DEVELOPING SKILLS IN
MECHATRONICS TECHNOLOGIES
Exploring
Mechatronics
Manufacturing
Applications
Family &
Consumer Sciences
Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math

2
Mind-Sight LMS
Tracking and management are key to providing an effective and successful learning environment.
Lab-Volt’s Mind-Sight Learning Management System is a seamless integration of course delivery and classroom management. Designed around the most up-to-date programming standards, Mind-Sight facilitates Lab-Volt’s Exploring Mechatronics curriculum. Instructors can use Mind-Sight to manage enrollment, schedule learning activities, customize courseware and track individual achievement as students work through the modules. Mind-Sight is available as a LAN-based solution to deliver curriculum locally, or as a web-based solution so that students can log on and study from anywhere at any time!
• SCORM-Compliant Courseware
• Flexible Scheduling Options
• Easy Grade Viewing
• Real-Time Data Collection
• Simple Report Generation
• Competency Testing
• Manual Skill Assessment

Foundational Skills
Introduction to Technology is a five-unit course and an important foundation for students to understand the other courses they will complete.
By the end of this course, students gain an understanding of the nature of technology, explore the Exploring
Mechatronics multimedia program, and describe the differences in technology throughout the world.
Students examine what the future might hold for new technologies, define the five clusters of technology and how they are connected, describe the Technology
Systems Model (TSM), and use it to solve problems.
Topic Coverage
• Technology Today
• The Technology Factor
• Technology Clusters
• Technology Systems Model (TSM)
• The Technology Connection
Succeeding in the workplace requires a set of skills that can be difficult to learn in school. Building
Career Success helps develop these skills by focusing student attention to what an employer is looking for in a valuable employee. Students improve their written and speaking communication skills, develop career planning capabilities and job search skills, and learn to take advantage of all job advancement opportunities.
They learn to manage their financial life as they practice money management skills and controlling credit.
They discover the best ways to save and increase the money they earn.
Topic Coverage
• Career Planning
• Communication Foundations
• Writing for the Workplace
• Applying for Jobs
• Dress for Success
• Taking Pre-Employment Tests
• Attributes for Success
• Succeeding on the Job
• Leadership Skills
• Managing Spending
• Using Credit
• Banking, Saving, and Investing
3

Foundational Skills
The Computer Problem Solving course helps students develop essential problem-solving skills and apply them to various challenging situations.
Students learn how technological problems are solved, what a problem statement is, and how to write a design brief. By developing good strategies to address problems, students become armed with skills that can be applied to all areas of their lives.
4
Topic Coverage
• What is a Problem?
• Understanding Problems
• Trial and Error Strategy
• Proximity Method
• Breaking the Problem into Parts
• Using Knowledge to Solve Problems
• Solving Problems in Technology
• Asking Questions
• Finding Solutions
• Choosing a Solution
• Testing and Evaluating a Solution
• Careers
This course guides students through a series of units that provide critical information regarding safety and health in industrial, manufacturing, and construction environments. Students learn to identify and avoid hazards, and maintain an accident-free workplace.
Topic Coverage
• Introduction to Safety
• Walking and Working Surfaces
• Prevention and Protection Plans
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Electrical Safety
• Machine Guarding
• Chemical Safety
• Power Industrial Trucks
• Industrial Hygiene
• Ergonomics

Exploratory Mechatronics Skills
Exploratory Electronics introduces students to the principles of electricity. They learn basic safety rules, experiment with circuitry, and define Ohm’s Law as the relationship among voltage, resistance, and current.
Students use the Lab-Volt Exploratory Electronics
Laboratory to perform experiments and demonstrate basic electrical concepts, including three-way switching and magnetism.
Topic Coverage
• Safety and Meters
• Electric Circuits
• Current, Voltage, and
Resistance
• Conductors and Insulators
• Ohm’s Law
• Series Circuit Analysis
• Parallel Circuit Analysis
• Series-Parallel Circuits
• Three-Way Switches
• Magnetism
• Electromagnets
• Careers
What do the inclined plane, the lever, the wheel and axle, and the pulley have in common? They are the four simple machines that make everyday tasks easier. The Exploring
0HFKDQLVPV FRXUVH LQWURGXFHV WKH VFLHQWLÀF FRQFHSWV and components that make machines work. Students also learn about careers in mechanical systems, construction, and manufacturing, where they can expand and apply the knowledge gained throughout the course.
Topic Coverage
• Introduction to Mechanical
Power
• The Inclined Plane and
Wedge
• The Lever
• Types of Levers
• The Wheel and Axle
• The Pulley
• The Screw and the Gear
• Energy
• Friction
• The Friction Belt Drive
• Torque
• Conservation of Energy
• Careers
5

6
Exploratory Mechatronics Skills
How does electricity work? How did people ever live without it? Through the Exploring Electricity course, students discover how electrical circuits are built and tested. They explore the scientific principles that explain how circuits and other components make electric devices operate. With an understanding of these inner workings, students may consider careers in electrical science, or at least be able to troubleshoot electrical issues at home.
Topic Coverage
• Safety and Meters
• Electric Circuits
• Current, Voltage, and Resistance
• Conductors and Insulators
• Ohm’s Law
• Series Circuit Analysis
• Parallel Circuit Analysis
• Series-Parallel Circuits
• Switches
• Magnetism
• Electromagnets
• Careers
Through the Fluid Power course and hands-on exercises, students learn the scientific principles and components that make up fluid power systems and how these systems operate in machines and equipment. They are introduced to the physics and mathematics of fluid power, including pressure, area, force, work, and energy.
They discover many of the ways in which pneumatics and hydraulics provide the power to accomplish difficult tasks.
Topic Coverage
• How Fluid Power Works
• Buoyancy and Surface
Tension
• Measuring Pressure
• Pascal’s Law
• Boyle’s Law
• Charles’ Law and Gay-
Lussac’s Law
• Gauges and Flow Meters
• Pumps and Compressors
• Pressure Control Valves
• Actuators
• Force Multiplication
• Volume Relationships and
Careers

Exploratory Mechatronics Skills
The introduction of robotics and material handling in the manufacturing industry has created higher quality, less expensive products. This course teaches students to program a robot, parts feeder, and conveyor system to replicate what happens in a high-tech manufacturing plant.
Topic Coverage
• The Ancestry of the Robot Arm
• Creating a Program
• Avoiding Obstacles
• Changing Speeds
• Capabilities and Limitations
• Basic Robotics
• Methods of Programming
• Editing Programs
• Robotics in Manufacturing
• Using a Feeder
• Working with a Rotary Carousel
• The Future of Robotics
This course teaches students about the role CAD plays in the creation of buildings, vehicles, appliances, and industrial equipment. Professional CAD software helps students develop the CAD skills while creating technical drawings, floor plans, orthographic projections, isometric drawings, and house designs.
Topic Coverage
• Introduction to CAD
• AutoSketch
• Basic Drawing Tools
• Creating a Technical Drawing
• Using CAD
• Drawing a Floor Plan
• Finishing the Floor Plan
• Perspectives
• Orthographics and Isometric Projections
• Designing a House
• Adding Design and Detail
7

8
Exploratory Mechatronics Skills
In the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Mill course students are introduced to how products are designed and manufactured using computer-aided technology.
They learn how to program and operate the mill, specify dimensions, and manufacture parts that meet these specifications.
Students learn the basic tools needed to create three- dimensional drawings, create part programs, and execute the part programs to produce a part or product.
Topic Coverage
• Introduction to the CNC Mill
• Running the Mill
• CAD Software
• Design Modification
• A New Part
• Completing the New Part
•
•
•
•
•
•
Designing and Programming
Vises and Parts
Subroutines and Loops
Manufacturing Issues
Complex Designs and Parts
The Final Part
The Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Lathe course provides hands-on experience with industrial-grade equipment that allows students to discover the importance of CNC in manufacturing.
Through programming and operating the lathe, students learn how machines make manufacturing more productive, efficient, and safe. They learn to specify dimensions, program a lathe, and machine a part.
• History of CNC
• Safety
• Fundamentals
• Familiarizations
• Program Operation
• Programming
Topic Coverage
• Turning a Part
• Product Design
• Product Manufacturing
• Design Specifications
• Manufacturing Specifications
• Careers in CNC

Exploratory Mechatronics Skills
The Controls and Sensors course teaches students how devices such as electronic doors and automatic lights function. Sensors gather data from the environment, and controls utilize the information to direct a machine response. Students build machine models and write software programs to direct their operation.
Topic Coverage
• Automation
• fischertechnik
• Traffic Light Control Systems
• Refrigerator Light Control
• Control Programming
• Lighthouse
• Sliding Door
• Windshield Wiper Control
• Washing Machine
• Merry-Go-Round
• Merry-Go-Round Programming
• Careers
This course is an introduction to residential electrical wiring. Students consider the many factors of wiring new circuits in the home. Topics such as safety, wiring techniques, wire gauge selection, coaxial cables, telephone wire, service panels, circuit breakers, and the National Electrical Code are discussed. Students gain practical experience wiring switches, outlets, light
À[WXUHV GRRUEHOOV SKRQH MDFNV DQG FDEOH 79 FRQQHF tors.
Topic Coverage
• Wiring a Subpanel
• Wire a 30 Amp 120/240V Receptacle
• Wire a Switch-Controlled Light Fixture
• Wire a Switch-Controlled Receptacle
• Wire Two Receptacles in Sequence
• Wire a Switch-Controlled Split Receptacle
• Wire Three-Way Switches and a Light Fixture
• Wire a Doorbell
• Install a Phone Jack
• Install a Coaxial Cable Connector
9

10
Exploratory Mechatronics Skills
The Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) Work Cell incorporates student skills learned throughout the Exploring Mechatronics program. Students gain an understanding of the various skills that are required to form a mechatronics system. The CIM Work Cell allows students to mill a part using the
Lab-Volt CNC Mill software, and control the Lab-Volt Servo Robot and Linear Slide using the RoboCIM
5250 software. Students also control a manufacturing system that uses the Servo Robot, CNC Mill, and Rotary Carousel,
Topic Coverage
• Milling a Part with the Lab-Volt CNC Mill
• Control of the Lab-Volt Servo Robot and Linear Slide using the RoboCIM 5250 Software
• Control of a Manufacturing System that uses the Lab-Volt CNC Mill and Servo Robot
• Control of the Lab-Volt Servo Robot and Rotary Carousel using the RoboCIM 5250 Software
• Control of a Manufacturing System that uses the Lab-Volt Servo Robot, CNC Mill, and Rotary Carousel

Optional Class Packs
Fabricus is an entry-level CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided
Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing) software program for easily creating GM code files. The generated codes are then used by CNC (Computer Numerically
Controlled) devices for the purpose of manufacturing complex parts repeatedly (e.g., milling machines). The
Fabricus software provides a front-end interface to the part program process. It gives users the capability to create a schematic diagram of a part. Users can provide the diagram with all of the relevant measurements for the tooled part. Once the part has been configured in Fabricus, users have the ability to generate the part program code from the information provided. This file can then be loaded to the appropriate location for compilation, emulation, and cutting using the CNC Mill software and mill.
Topic Coverage
• Using Fabricus Software
• Creating Parts
The Lab-Volt RoboCIM software is used to simulate and control the operation of the robot 5150 and external devices, and create programs.
Topic Coverage
• Welcome to RoboCIM 5150
• Basics
• Objects
• Motions
• Task Programs
• Connection to the Real System
• Application Example
11

www.labvolt.com
Lab-Volt Systems, Inc.
Farmingdale, NJ 07727
USA
Phone: 732-938-2000
Toll Free: 800-LAB-VOLT
Fax: 732-774-8573
E-mail: us@labvolt.com
Lab-Volt Ltd.
Québec (Québec) G2N 2K7
Canada
Phone: 418-849-1000
Toll Free: 800-LAB-VOLT
Fax: 418-849-1666
E-mail: ca@labvolt.com
20247-00