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The North Iowa Area Community College Industrial Division has received a generous donation of a restored Yamaha YK740 (a 20 kilogram 4 axis SCARA robot) from Robert Franken, electromechanical instructor at NIACC, for use in the Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) and advanced automation labs at the College.  The donation was made through the NIACC Foundation.

“The Yamaha YK740 will be an excellent hands-on tool for students taking Advanced PLC and System Integration,” said Franken.

Prior to accepting a position in the Industrial Division at NIACC, Franken gained real-world experience with robots used in the manufacturing process.  From 1981 to 2006, Franken worked as a senior electrical engineer at Eaton in Belmond.  After Eaton, Franken took a job as the engineering/maintenance manager for AGC Flat Glass in Hampton, Iowa, from 2006 to 2008.   Programming robots and integrating control systems into the manufacturing environment was a primary function of Franken’s job at Eaton.   “Part of my job at Eaton was to check the quality analysis of production parts using a robot similar to the Yamaha YK740,” said Franken.  The YK740 will now bring real-life experience for students into the PLC lab at NIACC.

Robotics and their operational principles are used in a diverse mixture of industry applications, from manufacturing processes to wind turbines.  The ability to set-up, operate and repair PLCs are skills that will be in demand for manufacturing positions that utilize advanced technologies.  “My plans are to have the students integrate the robot (YK740) to a PLC with a color vision system.  It will be checking the quality analysis of production parts in an application like I used to do as the senior electrical engineer at Eaton,” said Franken. 

Since the introduction of the YK740, two more robots have joined the NIACC PLC lab - a six-axis Kawasaki articulated arm robot and a four-axis Yamaha Cartesian robot.  These three units make up the robotic cell for the advanced PLC labs and the computer automated manufacturing labs.  “These robots have added three components to the Advanced PLC and System Integration curriculum:  Cartesian robotics, articulated arm and SCARA robot,” said Franken.  When combined into a robotic cell, the three robots will provide the opportunity for students to learn the operations performed by all three robot types.  Operations performed will include how robotics impact the system process of computer automated manufacturing labs. 

One of the future goals for the PLC labs is to incorporate a vision and wireless control system into the robotics cell.  This system will take the PLC lab curriculum to the next level.  “Our goal is to present real world applications for our students and the vision and wireless control system will bring that experience into the classroom,” said Franken.

Thanks to Franken’s generosity, NIACC students will now gain hands-on experience in the world of robotics and how the robotic cell system is utilized in the manufacturing process.  For more information about the Electromechanical Systems training offered at NIACC, please call 1-888 GO NIACC, Ext. 4202 or visit the web-site at www.niacc.edu/industrial/eltron.html for more information.

The NIACC Foundation's mission is to support the College through scholarships, fundraising for special projects, grants for instructor education or other areas of need to help the College work toward its mission. If you have an interest in learning more about the NIACC Foundation or would like to see how you can help secure the future of the College and its excellence through a gift to the NIACC Foundation, please contact us at 641-422-4386.

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