Students Show Off Projects in Fluid Power Lab

The end of the semester brought the completion of various student projects at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois. Triton won a Fluid Power Laboratory Grant from the NFPA Technology and Education Foundation and used the funds to purchase equipment and supplies for a new lab, which was used for lecture and build time, and also as a site to host a Manufacturing Day event, joint advisory meetings, and various career days.

During the semester, students were required to design and build two projects using pneumatically controlled systems—one independently and another as part of a team. The students also assembled all of the products, the same as those used in the field, and the components were all real and functioning. Projects included:

• A robotic arm (shown above)
• Can feeding system with can crusher
• Candy dispenser
• Car lift
• Money dispenser
• “Whack-a-mole”
• Catapult

The allocated space for the fluid power lab was used by the following courses:

• ENT 115 – Engineering Technology – Fluid Power (18 students)
• ENT 260 – Engineering Technology JIG and Fixture Design (12 students)
• ENT 270 – Engineering Technology Machine Design (12 students)

Altogether during the spring 2017 semester, approximately 332 students, including visitors, used the lab.

If you have questions or would like to learn more about how to connect with a technical school in your area, contact Carrie Tatman Schwartz at (414) 778-3347 or ctschwartz@nfpa.com.