Learn more about College faccts....the numbers..

Here is a link to the Madison College website, if you'd like to learn more facts about the College.
This link will take you to the Smart Community Plan website. Here you will find facts, such as enrollment numbers,  cost, and affected program areas relating to the November 2nd referendum!

Thanks,

Peter

Article in Portage Daily Register

Here is a link to the article in the Portage Daily Register about the PLC training class we just completed.

Looks like Bill Baker got his 3 minutes of fame!

Free NFPA70e - Arc Flash Training!

Madison College will be offering four NFPA 70E workshops next week through a WIRED grant. The WIRED grant allows us to offer these workshops to incumbent and dislocated workers at no cost to participants. The sessions will be given by Patrick Ostrenga, an OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist. 3.5 CEU credits are available for the class.

Each seminar will include:
•     A description of arc flash hazards;
•     An overview of NFPA 70E
•     Arc flash case histories
•     Personnel protective clothing requirements
•     Appropriate tools
•     Required training for Qualified employees
•     Procedures for working on energized equipment
•     Methods of assessing arc flash hazards


The Focus:
·         The new OSHA electrical standard
·         OSHA Electrical Safe Work Practices  What is the law?
·         Arc flash/arc blast prevention – what OSHA is looking for
·         Calculating and determining hazard categories – utilizing the NFPA 70E tables
·         The causes of arc flash and arc blast incidents
·         Selecting the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and tools
·         PREPLANNING not reacting

 The workshops are offered on May 24, 26, and 27:
·         Monday, May 24 - 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Portage Campus, 330 W. Collins St.
·         Monday, May 24 - 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Portage Campus, 330 W. Collins St.
·         Wednesday, May 26 - 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Fort Atkinson Campus, 827 Banker Rd.
·         Thursday, May 27 - 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Fort Atkinson Campus, 827 Banker Rd.

If you are interested in attending one of the sessions, please contact Lisa Delany at ldelany@matcmadison.edu or 608-246-5221. Space is available in each session for up to 25 individuals.

Videos on Logic Gates...

I had several questions about the homework and logic gates. I found several instructional videos demonstrating the different logic gates. Don't worry so much about recognizing the shapes or creating a graphical tree of the logic gates. The important factor is that you understand the resulting ladder logic instructions, to achieve a specific outcome for the process. Logic gates are used to develop the necessary rung of instructions, minimizing trial and error and programming time.

Video - AND gate
Video - OR gate

Video - NOT gate
Video - NAND gate

Video - NOR gate
Video - XOR gate


Digital Logic references, including Logic Gates.

Please share your thoughts or resources if you find other materials that may explain boolean math, logic gates, or digital circuits.

Thanks,

Peter

News article..."Green jobs"

... from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:


Electric motor expertise sold Spanish firm on Milwaukee
By the Journal Sentinel

In the race to attract green jobs, it turns out that Milwaukee's old-economy legacy of manufacturing is more plus than minus.
The strengths of a region once known as the "machine shop to the world" helped set it apart from nearly 80 other cities considered by Spain's Ingeteam, which announced Tuesday it will open its first U.S. factory in Milwaukee's Menomonee Valley.
Ingeteam expects to begin construction in April on a factory that it hopes to open in January with about 50 to 60 employee....

Click here to read the full article.

What do you think about Green jobs? How do you think Milwaukee will benefit from this new factory?
Feel free to comment on this Blog, or discuss in class on Thursday.

Peter

PLC 101 - Lab Manual and Simulator available... WIRED training Portage

Hello:

This message is specifically for the morning class, taking part in the WIRED PLC training in Portage. You can download a trial version of the Simulator here. If you are new to PLC programming and working with LogixPro, please be sure to check out this link for basic usage instructions.

We will be doing the Labs from Chapter 1 this Thursday in LogixPro. Once everyone successfully created a simulation, we will be doing the same in RSLogix 500 Pro and practice upload/download with the MicroLogix 1000.

All of the Lab manual instructions, along with some good reference materials can be found here. Don't worry about checking all of the links; I'm only providing you a few site to to be aware off for future reference. Please note that Madison College is not affiliated with any of the sites. Installing any of the programs, signing up for accounts, or downloading materials is done at your own risk.

Can we trust robots....?

The most recent edition of "Popular Mechanics" features a very interesting article about robots, specifically Social Robots or Humanoids.
Do you remember the "Terminator" movies? They took place in a world controlled by machines (robots). The Popular Mechanics article discusses how departments at large research institutions are developing and testing robots that can "socialize" with humans.

Are we getting that much closer to a world as depicted in Sci-Fi movies such as: I, Robot and The Matrix? Do you think this could ever be possible?

Welcome....!

Hello!

Welcome to my blog site. This my unofficial Madison College blog site. This blog was developed in an effort to quickly and easily share news and information related the courses I teach at Madison College (or MATC = Madison Area Technical College).

Please check back often for new content.

Thanks,

Peter