MPCC adding mechanical drive learning systems

    Mid-Plains Community College will soon be able to enhance its hands-on skill training and expand its technical learning opportunities thanks to the purchase of four Amatrol Mechanical Drives Learning Systems.
    “Our feedback from area employers has been that they want more emphasis on hydraulics and electronics,” said Steve Kramer, diesel instructor and chair of the Applied Technologies division at MPCC.
    “This is going to help us do that.”
     The systems are similar to four other applied technology simulators the college acquired in 2018. In addition to serving electrical students, those were geared toward heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration training.
     The new equipment will be used primarily by the Electrical Automation Controls Program and Diesel Technology departments. Kramer believes it will help the college stand out in terms of real-world training and will make graduates more employable.
     Amatrol’s Mechanical Drives 1 Learning System will be among those the college will receive. It features a two-panel mobile workstation with a constant speed drive motor, variable speed motor, motor control unit and multi-drawer storage.
     With it, students can learn how to mount, level and properly align an electric motor, the types and applications of keys, the types of shaft misalignment, how to determine proper belt tension, the function of backlash and how to adjust chain sag to a specified amount using adjustable centers.
    The college also purchased a Mechanical Drives 4 Learning System, which teaches the operation, installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, identification and selection of precision ball screws, linear ball bearings, cam clutches, friction clutches, electric brakes and axis slides.
     Additionally, MPCC will get a Mechanical Fabrication 1 Learning System, which focuses on training the safe, proper application of basic hand tools used in mechanical fabrication assembly - as well as Amatrol’s Mechanical Drives 2 Learning System.
    The drive systems featured in the equipment are used in automotive, agricultural, industrial and commercial applications, so the advanced manufacturing career fields for students with those skills are vast, Kramer said.
     All of the systems will be based in North Platte, but because they are portable, can be rolled out to MPCC campuses in McCook, Broken Bow, Imperial, Ogallala and Valentine, as well as to area high schools.