Automation/Robotics

Birmingham Seaholm High School

Applied Engineering

AUTOMATION/ROBOTICS

This is an advanced course that will provide the student with the opportunity to research, develop and construct an automated system. The system that the students construct can be electro-mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic or a combination of the three. The system will be controlled by either a programmable logic controller, a PC, or an IBM-XT, or FANUC RH system. An appropriate compliment would be Probability & Statistics in the Mathematics Dept.
Prerequisites: Systems Engineering Technology A&B, Automation/Robotics A before taking Automation/Robotics B

Students enrolled in the Automation/Robotics classes are involved in many
different phases of the manufacturing process. They are responsible for
the design and fabrication of the machines and the programs to operate them.

The students must first write their program for the PLC.	This student is learning the programming basics on the same type of PLC used in industry today.
The previous classes designed and built a machine to sort and package three different types of material.
	The terminal box contains the main inputs and outputs as well as main control switches.
The PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) is on the left above the terminal box. It contains the progam used to control each of the machines functions. Each cylinder has a pneumatic valve to activate it. All of these valves are attached togther by the manifold which is beside the PLC.
	The three axis pick and place robot was entirely designed by the students. It connects the sorting and packaging operations.
The finished product.

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For more information contact: Rick Tincu, Mike Pierno, Dennis Carter, or Bernie Simms.