McALLEN — With the addition of the CRX-10IA robot, South Texas College took an important step toward forward in its robotics program and toward meeting a growing demand for training in that field.
The CRX-10IA is a white robot, a hard plastic appendage that stands about 3 feet tall and was built to replicate a human arm by having advanced, built-in sensors throughout the machine and joints at every corner to rotate around freely.
The tip of the arm can be replaced to accommodate various jobs. From having suction cups for moving fragile glass to have finger-like tips to grab items, this machine has the capabilities of a human.
The $75,000 machine is also known as a collaborative robot because it’s designed to work alongside humans to make jobs easier.
“It is about as close as you can get to a human being without it being a human being, it won’t take leave or won’t get hurt,” STC’s Associate Dean of Industry Training and Economic Development Carlos Margo said.
The robot has suction cups that can move fragile glass, gripping it between finger-like tips.
The CRX-10IA is the latest acquisition by STC’s Advance Robotics Industrial Automation Program, which is dedicated to improving the Rio Grande Valley’s economic and industrial field as they have increased in technological certifications.
At a first glance, only a few small robots line the walls but following the corner is where the massive machines rest. Covered in metal and roped with wires, these robots range from the size of toddlers to cars and each have a specific task.
The addition of the CRX-10IA to those robots’ ranks allowed STC to qualify as the only Industrial 4.0 lab in Texas.
“We are the only fully integrated 4.0 laboratory, it’s just the level of equipment, technology and software that really sets us apart for the region and the state,” Margo said. “It’s just the combination of technology that we have, which again, makes us really unique in the entire state.”
That addition also let the college become a Fuji Automatic Numerical Control (FANUC) certified training center, a long-time goal for Margo.
Requirements to become a FANUC training and laboratory site can be extensive. The basic requirements to teach at a level one certification require the site to have at least six specific FANUC robots, trained instructors in FANUC, and a lab space big enough to host the machines.
CRX-10IA was the last robot the college needed and an important step toward meeting increasing demand of employees with certain technological certifications.
Before STC became a FANUC lab, students and employees would travel to the closest FANUC lab in Houston to receive the same certification, Margo said. That’s no longer a necessity.
“We can have individuals from anywhere in the region, from San Antonio to Corpus. That’s what I see this training center being. A training center not just for the Valley but for the region and even northern Mexico and beyond,” Margo said.
Now, Margo says, anyone from high school students to employees can enroll in STC’s Advance Robotics Industrial Automation Program training center to receive a wide range of robotics to manufacturing certifications.
Margo said that he predicts students and manufacturers alike are going to flock to STC to get trained, bringing more jobs and manufacturing companies to the Valley.
“It will help attract business and industry to the area because they will know of the training operation opportunities they would have here,” Margo said. “But again, it’s not only manufacturing, it could be anything that utilizes robotics automation.”
Margo and his colleagues will continue to purchase new equipment as they keep expanding their integrated laboratory and the certifications they offer at STC.
