Automation Course and Laboratory on Design and Programming of Multi-axis Industrial Machines

Abstract

Automated machinery used in industries including packaging, assembly, textile, paper, electronics, food processing rely on advanced motion control. To design such systems, engineers need to be familiar with industrial motion controllers, bring together knowledge from kinematics, control theory, dynamics, electronics, machine design and programming. Mechanical engineering programs have developed courses and laboratories in controls and mechatronics. These courses mostly rely on specialized laboratory equipment, LEGO robots, board-level electronics, interfacing and microprocessor programming. The industry expectation is more about system integration, selecting components from industrial product catalogs, calculations to match design requirements and programming of multi-axis motion controllers. In this paper, a senior-level Automation course with laboratory is presented. Lectures present design of automated machinery through industrial component selections and through software design for integration. The laboratory has several miniaturized, simplified machines representing various industrial sectors. The paper explains the course content, the machinery and the weekly laboratory exercises. Assessment results from multiple offerings of the course are also discussed.