Festo Automation Technology Seminar

During the mechatronics competition, the coaches of the team of the Department of Electric Drive and Automation of Industrial Installations of the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University, Associate Professors Volodymyr Osadchy and Olena Nazarova, met with representatives of the Festo State Enterprise, Yevhen Ryzhenko and Kostyantyn Berezhko, who said that they travel around the cities of Ukraine and introduce specialists from industrial enterprises to Festo products, educational stands and programs. Considering that the department already had successful experience in conducting similar seminars with Siemens and Pilz, the idea arose to hold a seminar at Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic and invite not only entrepreneurs, but also students, postgraduates, teachers and employees of technical specialties.

Initially, the seminar was planned for the spring, but quarantine restrictions prevented this. And finally, on September 14-15, 2021, a seminar on Festo automation technology was held at the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University.

The seminar events were planned for two days: September 14 – for specialists and students of the university; September 15 – for representatives of customer enterprises. According to preliminary registration, 75 participants were registered on the first day: VSP «Zaporizhzhia Professional College of Computer Technologies of the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University», students, teachers and university employees. On the second day, employees of PJSC Zaporizhstal, ChAO Dniprospetsstal, OOO Zaporizhzhia Foundry and Mechanical Plant, SE Ivchenko Progress, OOO HiT Technology Plant, LLC DEMZ, LLC NVO ETNA, LLC Technosens, TeraWatt Group, Triada, LLC ASU ENGINEERING, TDV Zaporizhzhia Bread Factory No. 1, Kronas, LLC TD Delta, LLC Consortium Energomashekologiya, PrAO Vega Plus, LLC Zhitomirenergoservice, LLC DP SV Altera Zaporizhzhia, LLC Azov-Controls were registered for representatives of customer enterprises.

The seminar was opened and all participants were welcomed by the Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work and Development Prospects of the University, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Shylo Galyna Mykolaivna and Associate Professor of the Department of Electric Drive and Automation of Industrial Installations, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Nazarova Olena Sergiivna.

The presentation on the significant results of participation and victory at the international and all-Ukrainian level in student scientific work competitions and Olympiads in electromechanics, automation, in particular, various competitions in mechatronics: Mechatronic Battle within the framework of INTERPIPE TechFest, the All-Ukrainian Student Olympiad «Mechatronics in Mechanical Engineering», the All-Ukrainian competition of professional skills WORLDSKILLS, in which the material base of the competitions is Festo educational stands.

The main speakers of the seminar were Yevhen Ryzhenko, Head of Didactics of the Festo State Enterprise, and Kostyantyn Berezhko, Manager of Key Customers of the Festo State Enterprise. Yevhen made a report with a presentation on the experience of implementing projects to equip training laboratories in Ukraine, WorldSkills – international competitions in professional skills in the Mechatronics competence and its development in Ukraine, as well as Industry 4.0 and the competence of future specialists. Kostyantyn, using a huge amount of demonstration equipment, introduced standard pneumatic components: air preparation devices, pneumatic distributors, pneumatic cylinders, and features of pneumatic network wiring. He reviewed controllers and peripherals (remote input/output modules): connection to higher-level controllers via Profinet, ProfiBus DP, Modbus TCP/IP, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT; IO-Link protocol; CoDeSys; review of fittings and valves: butterfly valves, ball valves, saddle and diaphragm valves; electric cylinders, servo and stepper motors; control cabinets based on Festo components. He examined the features of the operation of electromechanical manipulators, demonstrated in a presentation the prospects for the development of bionic manipulators, which greatly impressed all participants of the seminar.

Within the framework of the seminar, with the support and direct participation of Nataliia Volodymyrivna Derkach, director of the museum of the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University, two excursions to the university museum were organized: on the first day – for students, and on the second day – for representatives of enterprises.

In addition, Associate Professors Osadchy V.V., Krysan Yu.O., and Kulynich E.M. conducted a tour of the most interesting laboratories of the Department of Electric Drive and Automation of Industrial Installations for the guests of the university, where the visitors were shown educational equipment, developments of students and leading teachers of the department, the senior laboratory assistant of the EPA Department and the head of the «School of Drone Operators» group Paziy O.S. introduced his activities, after which the excursionists visited the open laboratory – an innovative space for cooperation of science, education and business «TechnoHUB NU »Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic”, where the senior lecturer of the Department of Information Technologies of Electronic Devices Pisarsky A.O. told about the features of the equipment and the possibilities of use for educators.

Sincere gratitude to all employees of the university’s structural divisions for their support, participation and assistance in organizing and conducting the seminar, as well as to the teachers who organized the visit to this event together with the students.

We hope that soon, thanks to the fruitful cooperation of the Festo company, the administration of the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic University and teachers who are not indifferent to the future of our university, a material base will appear for studying modern automation tools and preparing students and schoolchildren for various competitions in mechatronics.

Olena Nazarova,

Associate Professor of the Department of Electric Drive

and Automation of Industrial Installations