Pneumatics in Action: SUNY Delhi Mechatronics Students Train with Cutting-Edge Tool

by Riikka Olson

Delhi, NY (12/03/2020) — Students in SUNY Delhi's mechatronics program are getting valuable hands-on learning experience in pneumatics with a new cutting-edge training tool in the lab. The opportunity to practice pneumatic concepts on a new circuit demonstration board, which the program acquired this fall, helps students experiment with mechanisms they will encounter in the industry.

Adjunct Instructor Emeritus Stephen Tucker says the equipment is useful in illustrating both basic and complex pneumatics to students.

"The tool allows our students to build pneumatic circuits based on concepts such as basic actuator control strategies, sequencing, and speed control," he says. "Students are able to see how the entire system operates, troubleshoot any issues, and make adjustments as needed."

The tool supports the program's commitment to preparing students for the workforce with a wide skill set in automation from design and building to maintenance and repair.

"Providing students with hands-on learning experiences is what sets our mechatronics program apart from others that focus strictly on engineering," Tucker adds.

Funding for the pneumatics training system came from a grant awarded jointly to SUNY Delhi and SUNY Broome Community College (BCC) by the SUNY Clean Energy Workforce Opportunity Program. The grant assists BCC in adapting their existing engineering curricula to align with clean energy objectives while also creating their associate-level graduates a transfer path into the mechatronics bachelor's program at SUNY Delhi.

SUNY Delhi's mechatronics program was the first in New York State and the first 4-year technologist degree in the country. Born out of an industry need to hire employees with a versatile skill set instead of a single area of competency, the program prepares graduates to step directly into high-paying jobs working on automated systems and intelligent equipment in manufacturing, food processing, pharmaceutical production, power generation and distribution, mining, and other applications.

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