Advanced Courses in Programmable Controllers for Engineering Technology

摘要

The Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) Program at the University of Toledo contains two courses in Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). One is a fundamentals course taught at the sophomore level. The second course, in the senior year, is structured to add depth of understanding and familiarize the student with problems similar to those faced in industry. Changes that occurred to upgrade both courses but especially the second course are the topic of this paper. The process of preparing to re-configure the labs, the procurement of equipment and the changes in how labs were to be developed are discussed. Reasons for re-configuring the labs to include the new equipment such as increased student dissatisfaction as well as benefits gained by switching to this equipment and a new series of labs provide the rationale for the paper.