Media Release
Mangaluru, Sep 4: St Joseph Engineering College (SJEC), through its AICTE Idea Lab in association with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industry Innovation Group, organised two consecutive 3-day hands-on workshops at the FESTO Centre for Industrial Automation, SJEC, Vamanjoor.
The first workshop on “Automation & PLC Programming” was held from August 18 to 20, followed by the second workshop on “PLC based Automation with Pneumatic Controls” from August 21 to 23. Both workshops were conducted exclusively for diploma students of Karnataka Polytechnic, Mangaluru.
The programmes were inaugurated by Dr Ravikantha Prabhu, head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who emphasised the growing importance of industrial automation and the need for hands-on, industry-oriented training.
Workshop highlights:
First day, participants were introduced to the fundamentals of hydraulics and automation. Sessions by Joel D’mello, who covered system principles and industrial applications, followed by hydraulic circuit design guided by Prathviraj H and Prashanth Kumar. Rajesh Belchada and Dr Sushanth H G demonstrated pneumatic circuit visualisation using FluidSIM 5, with the day concluding in a hands-on FESTO Workbench demo by Dr Swaraj D Lewis and Rajesh Belchada.
Second day focused on pneumatics and electro-pneumatics. Students explored system components, compressors, FRL units, and actuators. Practical sessions were conducted by Dr Lewis and Dr Sushanth, while afternoon demonstrations introduced electro-pneumatics with live integration of electrical controls.
Day 3 was dedicated to PLC programming. Dr Binu K G and Dr Rolvin D’Silva introduced PLC programming concepts and ladder diagrams, followed by real-time PLC simulation using TIA Portal v15.1 demonstrated by Rajesh Belchada and Dr Sushanth. The workshops concluded with FESTO Workbench demonstrations by Dr Prabhu and Dr Ashwin Shetty, showcasing complete automation integration.
Outcomes and acknowledgements
Across both workshops, students gained valuable hands-on exposure to hydraulics, pneumatics, electro-pneumatics, and PLC programming, bridging theoretical knowledge with real-world industrial practices. The sessions significantly enhanced student confidence in working with automation software and hardware, preparing them for industry challenges.
Both workshops concluded with a feedback session and distribution of participation certificates. The technical sessions were supported by Immanuel and Harshith.
The successful execution was ensured under the guidance of Dr Vijay V S (convenor), along with Dr Rolvin D’Silva, D Swaraj D Lewis, Dr Sushanth H G, and Joel D’mello as coordinators.