The Fusion of Electronics and Mechanics: An Overview of Electromechanical Technician Program

Electronics and mechanics have always been viewed as separate disciplines, but fascinating, and rewarding, careers are open to those who keep a foot in each camp. These electromechanical specialists work with the complex machines, devices and systems used throughout manufacturing, in modern buildings, in power generation, and elsewhere.

Earning an Electromechanical Technician Certificate is an excellent way to start out in this field. This article explains what’s involved in such a program, so readers can decide if it will meet their interests and career aspirations. First though, a look at how and why electronics and mechanics are coming together.

The Rise of Electromechanical Systems

Businesses are on a ceaseless hunt for higher efficiency, and that’s leading them to specify and install ever more complex equipment and machinery. It’s not just manufacturers who are automating either, though they may be at the forefront. Modern buildings incorporate advanced energy, water and security management systems, and power generation, especially in the realm of renewables, demands increasingly sophisticated control schemes.

What all this hardware has in common is the combination of electrical and mechanical systems. Motors power levers, gears and leadscrews, but need sensors and sophisticated control systems to operate with speed and precision. Installing, adjusting, calibrating, and maintaining such devices requires people who understand both disciplines, electrical and mechanical, hence the need for electromechanical technicians.

Mechanisms and Actuators

Electromechanical technicians must understand how motors work and how they are used. This begins with learning about the differences between AC and DC power supplies and motors, and extends into motor drives and circuits, types of motor – servo, stepper, brushless – and motor control strategies.

The output of every motor is connected to some kind of mechanism, a gear, a leadscrew, a drive roller, or a lever or other linkage. The electromechanical technician needs to understand these components too, how they interact with the motor and control system, and how their motion is measured and fed back to the controller.

Typical tasks an electromechanical technician takes on relating to mechanisms and actuators include:

• Installation: Mounting and connecting to the electrical supply and controller.
• Calibration: Measuring and adjusting operating speed, temperature and position.

• Maintenance: Cleaning, lubricating, and replacing worn components.

Transducers and Sensors

Electromechanical systems rely on transducers and sensors that provide signals and values to the controller or actuators. (Transducers receive a form of energy (heat, light, sound, electrical, mechanical), and convert (transform) it to another form. Sensors are a type of transducer that responds to changes in a measured value and outputs a signal.)

Transducers and sensors take many forms and output their signals in different ways. Industrial automation uses large numbers of proximity sensors to report when something has reached a particular position. Other sensors measure temperature, flow, pressure and other physical properties that require maintaining within set limits. Increasingly, machine vision systems also fall under the heading of industrial sensors.

The electromechanical technician must understand how all these various sensors work and how they are installed and used. They will also need to know how to troubleshoot them in case of problems with the equipment, and how to maintain and even calibrate them. This requires an appreciation of analogue and digital signals, knowledge of the underlying physical principles, and the ability to integrate the sensors into complex systems.

Control Systems

The lynchpin of most industrial processes, equipment and machinery is the programmable logic controller or PLC. Understanding what PLCs do, how they work, and how they are used is key to success in an electromechanical technician role.

PLC knowledge alone though is not sufficient. The technician must also understand relays, power supplies, 24V wiring systems, and digital and analog I/O. They should be able to read electrical schematics, connect sensors, motors, and drives to I/O modules, and find their way around an industrial control cabinet. The ability to install, set up and use human machine interfaces (HMIs) is also important.

Control system-related work an electromechanical technician will undertake includes:

• Selection and installation of components

• Maintenance

Other Job Requirements

Electromechanical technicians are primarily problem-solvers. They need detailed technical knowledge and understanding, plus the ability to analyze challenges and problems and develop, test and implement solutions.

They should be hands-on and practical while just as comfortable reviewing specifications and reading technical documentation and drawings. Most importantly, good electromechanical technicians are effective communicators, as adept at getting information from and educating production workers as speaking with engineers and managers.

Electromechanical Technician Careers

A certificate  opens the door to interesting careers in a wide range of industries. Many technicians work in manufacturing, where they support complex automation and process equipment. Others are employed in the lifesciences, building automation, energy production and oil and gas extraction. Wherever complex mechanical equipment is in use, companies need skilled electromechanical technicians to install and maintain it.

For technicians interested in career progression, education can open many doors. Some will choose to go back to school and obtain engineering degrees, which can lead to supervisory and managerial roles. Others may be drawn more to programming and choose to develop their PLC programming skills. They may also learn to work with vision systems and robots and to write software. In the future, some may even find themselves training and implementing AI systems!

Getting Started

If all this talk of working with automation, PLCs and advanced machinery has sparked your interest, why not learn more? The next step is simple: talk to a program consultant at George Brown College by calling 1-888-553-5333, or follow this link to discover the skills you can develop in the Electromechanical Technician program.