HOUGHTON – Nucor Corp. has awarded Michigan Technological University $255,000 to create the Nucor Industrial Control and Automation Laboratory at the Upper Peninsula university.
The lab will be a joint effort of the Electrical Engineering Technology program in the School of Technology and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering. It will be located in the Electrical Energy Resources Center.
Industrial control and automation is a system of computer hardware and software used to monitor and control the operation of industrial processes ranging from small manufacturing facilities to large steel or paper mills. Industrial control and automation systems include programmable logic controllers, supervisory control and data acquisition, distributed control systems and robotics.
Programmable logic controllers are an integral part of nearly all industrial processes today. A PLC is a digital computer used for the automation of a variety of electromechanical processes, including temperature ranges, immunity to electrical noise and resistance to vibration and impact. PLCs are often integrated with robotic technology.
?Graduates who will be employed in industries utilizing these systems must not only have basic knowledge of PLCs and robotics, but also the skills to integrate these systems,? said Jim Frendewey, dean of Michigan Tech?s School of Technology.
The new funding from Nucor will enable Tech to update its PLC lab with state-of-the-art equipment, providing students with the best training possible.
