It’s the age of digital and robotics, and at North Island College the students are using this technology to produce…
…Coloured, scented candles? Yup. Pretty candles with delightful aromas, but the students aren’t doing this by hand.
They’re using an industrial robotic arm in conjunction with a student-built automated conveyor system that makes the candles and boxes them too.
“In the first year we took the electronics course. Now, in second year, we get to do this which is awesome,” says Karis Hutchins. “You get to see things actually moving rather than just a bunch of lights lighting up.”
Hutchins is one of the few female students taking the Industrial Automation Course at the Campbell River campus. Just 19, she graduates this month and already has a job in Calgary where she will work fixing automated machinery starting at $25-$30 an hour.
“It’s sure a big jump from A&W,” she says with a laugh.
Instructor Brad Harsell stands by the sidelines in the shop as he observes the students in action on this very big day. Each class, he explains, takes on a new project; this one selected the robotic, automated candle maker which they designed and built with the help of fellow students in the metal fabrication program.
Now, with students, faculty and guests filling the shop – while snacking on great appies provided by the culinary arts students – the time has come to “flip the switch.”
But there’s a delay, something’s not working right, and the young minds whirl as they draw upon their education, experience and cunning to figure out what the heck is going on. Meanwhile, Harsell sits back and smiles.
“I don’t mind when something goes wrong because it highlights the students’ trouble-shooting capabilities,” he says.
But the instructor is likely breathing a quiet sigh of relief a few minutes later when the problem is solved and the robotic arm swings into action. It picks up materials, deposits them on the conveyor system which melts wax, combines it with colour and scent, drops it into a glass holder, cools it, and then sends the finished products along the way where they’re gathered and boxed.
Everyone’s smiling now too, including Pat Rokosh, Dean of Trades and Technology.
“In a growing business you get to the point where you need robotics. Typically it’s not to replace workers, but to assist them,” she says, before sneaking in a recruiting message. “You know, gamers are good at this!”
