A smart factory line is more than a row of machines. It is a set of stations that agree on what happens next: a conveyor that knows when to index, a robot that waits for a ready bit, and a controller that tells the next controller a part is on its way. This course teaches you to build and run that kind of integrated system.
You will set up, adjust, configure, program, interface with, monitor, and operate smart factory systems that apply Industry 4.0 technology to pick and place, gauge, index, sort, queue, and perform robotic assembly. The equipment includes DC-motor belt conveyors, ball screw linear drives, electro-pneumatic actuators and valves, vacuum parts pickup and vacuum switches, electronic sensors, a clutch, stepper motors, and servo robots. You will follow smart factory safety rules; configure and interface PLC and robot controllers using EtherNet/IP and discrete I/O handshaking; use the Ethernet message instruction for controller-to-controller handshaking; and program and operate a multi-station production process as a single system.
This course prepares you to test for the Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA) C-214 Smart Factory Systems 1 certification.