Facilities and Labs

The Industrial Studies department at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville gives students hands-on experience with processes and materials that are important in today's manufacturing and construction fields. Our facilities have everything you need to learn the intricacies of construction, industrial controls, or manufacturing.

Automation and Electronics

Lab facilities include analog and digital systems, semiconductor devices, automation, Allen Bradley Rockwell Automation Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), LogixPro PLC programming, National Instruments LabVIEW Data Acquisition and Controllers, Multisim circuit simulation software, Tek Digital Storage Oscilloscopes, Fluke and Mastech Digital Multimeters, ATmega328P - 8-bit AVR Microcontrollers (on Arduino platforms), and facilities for Senior Design capstone projects including a complete range of electronics components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, “ice-cube” relays, digital logic ICs, switches, inductive/capacitive/photo sensors) power tools and hand tools.   Lab activities include electronic devices exploration, troubleshooting, data acquisition and control with LabVIEW, digital logic, instrumentation, circuit analysis, and simulation.  This lab serves a range of students, from basic AC/DC to advanced Automation and Control courses. 

Commercial Construction Lab

This unique hands-on, industry-driven lab sits on two-acre site and provides students the opportunity to build a two-story Commercial Building from architect and engineer designed plans. The lab provides students the experiences of operating and working around heavy equipment, as well as fabrication, welding, scaffolding, and other common construction tools and practices. Plus, students will be introduced to industry standard safety equipment and project management software. Both the Construction Management and the Construction Safety Management Students in every class use the lab for the high-impact learning experiences.

Metals Labs

The lab is equipped so students can perform the following types of casting operations:

  • green sand molding
  • petro-bond sand molding
  • permanent molding
  • lost wax molding
  • lost foam molding

Students are able to pour:

  • aluminum
  • cast iron
  • cast steel

Plastics Lab

Many consumer and industrial products are made of plastic and working with plastic is a valuable skill. 

The plastics lab includes injection molders, blow formers, vacuum formers, and more.

Road and Infrastructure Lab

The unique hands-on, industry-driven lab sits on a four-acre site and provides students the opportunity to build a heavy highway roadway and infrastructures related to it from an engineered designed plan. Students will experience operating and working around heavy equipment, as well as building underground structures, intersection layout, installing underground and overhead utilities, and other common practices. Plus, students will be introduced to industry standard safety equipment and project management software. Both the Construction Management and the Construction Safety Management Students in every class use the lab for the high-impact learning experiences.

Robotics

FANUC robots are in the top three robotics companies worldwide.  Our labs have three industry-standard FANUC robots, two of the LR Mate range and one M. These are interfaced with conveyors and vision systems.  In addition to the physical robots, we also use offline robotics programming, using the industry-standard ROBOGUIDE software package. As technology merges across all sectors, we utilize the FANUC robots to not only cover robotics but also automation, vision, and manufacturing.  In addition to practice in robot programming and troubleshooting, this lab is also used in interfacing sensors and actuators in automation.  FANUC Robotics ROBOGUIDE simulation software and teach pendants available for students to learn how to program real-life programming and robotics implementation skills.  This lab is a springboard for our graduates, as manufacturing engineering and automation managers, our graduates are familiar with the full spectrum of tasks that of an operator, technician, engineer or programmer needed to set up, program, troubleshoot and maintain robots.

Robotics and Controls Lab

Robotics are present in an ever-growing percentage of factories. We provide experience in our Robotics and Control lab with an x-axis robot, and a work cell.

Safety

The students in the program have access to a multitude of different types of equipment which teaches them how to evaluate exposures, select equipment and the learn the proper application and use of the equipment. Both the Occupational Safety Management and the Construction Safety Management students in every class utilize the lab for high impact learning experiences.

  • The hands-on safety training lab is a state of the art 3200 square foot facility.
  • The lab has all the safety related equipment including the standard PPE all the way to, a full complement of respiratory protection equipment from various PAPR's, supplied air welding helmets. hi tech equipment including a multitude of industrial hygiene instrumentation.
  • The lab has a full complement of emergency response equipment from firefighting turns out gear, SCBA's, chemical spill response suits and equipment etc.
  • The lab has multiple simulators which includes a Virtual Reality forklift simulator, a confined space simulator, live electrical lock out/tag out simulator, dustless brick saw.
  • The lab has scaffolding, rigging equipment, a Mig welder, oxyacetylene cutting torch, engineered horizontal fall protection systems which is used in the construction safety program.

Woods Technology Lab

Although high-tech materials are prevalent today, there is still no substitute in many applications for renewable wood as a building material. 

The Woods Technology Lab includes saws, a CNC router table, drill presses, jointers, mortisers, a planer, a router table, and sanders including disk sander, drum sander, thickness sander, and downdraft table.

Equipment

  • Saws
    • Band saw
    • Miter saws
    • Scroll Saw
    • Table saws
  • CNC router table
  • Sanders
    • Disk sander
    • Drum sander--oscillating
    • Thickness sander
    • Down Draft Table
  • Drill presses
  • Jointers
  • Mortiser
  • Planer
  • Router table

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