5 Tips from Former Teachers about Choosing Lab Equipment

When it comes to choosing the right equipment for your program or lab, who better to guide the process than those who have also taught in a classroom? In this post, we&#;re bringing you insights from two members of our AET Labs&#; sales team&#;both former teachers&#;who now help technical schools, colleges, and universities make smart decisions about equipment to help students learn industry-relevant skills. Their first-hand experience in education shapes their approach, ensuring that each recommendation is as practical as it is impactful. 

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Mark Lyons, AET Labs&#; VP of Sales, is a former CAD teacher with 15 years of experience at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School and Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School. Since leaving the classroom, he has remained a committed member of the CAD teaching community. He has been leading an annual professional development summit bringing together CAD teachers across New England since . As an active supporter of the Massachusetts SkillsUSA competitions for 20 years, he has run competitions across many categories, from laser engraving to additive manufacturing. He also serves on advisory boards for multiple CTE schools in New England.

Phil Ranger, one of the Technology Consultants at AET Labs, taught electrical engineering technology for 11 years at the college level in Canada (similar to CTE in the United States) and spent two years as a university lecturer in electrical engineering and computer engineering. After Phil&#;s teaching career, he joined Festo Didactic and trained instructors internationally on how to use new technologies and theories in the classroom. As part of the AET Labs team, Phil is a member of advisory boards for CTE schools in New Hampshire. 

Mark: Teachers tend to worry about the budget. They don&#;t think their school has money for their program or to buy equipment. I try to coach them on coming up with a vision for their program and letting their administration find the money. Teachers might not realize grants are out there that can be used to buy the equipment they need. 

Phil: In my past work at Festo, I helped educators build programs from scratch, so I incorporate that into my approach to working with instructors now. I try to understand the nuts and bolts of what teachers and professors need to teach and take a holistic approach to link their goals to how to best teach theory and hands-on experiences. My approach is to help identify the teaching goals and match that with the right equipment. It&#;s not just about having the flashiest machine in a lab.

Mark: As a company, we try to recommend equipment students would see in the industry. It helps students when they move along to get this experience, even if it&#;s more expensive. This type of equipment benefits the students and the school because it&#;s industry-relevant and high-quality and reliable. 

Mark: I like to bring equipment to instructors that have a curriculum with them. They can use that to get started, customize the curriculum as they see fit, and build on it over time.

Mark: One phrase I often say is &#;engaged and motivated students learn.&#; If students have fun with the equipment and technology, they will learn. Students get excited learning about 3D printing and students love using AR/VR technology like zSpace. Once you have them hooked, they will want to dig deeper and learn.

Phil: Students who graduate from college having only learned engineering theories are not the best hires for companies. Students who get realistic hands-on experiences with equipment have a deeper understanding of how to apply the theories in a work environment. We provide equipment that comes with curriculum materials that are easy for students and instructors to understand and bridge theory with realistic experience. 

Mark: I look at state frameworks to help teachers pair equipment with the frameworks and their curriculum. It helps them put the puzzle together and select the right equipment they should have for the class.

Mark: Our team at AET Labs is more than a sales team; we&#;re a resource. We help instructors get a wider view of what&#;s going on in the industry and introduce new technology. They don&#;t need to look around for what&#;s current&#;we bring that to them so they can move their programs forward.

Choosing the right equipment can be a big decision for a school or university, and we&#;re here to help make it easier. With firsthand experience and a deep understanding of classroom needs, our team of technology consultants is ready to guide you in selecting equipment and technology that will inspire and engage your students. 

Learners will study how to terminate a panel wire and connect wires to terminal screws, how to properly strip a wire and tape motor leads, and how to run a wire from a control panel to an operator station. Learners will also study wire color coding, wire bundling, and the importance of wire numbering.

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The system includes a bench top mount control workstation, motor workstation, AC induction motor, control component panels, multimeter, lead set, and student curriculum that is unmatched within the industry. This system uses industrial quality components to help learners become better prepared for what they will encounter on the job. Some of the major components that learners will work with include a control transformer, reversing contactors, manual motor starter, multi-function timer, and control relays.

Motor Control Learning covers electric relay control of AC electric motors. Learners study industry relevant skills including how to operate, install, design, and troubleshoot AC electric motor control circuits for various applications. It teaches learners how to troubleshoot motor control circuits under realistic conditions. Circuit faults can be introduced using either the manual fault insertion, supplied as a standard, or through the optional Computer-Based Fault Insertion System

This learning system teaches learners how to manufacture industrial quality working directional control valves. They develop skills needed to enable processes to work together such as making precision physical adjustments. Modern industry leverages technology so that one set of equipment can make many products.The Pick and Place Feeding station teaches interfacing, problem solving, programming, sequencing and operation for pneumatic robots, material feeding systems, powered parts feeders, vacuum grippers, hall effect sensors, magnetic sensors, operation for index tables, stepper motors, homing sensors, fiber optic sensors, part transfer, parts orientation, photoelectric sensors, and inductive sensors.

The module includes a bench-top workstation, process control network, control panel. Industrial quality components are mounted and plumbed in a closed loop circuit to control the water flow between two tanks or the liquid level in one tank. All components are connected to banana jacks on the control panel to allow students to measure signals and connect the devices in a wide variety of control configurations. The module offers 3 types of controllers: relay control, the standard, and two options: PID controller and PLC control. This allows students to study a wide range of process control methods. The relay control includes manual input switches, control relays, solenoid valves, and float switches to perform automatic on/off liquid level control. The PID controller option enables variable electronic control of either liquid level or flow and the PLC controller option enables both on/off and PID control of the system. Manual valves are used to switch between the PID and on/off control methods.

The system includes a heavy-duty, welded steel workstation with industrial quality components, which are mounted and plumbed in two water flow circuits, a process loop and heating loop, to control the temperature of water flowing in the process loop. All electrical components are connected to the control panel to allow students to measure signals and connect the devices in a wide variety of control configurations including PID control, on/ off control, and manual control.

Analytical Process Control Learning System teaches students how to use analytical control concepts in industrial situations. This is one of a complete line of process control trainers that teach process control across the common variables of level, flow, temperature, and pH. The system includes a table top workstation with a control panel, PLC interface, metering and injector pumps, a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), pH transmitter and probe, reagent tanks, a piping by-pass network, student learning materials for both theory and lab, and teacher&#;s assessment guide.

Students will learn industry-relevant skills including how to perform a hazard analysis, control flows through metering and injector pumps; test pH; measure the output of a combination electrode with a multimeter; program and calibrate a pH meter; operate a loop controller; configure and operate controllers for discrete pH control, closed-loop pH control; establish alarms for managing a process; mix solutions in both batches and continuous control; control a pH process with proportional-integral control as well as proportional-integral-derivative control; control loop performance.

Includes an industrial hydraulic power supply, mobile workstation, hydraulic actuator component module, hydraulic valve component module, hydraulic instrumentation panel, hydraulic hose and fittings set, hydraulic supply and return manifolds, pneumatic actuator/valve component module, pneumatic instrumentation panel, pneumatic hose and fittings set, student learning materials for both theory and lab, and teacher&#;s guide. This system uses industrial quality components to help students become better prepared for what they will encounter on the job and to withstand frequent student use.

System teaches fundamentals of hydraulic and pneumatic systems used in industrial, agricultural, and mobile applications. Students learn industry-relevant skills including how to operate, install, analyze performance, and design basic fluid power systems. The system is also equipped with static and dynamic load devices to enable students to recreate the wide variety of conditions under which hydraulic and pneumatic systems typically operate.

System includes a centrifugal pump, mobile test workstation, student learning materials for both theory and lab, and teacher&#;s guide. This system uses industrial quality components such as a cast iron centrifugal pump to help students become better prepared for what they will encounter on the job. The mobile test workstation includes complete instrumentation to enable students to learn how centrifugal pumps perform under the various load conditions. Instruments include: inlet and outlet pressure gauges, digital flow meter, motor speed readout, and torque readout. The mobile test workstation includes complete instrumentation to enable students to learn how centrifugal pumps perform under the various load conditions. Instruments include: inlet and outlet pressure gauges, digital flow meter, motor speed readout, and torque readout. The system is also equipped with various devices to enable students to recreate the wide variety of conditions under which pumps typically operate. These include: load valve, air ingestion valve, cavitation valve, and variable speed motor.

Students learn a comprehensive set of industry-relevant skills including how to operate, install, maintain, troubleshoot, analyze performance, and select centrifugal pumps as well as system design. Students can also mount a second pump to the workstation to test the operation of series (multistage) and parallel pump operation. The system is also equipped with various devices to enable students to recreate the wide variety of conditions under which pumps typically operate. These include: load valve, air ingestion valve, cavitation valve, and variable speed motor.

Electronic Sensors Learning System teaches the operation of electronic, non-contact sensors and their applications in industry. It includes four types of sensors, target set with a variety materials, positioning and measuring device, learning materials for both theory and lab, and teacher&#;s guide. This system uses industrial quality components to help learners become better prepared for what they will encounter on the job.

Provides the learner with the ability to set up and test each sensor&#;s operation by presenting a variety of targets at various distances and angles. The target base and slide unit are capable of measuring the linear and lateral distance of the target from the various sensor faces as well as its angular offset to give the learner realistic exposure. The mounting position is adjustable by sliding the position of the sensor.

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