SOUTHFIELD, MI – Lawrence Technological University unveiled its new Siemens Electro-Matic Industrial Engineering Laboratory at ceremony this month. Siemens Corp, a subsidiary of Siemens AG, was also honored as LTU’s Corporate Partner of the Year.

“We are a proud partner of LTU, and we are grateful for this recognition. It’s truly great to see how LTU is driving the education of the next generation of digital talent. High tech jobs in manufacturing in the United States have a great growth potential,” says Raj Batra, an LTU alumnus and president of Siemens Digital Industries US. “To reach this potential, our education and training must address the demand for digital skills. The opening of this first Industrial Engineering Lab is a milestone putting top-notch technologies into the hands of manufacturing’s next generation.”

Siemens Corp was the founding sponsor of the new lab with a donation that included software and equipment, and Farmington Hills-based Electro-Matic Products Inc. was also instrumental in the creation of the new lab. Other support has come from 1955 LTU alumnus Henry Horldt, P.E., Detroit-area locations of French auto supplier Faurencia, Cintas Corp., Sylvania Osram, SAS Automotive Systems, Valeo, and FCA.

“Our mission is to produce engineers who will be the leaders of tomorrow. Our graduates hit the ground running in their professional careers thanks in large part to LTU’s partnerships with Siemens and other forward-thinking companies that provide invaluable support to the University,” says Nabil Grace, dean of LTU’s College of Engineering.

LTU offers fully accredited bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in industrial engineering.The facility will allow LTU industrial engineering students to study everything from the human factor of production-line fatigue to the optimal placement of robots, sensors, and parts bins on the factory floor. The new facility includes:

An industry-grade conveyor line and programmable robot capable of simple assembly operations, pick-and-place inventory functions, and loading and unloading. Students can design the best assembly line operation sequence to accomplish various assigned tasks.

Programmable Logic Control (PLC) units used to simulate setting up industrial automation systems.

The instrument panel of a RAM 1500 truck, which students can program to create various displays and functions.

An industrial work station, provided by Faurecia, where students perform various mechanical functions using several tools on various objects.

An assembly area where students manually assemble LEGO race cars, with the blocks required for assembly stored in 200 bins.

A coordinate measurement machine used for quality inspection of parts.

The industrial engineering lab is another step in a longstanding relationship between Siemens and LTU. Since 2013, LTU has received two major in-kind software grants from Siemens.