According to the U.S. Department of Defense (Devon Bistarkey, 2022), the U.S. manufacturing ecosystem is key to economic growth, innovation, and competitiveness. Approaching an era where automation and cognitive computing seamlessly connect to smart factories, supply chains are entering into a fourth industrial revolution known as Industry 4.0. This transformation, through advanced digital technologies across engineering and manufacturing, is set to bring the U.S. manufacturing ecosystem to the forefront of modernization, and with it a demand for a sustained pipeline of talent and strong domestic manufacturing centers. “America’s manufacturing ecosystem has been a vital engine of economic growth, innovation, and competitiveness for over 200 years - and has played a critical role in developing and driving the technologies that sustain our national security,” said Bill LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. “Today, the U.S. is in a technological and economic race to maintain its manufacturing edge, particularly as it concerns critical defense systems, such as satellites, advanced munitions and communications technologies.” Advanced manufacturing is changing the nature of manufacturing - creating new, technically advanced and higher-paying positions. Today’s factories are safe, bright, energetic technology hubs operated and managed by capable, educated individuals - a stark contrast to the depiction of the noisy and dark factories of the past.
Learning Outcomes
Graduates from the EMT program are expected to achieve the following:
- Apply knowledge gained through the development of electronic circuit simulations to prototypical circuits using bench-test equipment.
- Synthesize knowledge and understanding of line and ladder diagrams, along with PLC programming instructions, to design innovative and efficient PLC programs tailored to specific industrial automation requirements.
- Assess and judge the effectiveness of computer-aided design (CAD) techniques in achieving design goals and objectives.
- Perform computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) applications by programming industrial machines to implement related designs.
- Characterize techniques and processes found in lean manufacturing to solve real-world problems.
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