One of the most common questions we hear from instructors, administrators, and workforce development leaders is: What equipment do we need for a mechatronics lab?
The answer depends on the students being served, the skills local employers need, the space available, and the program’s long-term goals. However, a successful mechatronics program should give students experience with the technologies they will encounter in modern manufacturing—including programmable logic controllers (PLCs), mechanical drives, fluid power, robotics, process control, industrial wiring, and connected manufacturing systems.
Rather than attempting to purchase an entire lab at once, many schools benefit from building their capabilities in stages. The following three-year equipment plan creates a progression from foundational skills to integrated automation, Industry 4.0, and advanced manufacturing.
Year 1:
Building Foundational Mechatronics Skills
The first year should introduce students to the major systems that come together in an automated manufacturing environment. Training equipment should be approachable for beginning learners while providing authentic, hands-on experience that prepares them for more advanced study.
LJ Create PLC Trainer
Programmable logic controllers are central to modern industrial automation. An LJ Create PLC trainer introduces students to PLC hardware, input and output devices, programming, sequencing, and troubleshooting in a classroom-friendly format.
By working with physical components rather than software alone, students begin to understand how a PLC monitors and controls an automated system.
Mechanical Drives 1
Mechanical systems remain an essential part of mechatronics education. A Mechanical Drives 1 learning system introduces foundational concepts involving belts, chains, gears, shafts, bearings, couplings, alignment, and mechanical power transmission.
Students learn how these components operate individually and how they work together within industrial machinery. They can also practice installation, adjustment, maintenance, and basic troubleshooting skills.
Pneumatics Portable Learning System
Pneumatic systems are widely used to move, position, grip, and sort materials in automated production. A portable pneumatics learning system allows students to construct and operate circuits while learning about air preparation, pressure, flow, valves, actuators, and pneumatic safety.
The portable format can be especially valuable for programs with limited space or classrooms that must support multiple technical subjects.
Amatrol Portable AC/DC Electrical Learning System
The Amatrol 990-ACDC1 gives students a hands-on foundation in the AC and DC electrical principles used in industrial power and control systems. Learners build, operate, test, and troubleshoot circuits while exploring topics such as voltage, current, resistance, series and parallel circuits, relays, circuit protection, and electrical measurement. Its portable design, interactive eLearning curriculum, and virtual simulator make it especially well suited for introductory mechatronics programs and labs with limited space.
FANUC CERT Cart: Industrial Robot or Cobot
Robotics training gives students experience with one of the most visible and rapidly evolving areas of manufacturing automation. Depending on program objectives, schools may select either an industrial FANUC robot or a collaborative robot mounted on a classroom-ready CERT Cart.
Students can develop skills in robot operation, programming, coordinate systems, end-of-arm tooling, safety, and automated task development. Introducing robotics during the first year also helps students see how electrical, mechanical, and control technologies come together in a working application.
Tabletop Mechatronics
A tabletop mechatronics system introduces learners to integrated automation without requiring the footprint of a full-scale production line. Students can work with sensors, actuators, material handling devices, PLC controls, and automated processes as part of a complete system.
This equipment helps learners move beyond individual components and begin thinking about sequence, system integration, and the interactions between different technologies.
Matrix Process Control
Process control training introduces another important branch of industrial automation. With a Matrix process control system, students can begin exploring variables such as temperature, flow, pressure, and level while learning how sensors, controllers, and actuators maintain a desired process condition.
This creates a foundation for more advanced process control training in Years 2 and 3.
Year 2:
Expanding Technical Skills and System Integration
During the second year, students build upon their introductory experience and begin working with more advanced equipment. The focus shifts toward industrial maintenance, system integration, troubleshooting, and the operation of multi-station automated systems.
Amatrol Portable Allen-Bradley PLC Trainer
An Amatrol portable Allen-Bradley PLC trainer allows students to expand their PLC programming and troubleshooting skills using industrially relevant control technology.
Learners can work with PLC-controlled applications, digital input and output devices, program logic, sequencing, and system diagnostics. Experience with Allen-Bradley technology can be particularly valuable for students preparing to work in facilities where these controls are commonly used.
Mechanical Drives 2 and 3
Mechanical Drives 2 and Mechanical Drives 3 build upon the fundamentals introduced during the first year. Students progress into more advanced power-transmission topics and more complex installation, alignment, maintenance, and troubleshooting activities.
This progression can include advanced belt and chain drives, bearings, seals, gaskets, gear drives, and component selection. Students develop a deeper understanding of how improper installation, alignment, or maintenance can affect machine performance.
Hydraulics Portable Learning System
Hydraulic systems are used when industrial applications require significant force and precise control. A portable hydraulics learning system introduces students to hydraulic power, pressure, flow, valves, cylinders, circuit construction, system operation, and troubleshooting.
Adding hydraulics after pneumatics allows students to compare the two types of fluid-power systems and understand where each is used in industry.
Amatrol Process Control Learning System
The Amatrol T5552 expands students’ process control knowledge through hands-on work with industrial instrumentation and control applications.
Students can explore the relationships among process variables, measurement devices, controllers, and final control elements. They also begin developing the analytical and troubleshooting skills required to identify why a process is not maintaining its intended set point.
Amatrol Four-Station Mechatronics Learning System
A four-station mechatronics system gives students experience with a larger, integrated automated production process. Individual stations can be used to teach specific concepts and then connected to demonstrate how multiple machines communicate and work together.
Students gain experience with PLCs, sensors, material handling, sequencing, system integration, and troubleshooting across station boundaries. The system also encourages teamwork because students may be responsible for different stations within the same production line.
Amatrol Motor Control Learning System
Motors power a large percentage of industrial machinery. An Amatrol motor control learning system helps students understand motor operation and the electrical control circuits used to start, stop, reverse, and protect industrial motors.
Students can practice wiring, operating, testing, and troubleshooting motor control circuits while learning about the components commonly found in industrial control panels.
Year 3:
Advanced Automation and Industry 4.0
By the third year, students should be prepared to work with complex industrial systems and connected manufacturing technologies. Equipment at this level should emphasize advanced troubleshooting, data-driven production, system integration, and the complete manufacturing workflow.
Amatrol Industrial Wiring Learning System
Industrial wiring training helps bridge the gap between electrical theory and the practical skills technicians need in the workplace. Students learn to interpret diagrams, select and install components, make industrial electrical connections, and verify their work.
This training can reinforce safe work practices while preparing learners to build, maintain, and troubleshoot industrial electrical systems.
Amatrol Smart Factory Industry 4.0 Add-Ons
Industry 4.0 technologies connect physical production equipment with data, communications, and intelligent decision-making tools. Amatrol Smart Factory add-ons allow programs to expand an existing mechatronics system with capabilities related to connected manufacturing.
Depending on the configuration, students can explore areas such as system communications, production data, smart sensors, predictive maintenance, manufacturing execution, and automated inventory management. These experiences help learners understand not only how a machine operates, but also how its information contributes to the performance of an entire facility.
Amatrol Process Control Systems
The Amatrol T5553, T5554, and T5555 systems extend process control education into additional variables and increasingly advanced applications.
Together with the T5552 introduced during Year 2, these systems allow students to study several of the processes encountered in industrial facilities. Learners develop broader experience with instrumentation, calibration, control loops, system response, and process troubleshooting.
APT Integrated Learning System
An APT Integrated Learning System, or ILS, further connects the technologies taught throughout the program. It gives students the opportunity to work with an automated system that more closely resembles a real manufacturing environment.
Rather than troubleshooting a single component in isolation, learners must consider how controls, mechanical devices, sensors, robotics, and material movement affect the performance of the entire system.
APT CSM Mechatronics Line
The APT CSM Mechatronics Line provides a capstone-level environment in which students can apply skills from across the entire program.
Working with a complete mechatronics line requires students to integrate electrical, mechanical, controls, robotics, and troubleshooting knowledge. It can support team-based projects, advanced system diagnostics, production exercises, and realistic maintenance scenarios.
Levil CNC
Adding a Levil CNC machine connects automation and mechatronics instruction with the machining process. Students can see how a component moves from digital design and programming into physical production.
CNC training also introduces valuable concepts involving machine operation, tooling, coordinate systems, safety, precision manufacturing, and automated production. When connected to broader mechatronics activities, CNC equipment helps demonstrate the complete workflow of a modern manufacturing environment.
Creating a Mechatronics Lab That Can Grow
A comprehensive mechatronics lab does not need to be built in a single purchasing cycle. Organizing equipment into a three-year progression allows schools to develop instructor expertise, expand enrollment, pursue additional funding, and add advanced technologies without losing sight of the program’s long-term goals.
A phased approach also allows each new system to build upon equipment already in the lab:
- Year 1 establishes foundational skills in PLCs, mechanical drives, pneumatics, robotics, mechatronics, and process control.
- Year 2 advances those skills through industrial PLCs, hydraulics, advanced mechanical systems, process control, and multi-station automation.
- Year 3 integrates electrical systems, Industry 4.0, advanced process control, full mechatronics lines, and CNC manufacturing.
The exact equipment configuration should ultimately reflect regional workforce needs, available space, student level, industry certifications, and the technologies used by local employers.
Amtek works with schools, colleges, and workforce development organizations to design mechatronics labs that support both immediate instructional needs and long-term program growth. From equipment selection and lab layout to installation, training, and curriculum alignment, our team can help create a learning environment that prepares students for the realities of modern manufacturing.
