Coming
to a classroom anywhere on campus this semester is the
Engineering Technology Mobile Lab at Florida Gateway College.
The new $400,000 mobile
classroom was purchased through grant funding, said Bob Deckon,
director of engineering technology. Equipment came in last
week and the school is finishing inventory and installing the
pieces.
The lab is for students in the
engineering technology program at FGC, as well as local
businesses that want community-based job training, he said.
Individual pieces of the lab can
go to any classroom on campus or in the five-county area.
The lab is not limited to equipment being carted out
independently.
"It can function as a standalone
classroom," Deckon said.
The
equipment for the lab includes two of each component housed on a
52-foot-long triple axel trailer with air conditioning and
electric power, he said. It has a generator option and
complete video system.
The hydraulic and pneumatic
training systems are the core of the lab, Deckon said. The
systems demonstrate the principles and practices of both power
transfers in varying levels of complexity.
The process control training
systems provide training for industrial process and automation
through experiences in setting up, tuning, operating and
troubleshooting the actual instrument and control systems uses
in process and power industries.
"It's the heart and soul of a
plant and distribution center," he said. "Students learn
how to control various systems."
The programmable logic controls
training system is a digital computer used for automation of
electromechanical processes, such as control of amusement park
rides.
"A wide variety of courseware
supports the system," Deckon said. "The PLC is the brain
of any modern factory."
The electronic training systems
teach basic electronics on theoretical presentations.
Training modules ranging in a variety of subjects are available
for use and more can be added, he said.
"The beauty of this equipment
is, this is just scratching the surface," Deckon said.
Students can go to a unit and
learn various engineering components, he said. Once the
basics have been mastered, the instructor can devise problems
for them to solve with the equipment.
Up to two students can work on a
piece of equipment at a time, he said. They will be very
busy and challenged.
The mobile lab will make its
first appearance at the Columbia County Fair later in October.
"We're just excited and really
proud of it," Deckon said. "It's state of the art and will
last a long time."
