Indusrial Technology Overview
Southwestern Michigan College’s Industrial Technology program covers a broad range of career topics designed to serve the professional interests and needs of students. Students can earn an associate in applied science degree, which can be used towards a four-year degree in engineering, manufacturing, and industrial technologies.
Through the Industrial Technology program, students will learn the fundamentals of electricity and electronics, programmable logic controllers, process control and instrumentation, microprocessors, communications, and more.
The program’s well-equipped labs, located at SMC’s Niles Area Campus, features an Allen Bradley motion control system, which includes programmable logic controllers, servos, displays and software used in today’s industry.
Because the Industrial Technology program is tailored towards the student’s interest, students can take a number of electives with a broad scope of learning. The program accepts the first 30-33 credits from the following SMC certificate programs:
- Computer Aided Drafting and Design
- Electrical Systems Technology
- Precision Production Technology
- Welding Technology
Industrial Technology Areas of Study
Applied BASIC for Technicians
Industrial Robotics
Precision Inspection
Workplace Citizenship
Faculty Contact Information
Andrew Beem
Industrial Technology Instructor
(269) 687-5649
abeem@swmich.edu
Industrial Robotics
Robots are involved in all types of industries, from welding and machining to food preparation and health care. The Division of Advanced Technologies now has a FANUC Robotics trainer which is used in SMC's Industrial Robotics courses. FANUC is the leading supplier of robotic automation in America, so SMC students trained on the new robot will have the skills and knowledge employers are looking for in today’s automated workplace. As industries across all spectrums become more automated, the need for robotics training will continue to grow.
The FANUC robotics trainer is a self-contained educational unit that allows students to learn with a real robot, the same type used in industry today. According to Andrew Beem, lead instructor for Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD), “the trainer has one of the smallest industrial robots that FANUC offers, but the larger ones are programmed exactly the same way, whether it’s able to move 10 pounds or two tons.”
