After a successful three-year stint being used to develop safe and effective operation skills, an industry-grade robot has moved to the St. Cloud State University campus to provide students essential hands-on experience.
In 2022, SCSU purchased an ABB IRB 2400 M2004 IRC2 training robot under the Minnesota Jobs Skills Partnership grant. This robot was part of a larger training grant for Grede Holdings LLC, which was facilitated by SCSU’s Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) division. Grede Casting is considered one of the largest and top metal casters in the industry.
The training enabled employees to develop essential skills for safe and effective operation of the equipment before real-time production, and Grede employees received over 900 hours of extensive robotics training.
“SCSU is proud to have the ABB Robot back on campus after serving Grede Casting employees,” said Ileana Merten, director of workforce development for PACE. “Automation in the workplace increases efficiency, productivity and safety. The opportunity to have the robot back on campus gives our college students a real-world, hands-on experience.”
The robot will now be integrated into a lab in ISELF, where students will be able to learn using an industry-grade device. Associate Professor of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Eric Little will oversee the facilitation of the robot.
“The Industrial Robotics class is an integral part of the hands-on Mechanical Engineering curriculum at SCSU,” Little said. “This robot system will help students better understand how to apply the skills they acquire in their ME classes to the practice of engineering. We are grateful to PACE for their efforts to improve the technical capabilities of the Minnesota workforce by partnering in training with Grede and then further supporting University students with this robot. It’s a win-win for local industry and students at SCSU.”
