Engineering Technology Online Courses
University of Houston-Downtown offers certificate distance education programs in Automation, Electronics, Electromechanical, Robotics, PLC and PLC II, designed to provide students with a complete technical introduction to these subjects. These programs provide a self-paced distance education alternative to students who cannot attend the traditional college environment on a full or part-time basis. The cornerstone of these programs is the simulation software, which is fully integrated within the learning material and bridges the gap between theoretical and practical usage. The simulation software includes LogixSim for automation simulation, CircuitLogix, 3DLab for electronics and electromechanical simulation, RoboLogix for robotics simulation and LogixPro and PLCLogix for PLC simulation.
Automation Technician Certificate
The program is intended to prepare graduates for career opportunities in the expanding field of industrial automation. Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to design, install, and maintain electronic equipment used in modern industrial processes and work on a wide range of control systems, from the simplest fuses and motors to sophisticated electronic computer interface boards, motor drives, programmable logic controllers, solid-state devices and robotics. Click the link for additional information.
Electronics Technician Certificate
The Electronics Technician Certificate program prepares graduates of the program for employment and/or further on-the-job training as a service technician in the field of consumer, commercial and industrial electronics. As well, it will enable students to provide technical support and service during the production, installation, operation and repair of electrical equipment and systems. Click the link for additional information.
The Electromechanical Technician Certificate program provides a complete introduction to electronics and electromechanical systems. This program is often of interest to people who want to study electronics with an emphasis on mechanical systems, for example someone coming from a millwright background. The program covers mechanical topics outside of a typical electronics program, like industrial control devices, DC and AC motors and control circuits, transformers, analog and digital transducers, industrial process control and PLCs. Click the link for additional information.
Programmable Logic Controller Technician I Certificate
The PLC Technician Certificate Program provides a basic introduction to PLCs and focuses
on the practical applications of using them in a plant or manufacturing system. This
program is designed for students with little or no PLC experience and who require
a safe and quick start in the fundamentals of PLC programming. Click the link for additional information.
Programmable Logic Controller Technician II Certificate
The PLC Technician II Certificate program provides a more advanced study of PLCs in manufacturing including Distributed Control Systems (DCS), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA) and advanced programming languages. This program can be completed without taking the first PLC program however is more challenging to learn since it uses tag-based addressing. Click the link for additional information.
Robotics Technician Certificate
The Robotics Technician training program introduces the concepts of industrial robots and explains how they can be used in a plant or manufacturing system. The primary focus of the program is on automated manufacturing processes, as well as the role of robots and all of their support equipment. Students receive both theoretical and laboratory instruction through a combination of multimedia learning resources and a robotics simulation software package to allow for the programming, testing, and debugging of robot-control programs. Areas of study include motion programming, pick and place, spray painting, arc and spot welding, computer networking, automated sorting systems, vision and tactile sensors and computer integration. Click the link for additional information.