Industrial Electronics Technology

The Industrial Electronics program prepares students for work in the development, installation, testing, maintenance and repair of electrical and electronic systems in industrial and commercial facilities. Graduates will be prepared to pursue jobs in other areas such as construction and electrical distribution as well.

This program instructs students in basic core competencies desired by industry today. Instructors provide students with skills in areas of electronics that include DC-AC theory and applications, solid state digital (ICs) and analog circuits, and computer hardware and software. Instructors also provide training in motor drives and controls, sensors and instrumentation, microcontroller programming and applications, and industrial control systems (including PLCs). Courses include hands-on training in laboratory applications.

Second year students can choose either the Industrial Electronics (IE) Track, the Instrument Mechanics (IM) track or the Electronic Engineering Technology (EET) Track.

The IE Track provides training in industrial controls (including PLCs). The IE track emphasizes skills required to be an Industrial Controls Technician in manufacturing.

The EET track provides training in advanced electronics and computer programming. The EET track emphasizes skills required to be an Electronics Technician in Engineering and Manufacturing.

The IM track provides advance training in installation,repair and maintenance of industrial instruments. The IM track emphasizes skills required to be an Instrument Mechanics Technician in manufacturing, production and other industrial business.

• Program has semester admittance (Fall and Spring)
• Enrollment priority is on a first-come, first-served basis as determined by the student’s faculty advising date
• Aleks score in Math of 30 or higher, Writing Placement Exam of 2 or higher, or qualify for Math (PT) 137 and English 101

To enter this program, you should have adequate skills in reading, English composition, and basic math through algebra. Good eyesight and physical health, manual dexterity, problem solving skills, and basic human relations skills are also important.

Employment of industrial electronics technicians is expected to grow as fast as the average for all occupations. Increasing automation of industrial and commercial processes will create new jobs for these technicians. Potential positions for industrial-electrical technicians include industrial electrician, instrument technician, power systems maintenance technician, electronic maintenance technician, process control technician, and electrical apprentice. Potential positions for engineering technicians include research and development, laboratory technician, electronics equipment analysis and testing, field maintenance or programming technician, and manufacturing technician in various setting of that sector. Typical employers are engineering and manufacturing firms and utility companies.

• Knowledge of basic electrical and electronic theory
• Application of appropriate safety procedures
• Ability to assemble, test, analyze and troubleshoot solid state circuits containing discrete components wired as power supplies and regulators, solid state displays, amplifiers, SCR-TRIAC motor controllers, and oscillators
• Able to locate and analyze replacement semiconductor devices using data sheets and other reference sources
• Perform calculations, predictions, measurements, and demonstrate proper circuit construction and analysis of electrical and electronic circuits
• Have a foundation in the use of phasor and vector analysis for analyzing alternating current circuits
• The student will be able to configure a modular PLC, write programs using discrete and analog I/O, and troubleshoot system problems
• Demonstrate mastery of a variety of electrical and electronic topics including AC theory, inductive and capacitive reactance, resonance, impedance, transformers, methods of power generation, and basic electrical wiring
• Comprehension of programmable operator terminals and Human Machine Interface (HMI) software
• Know how to configure a ControlLogix PLC, write programs using discrete and analog I/O, and develop a project
• Assemble, analyze, and troubleshoot digital circuits containing, encoder-decoders, digital displays, multiplexer-demultiplexers, counters, and registers
• Have the ability to interface different families of logic circuits with other electronic devices given their electrical/electronic parameters
• Ability to identify common logic gate symbols and connect their actual circuits for testing and analysis; troubleshoot logic gate circuits to the component level