.org/21007
779
Cheng Lin is a professor and Program Director of mechanical engineering technology at Old Dominion University. He received his Ph.D. of mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in 1989, and is a registered Professional Engineer in Virginia. Lin has expertise in automation control, machine design, CAD/CAM, CNC, geometric dimensioning, and tolerancing, and robotics. He has published 16 journal papers in the areas of robotics, automation, and GD&T. He has been active in the technology application research and teaching training courses for Virginia's Applied Technology and Professional Development Center (VATPDC).
John Hackworth is an Associate Professor and Director of the electrical engineering technology program at Old Dominion University. He holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering technology and a master's of science degree in electrical engineering, both from Old Dominion University. Prior to joining the Old Dominion University faculty, Hackworth had approximately 20 years of industrial experience in test engineering and plant automation with General Electric Company. He is the co-author of two textbooks which are currently in use by several electrical engineering technology programs at universities within the U.S.
AUTOMATION LABORATORY DEVELOPMENT FOCUSING ON INDUSTRIAL HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE, SIMULATION SOFTWARE, AND APPLICATION RESEARCH PROJECTS[Abstract]This paper describes the development of Automation Control Lab at the Department ofEngineering Technology of XXX University. The lab includes pneumatic equipments,workstations, actuators, sensors, and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC). The majorgoal of the development is to let students gain hand-on industrial experiences byeffectively implementing and testing their designs for each project. The followingprocesses are adopted to reach the goals: (1) Only three people maximum are allowed to work at a workstation. (2) All components and wires must be well stored in the drawers of each working table. (3) Four discussion tables are located at the center of the lab. (4) The simulation software of Fluidsim and LogixPro is used to simulate pneumatic circuits and PLC programming respectively. Students can simulate and correct their pneumatic, hydraulic, and electrical circuits before their implementations. Therefore, the simulation software can effectively save time for their projects. Also the software matches the specifications of the PLC and pneumatic components used in each workstation.For each class, the instructor gives lecture during the first forty-five minute, and usesanother thirty minutes for the students to complete a small project related to the topic ofthe lecture. A sample project related to the lecture will be given. Results show thatstudents can focus more on the lecture, increase in class attendance, and are excited toperform the testing of their programs.In addition, three examples of automation projects from the Technology ApplicationCenter (TAC) are also given so that students can learn more design and implementationknowledge for automation systems. These three projects are System Integration Designfor an Impact-Test Machine, Design of a Pneumatic Valve for Automatic Seat Lifting orDoor Opening Mechanism, and Reactivation of a Six-Degree-of-Freedom RepeatedImpact Machine Using Programmable Logical Controller.
Lin, C. Y., & Hackworth, J. R. (2012, June), Automation Laborator Development Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--21007
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