Shuttleworth, Inc., a leading international conveyor and product handling equipment manufacturer, is providing the laboratory with state of the art Slip-Torque® conveyor technology. The donated conveyor system simulates a pharmaceutical processing application and was exhibited at trade events nationwide. This partnership with Purdue University Calumet (PUC) will provide students with hands-on exposure and learning opportunities in both electronic and mechanical fields.

PUC has teamed with several packaging machinery manufacturers from across the country to develop the country’s first bachelor degree program in mechatronic engineering technology. This degree program was designed to incorporate both mechanical engineering and electronics and will focus a great deal on packaging technology.

In discussing the new program and the additions to the lab Niaz Latif stated that, “with this new mechatronics lab, our students will learn advanced programming techniques, interfacing automated equipment, sensor design, machine design, and troubleshooting.” He also commented that, “students will become prepared to design, install and troubleshoot this type of equipment, making them especially valuable to employers.”

With a growing need for trained technologists to operate the high-speed, intricate equipment that makes up the $6 billion industry, this new PUC packaging lab will be able to supply both the resources and the tools necessary to educate future specialists on the essential skills required to operate the machinery used in the packaging industry.

Carol Shuttleworth, President and CEO, currently serves on the Dean’s Executive Council at the School of Technology Purdue University Calumet and on the Board of Directors of the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute.

Professor Zahraee discussing accreditation issues with Dr. Yasir Hadi, Deputy Managing Director for Academics of Yanbu Industrial College and Dr. Aghili Khawagi, the Director General of Yanbu, also Chair of the Yanbu Royal Commission.

During their visit, the students were welcomed by the Engineering Technology department head and were given a brief overview of the Mechatronics Engineering Technology Program within the department. They were given a few demonstrations of the lab capabilities by the faculty of the Mechatronics Engineering technology Program assisted by two graduate students. The demonstrations include servo motor control of the conveyor systems, wireless control of motors, Man-Machine interface, and an introduction to programming using LabView for machine control. The students were then given the opportunity for some hands-on programming with LabView in order to demonstrate synchronization principles of servo systems. Their tour also include a visit to the Manufacturing Technology lab located in the Anderson building. The visit ended with an open discussion with the students over lunch at the Student Union & Library building.

The feedback we received from these students indicated a high level of satisfaction of their visit and were all enthusiastic about what they saw. They were happy to learn about the new Mechatronics Engineering Technology Program and the unique experience we gave them. Later on, they followed by a letter of appreciation in the mail signed by all students.

The competition required the students to find a unique solution to a real-world packaging issue: creating an automated palletizing system that would be fastest and least expensive to produce and maintain. The competition began on the Packaging Equipment Expo floor as the students worked face to face with vendors to develop a solution to the given problem. They worked late into the night and arose at 4:00 am the next day to produce a paper and 20 minute presentation on their solution. 

The Team put on a solid performance in front of industry leaders and was awarded first place for their efforts. Their solution took into account environmental impact, energy consumption, ease of use, and cost considerations. The award includes $4,000 in scholarships to be shared by the team of students. All team members felt the knowledge learned and the experience of seeing their future careers in front of them was very rewarding.

This was the first ever Student Design Contest held at PACK Expo, but will become a yearly event. The next competition will be held at PACK Expo International 2010, October 31 – November 3, 2010 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

• Dustin Leach
• Nicole Kirincic
• Armando Cabrera

Each student received a $1,500 scholarship from the Cisco/Panduit partnership.

The Fall 2009 recipients within the School of Technology are:

• Juan C. Acevedo, Electrical & Computer Engineering Technology
  • Omer Farook, Faculty Mentor
     
• Alejandro Chavez, Computer Information Technology
  • Samuel Liles, Faculty Mentor
     
• Alfonso Martinez, Electrical & Computer Engineering Technology
  • Omer Farook, Faculty Mentor

Dates: June 11- June 14

Location: MGA Research Facilities, Burlington Wisconsin

The PUC SAE Mini-Baja Team faired very well at the competition this year.  Many firsts were accomplished by this team comparable to teams in the past. The car was completed when it was placed on the trailer to leave PUC the day of the competition.  Years past, the car was anywhere from 70% to as low as 20% (last year) complete before leaving.  The team had only minor corrections to do for the “Technical Inspection” portion of the competition, which were completed in about 2 hours.  In the past 3 years, these corrections have taken up to 24 hours to fix. The car passed the “Braking” requirements the first time it was tested.  In the past the team has made as many as 15 tries.  The mini-baja completed all of the dynamic events which included the sled pull, mud bog, acceleration, maneuverability and suspension/traction. The 4 hour endurance event was completed with minimal pit stop maintenance items. 

The car did suffer a major failure during the endurance race.  The back right suspension which includes one drive shaft, shock absorber, brake components, rim and tire were completely torn off the vehicle. Luckily for the team it was during the final lap after the 4 hour endurance race ended.  The team had to go look for all the parts after they towed the car back. 

The final results for the Purdue Calumet team were very positive.  The team placed 58^th out of 100 universities.  The team’s highlighted event was Maneuverability, in which they placed 27^th.

The students could not have been this successful without the support they have received from the staff, faculty and university. The team would especially like to thank the School of Technology for their use of the manufacturing lab in the Anderson building. 

The team was made up of students from the MET, IET, CGT, ME, EE programs and Graduate Studies students.

About Baja SAE

Baja SAE consists of three regional competitions that simulate real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. Engineering students are tasked to design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain and sometimes even water.

The object of the competition is to provide SAE student members with a challenging project that involves the planning and manufacturing tasks found when introducing a new product to the consumer industrial market. Teams compete against one another to have their design accepted for manufacture by a fictitious firm. Students must function as a team to not only design, build, test, promote, and race a vehicle within the limits of the rules, but also to generate financial support for their project and manage their educational priorities.

All vehicles are powered by a ten-horsepower Intek Model 20 engine donated by Briggs & Stratton Corporation. For over twenty-five years, the generosity of Briggs & Stratton has enabled SAE to provide each team with a dependable engine free of charge. Use of the same engine by all the teams creates a more challenging engineering design test.

ECET Textbooks Fall 2009

 This is a link to the list of textbooks for all ECET courses for Fall 2009:

ECET Booklist Fall 2009

The lab, introduced at Purdue Calumet’s recent Technology Day, is designed to provide hands-on experiential learning opportunities in electrical and mechanical areas of designing, installing and troubleshooting equipment that produces and packages various items consumers purchase daily.

With industry leaders touting to university officials the need for trained technologists to operate the complex equipment that drives the $6 billion packaging industry, Purdue Calumet introduced a program last fall that focuses on the emerging field of mechatronics engineering technology. The program combines mechanical design and electrical control.

“Within this new mechatronics lab, our students will learn advanced programming techniques, interfacing automated equipment, sensor design, machine design and troubleshooting,” Purdue Calumet Dean of the School of Technology Niaz Latif said. “Students will become prepared to design, install and troubleshoot this type of equipment, making them very valuable to employers.”

Companies supporting development of the lab are: Intralox, Eaton, Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Hoffman, Schneider Electric, ELAU, Fox IV Technologies, Fastec Imaging, Morrison Container Handling Solutions, Dorner Manufacturing, Balluff, Shuttleworth, Bimba Manufacturing, Aeromet Industries and the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute.

 This is a link to the list of textbooks for all IET and MET courses for Fall 2009:

MET Booklist Fall 2009

IET Booklist Fall 2009