Proposal

Narrative

Control Systems Lab is an electrical Engineering undergraduate class with the important objective of connecting the theory learned in the Control Systems Theory class with real life applications. It is a  popular class with a range average of twenty five (25) to thirty (30) students per semester. Each semester is composed of seven (7) labs where students apply they knowledge of simple feedback control theory, analog On-Off controllers, analog PID controllers,tuning etc. They also learn how to use LabView, a very powerful control systems software widely used in the industry. It is unfortunately a lab with very limited resources using outdated and discontinued equipment.

Funding is sought to update the equipment used in the Control Systems Laboratory located in room 209 of the Engineering East building in the Boca Raton Campus. Equipment used for this Lab comes in the form of teaching modules provided by Feedback Instruments, specifically Servo Motor Control modules (Ref. ES151) that were acquired twenty years ago and Temperature Control modules (Ref. PT326) that were acquired ten years ago. The Lab  is currently operating with a very limited number of modules (three out of six Servo Motor Control modules and two out of five Temperature Control modules are operational). The Servo Motor Control Module Ref. ES151is currently discontinued by Feedback Instruments and in order to update them and alternative should be acquired.

In addition, funding is sought to acquire the software LogixPro 500 on the 7 PCs located in room 209 of the Engineering East building in the Boca Raton campus that would allow us to give two additional labs on Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) operation and programming. PLCs programming is an important topic that would benefit many students since many jobs on industrial control requires this knowledge. The software itself is very easy to use and inexpensive.

We believe acquiring the software, three (3) Servo Control modules and three (3) Temperature Control modules in conjunction with the currently operational modules would ensure the correct operation of the Lab for the foreseeable future and would let more students to benefit from the lab. Although the main objective is to serve the undergraduate students that enroll in the Control Systems Lab in ensuring they take as much benefit from the class as possible, the new equipment will provide the opportunity to increase student research and senior designs projects at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in the Control Systems field that is currently very limited due to the limited resources available.

The total costs presented in this proposal have been determined from quotations for three Servo Control modules and three Temperature Control modules provided by Feedback Instruments and Seven licenses of the LogixPro 500 software provided by The Learning Pit.

SUMMARY OF EQUIPMENT/SOFTWARE THAT WILL BE ACQUIRED:

3 Temperature Process Control Trainers Reference 37-100 from Feedback Instruments

3 Control and instrumentation principles Servo Motor process trainer Reference 33-033 from Feedback Electronics

7 Licensed copies of the PLC simulator software LogixPro 500 from The Learning Pit.

This project will benefit the University's strategic plan by impacting the following goals:

Goal 1: Providing Increased Access to Higher Education

Updating and expanding the Control Systems Lab equipment and acquiring the software will expand the capabilities of our Lab, allowing us to increase research in the Control Systems field which is very limited today. It will also expand the number of Labs that can be provided incorporating very important topics such as digital Control and PLC programming

Goal 2: Meeting Statewide Professional and Workforce Needs

This goal is supported by the proposal because our students will be better prepared in the Control Systems field by using equipment that simulates real Control Applications. In addition, the new capabilities that the Lab will have such as PLC programming and digital control are widely used by the industry which is hiring our students.

Goal 3: Building World-Class Academic Programs and Research Capacity

This goal is supported by the proposal because the new equipment and software would allow a significant increase in research and design projects at both undergraduate and graduate level in the Control Systems field.

Goal 4: Meeting Community Needs and Fulfilling Unique Institutional Responsibilities

This goal is supported because the new equipment along with the equipment currently in use will allow more students to have access to the Lab and to use the Lab more effectively.

Goal 5: Building a State-of-the-Art Information Technology Environment

This goal is supported because the updating will replace outdated equipment with new one and will provide the students with a PLC simulator that is currently unavailable.

Goal 6: Enhancing the Physical Environment

This goal is supported because the hardware and software acquired will be more user friendly and will consolidate room 209 as the Lab having all the tools to do control design projects.

Goal 7: Increasing the University's Visibility

This goal is supported because we expect a significant increase in Control Systems research and allow our students to get better jobs on the Control Systems field due to the increased knowledge on topics such as PLC programming.

Facilities

None Required, the equipment will be located in room 209 of the East Engineering Building with card access to all students enrolled in the Control Systems Lab and anyone requesting the lab equipment to develop projects.

Hardware Requirements

SUMMARY OF EQUIPMENT/SOFTWARE THAT WILL BE ACQUIRED IF APPROVED:

3 Temperature Process Control Trainers Reference 37-100 from Feedback Instruments ($4888 per module, $20268 in total)

3 Control and instrumentation principles Servo Motor process trainer Reference 33-033 from Feedback Electronics ($6756 per module, $14664 total)

No other special hardware requirements are foreseen, the modules are stand alone and do not require additional hardware.
Measuring instrumentation such as Oscilloscopes, multimeters and function generators are already present on the Lab and operational. 

Software Requirements

SOFTWARE THAT WOULD BE ACQUIRED IF APPROVED:
7 Licensed copies of the PLC simulator software LogixPro 500 from The Learning Pit. ($35 per License, $245 total)

No other software requirements are foreseen, LogixPro 500 runs on any version of Windows and the ones currently installed in the PCs on room 209 of the Engineering East building will suffice.

Personnel Costs

No additional costs foreseen.

Other Costs

No other Costs foreseen.

Timeline

Mid-April 2014: Project begins when award is granted. Order the system immediately though Feedback Instruments and software is acquired through The Learning Pit.

Mid-April 2014: Software can be installed and immediately used, and a new Lab session was already created in the fall of 2013 as testing and is ready to be implemented.

Summer term 2014: Testing of the new equipment, updating of the lab experiments guides.

Beginning of Fall term 2014: Lab fully operational..

Sustainability

Not applicable

Resource Matching

None Known

Implementing Organization

Feedback Instruments and the teaching assistants at Control Systems Lab, Technical Support's help will be provided if needed.

Currently, additionally to the instructor there will be another Teaching Assistant permanently helping with the upgrading process of the lab