Engineering Students Learning On-The-Job

Robotic Automation Integrators providing a platform for necessary experience to engineering academia.

On October 7^th, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine made a visit to Bowling Green State University. One of his stops on this visit was to the campus’s engineering department to visit with several seniors who’ve put their focus into industrial robotics for manufacturing. When we consider robotic engineering, the first notion that comes to mind is often tedious book work. Fortunately for those studying robotic automation, the program at BGSU is the opposite of that. Instead, these students are learning through hands-on experience, working directly with industrial robots. By working directly with the robots, the learning process becomes a more attainable, realistic concept.

One particular student, senior Ian Kennedy (pictured above with DeWine), was given an exciting opportunity to share his knowledge with the governor. Ian utilized a FANUC LR Mate industrial robot to showcase an application he programmed for use. The application he utilized is designed to increase efficiency within an industrial manufacturing production process. For Kennedy, he’s not only learned a great deal of automation engineering knowledge in his 4 years at BGSU. He’s also been gaining invaluable “on-the-job” experience as an intern for Ohio-based robotic automation integrator RōBEX. RōBEX, formed in 2017 in Perrysburg OH, has garnered a fantastic reputation within the manufacturing & automation industry for their innovative solutions helping to improve a myriad of production processes.

As a certified systems integrator for FANUC Robots, AutoGuide Mobile Robots, Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), and Plus One Robotics, RōBEX provides a unique opportunity to any incoming engineer or robotic engineer intern. Having such a wide field to develop industrial automation applications in allows for someone to add multiple capabilities to their arsenal. Additionally, this multi-faceted experience makes for an engineer who’s going to be capable of customizing an application for palletizing, material handling, case erecting that could improve an industry on a larger scale.

At present time, industrial manufacturers are assessing their production process in a post-pandemic setting. One thing has become increasingly clear: Autonomous robotic systems & automation has now become a need rather than a want. The first aspects often evaluated are the repetitive and (potentially) dangerous elements of the manufacturing facility. These tasks tend to be simplistic & manual. But there’s also a strong need for experienced robotic engineers who can understand the nuances of each production line and how a solution requires a tailored application. For this, manufacturers so often look outside of their organization to integrators who bring “expertise” to the situation. RōBEX is addressing this very need by placing interns alongside seasoned veterans to learn directly from both an experienced engineer & the customer to find out how they can improve each manufacturing production need, finding the necessary tools to make this a success. The company has also worked with various vocational school programs to help young people understand how they could potentially enter the engineering field directly after high school. This philosophy is founded on their idea that automation provides both learning & career opportunities on multiple levels.

If you’re interested in finding out more about RōBEX and how you could join the team, please contact by phone 419-270-0770 or email automation@robex.us.