MSOE keeps pace

I'm certainly no fluid power expert after just a week-long course, but the basic hydraulics course by Dr. Medhat Khalil certainly gave me a broader perspective on the technology, and helped me to better understand the differences between the varying styles of components, and finally, gave me the ability to read schematics and circuits.

We built our own circuits every day in the course on the trainers you see in the picture. These trainers were built with donated components from many of the industry's big players, but Dr. Khalil is set to retire them by mid-next year, as he plans to begin using new trainers he designed himself. These new trainers, fortunately, will include standard and switchable components already used in our course, including all the hose, pumps, valves, and cylinders, but will be removable and detachable, unlike the current ones. They will be used in courses ranging from basic to advance hydraulics.

In addition, the new trainers will be able to instruct students on electrohydraulics, with such components as variable displacement pumps, HMIs, dynamic PC control, switch valves, servovalves, mobile valves, input and output channels to connect to position sensors, and more. In addition, electrical modules will be installed for connection to electrohydraulic ports. The new trainers will be capable of being used in both hydraulic and pneumatic courses.

The computer system will include custom-designed software as well as MatLab and Automation Studio, bringing the professional education offerings into the future. Though that's probably a little more than I can handle, with so much electrohydraulic control being used in the industry today, it would do me, and so many others, good to take MSOE's professional development courses and learn the way of the future.