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Teaching Automation with a Hands-On Approach
The use of robots is on the rise throughout North America and the globe. Table-top robotic arms, miniature robots, and service robots that move autonomously are among the advances that have been made and they show how robots can be customized and equipped for many different tasks.
The days of stationary robots performing only one task are in the rearview mirror and growing more distant.
Connected machines are also changing today’s factories. Data-gathering systems make production as efficient as possible and track components from the factory to the customer.
Supervising robots, maintaining them, and setting up whole systems requires workers with a solid understanding of technology. Companies can’t afford a skills gap and the students of today will find the best opportunities with a working knowledge of automation.
Read how educators and private industry are working together for a productive future.
Hands-On Classrooms
Robots will be part of everyday life for the future workforce and so will using data from machine-to-machine communication. Even smaller companies will be able to tap into the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) where real-time information can adjust for energy usage, quality control, and production goals.
But how many workers will truly be equipped to perform the tasks?
In 2014, the Manufacturing Institute noted in its Skills and Training Study that 80% of manufacturers reported a moderate or serious shortage of qualified applicants for skilled and highly skilled production positions.
Public-private efforts around the United States are equipping students from middle school to high school.
In Marion, Ohio, students at the Tri-Rivers Career Center can learn about robotics hardware and software on equipment made by FANUC, Yaskawa Motoman and Universal Robots. The center is now one of eight locations in Ohio to house the Robotic Advanced Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative (RAMTEC), billed as the The Nation’s Only Provider of Robotics & Advanced Manufacturing Industry Certifications — All Under One Roof.
Certified Motion Control Professional Program
Strengthen Your Skills and Enhance Your Career
Motion control is ubiquitous to automation. A3 offers the fundamental knowledge that benefits everyone working with motion control, motors and automation technologies. The program is designed to ensure professionals have the knowledge they need to advance their careers and benefit their businesses.
Become a Certified Motion Control Professional (CMCP) and join the elite group of system integrators, machine builders, manufacturers, end-users and others recognized in the industry for their professional knowledge and expertise.
At Tri-Center Career Center, one robot is available for every three students, giving them in-depth exposure to the hardware and making them software literate.
The “ins and outs of various software platforms is an integral part of the curriculum,” as noted in the article Robotics Software for the Next Generation, on the Robotic Industries Association website.
Students discover the “building blocks” that are necessary for an engineer or technician. The agenda includes robotic welding, PLCs, hydraulics, pneumatics, CNCs, computer-aided design, and even 3D printing.
Hands-On Day Camps
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education along with summer projects are ways that primary and middle school students can begin to work with manufacturing technology.
In Arkansas, The Manufacturing Extension Partnership and its affiliate, Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions, reported on a multiple day camps in 2015 where students explored 3D printing and laser technologies and developed engineering skills such as computer programing, modeling, analytics, plant safety.
Hands-On Workplaces
Education doesn’t have to end in school. It can continue in the workplace and that is a plus to attract the best young workers. Researchers are finding that on-going study and training is important to the millennial workforce.
A3 offers free resources on their web sites like webinars, case studies, and videos.
Some companies may feel that employees who develop greater insight will end up leaving and be hard to replace. But one firm, Noble Plastics, has seen the benefits of helping its team become more robotics literate as seen in an episode of the A3 Automate video series Why I Automate -- Noble Plastics.
The study and use of robotics today requires cross-discipline teams and an understanding of worker habits and safety, production and quality of life issues. Educating students early and on through high school and college will result in productive companies and employees with professional satisfaction.
Keep up-to-date on trends with the resources available through A3.
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