Pittsburg State University Receives ENGEL e-motion Donation

ENGEL North America has donated an e-motion injection molding machine to the respected Plastics Engineering Technology program of Pittsburg State University (PSU), Pittsburg, Kansas. It will be incorporated into several undergraduate and graduate technology programs.

Pittsburg State University is one of the only universities in the United States with a degree program dedicated to plastics, established in 1969 within its college of technology. ENGEL North America, a world leader in the design and manufacture of injection molding machines and part-handling automation systems, has added to the college’s advanced technology facilities by donating an e-motion 440/110 injection molding machine. The machine will be utilized by the college’s 89 plastics engineering technology students, as well as students in the manufacturing, mechanical, electronics and graduate engineering technology programs.

“I appreciate the new technology that’s incorporated in the ENGEL e-motion,” said Paul Herring, assistant professor in the college of technology, engineering technology. “This is a great opportunity to introduce our students to the all-electric machines and new control technologies.”

Herring, who worked in the plastic industry prior to joining PSU, works with a combination of new and used equipment and supplies from a variety of sources. “Most of our molds, materials and equipment are donated by industry,” he said. “ENGEL has been working with PSU since 2001, and this donation gives us a modern piece of equipment to work with for years to come.”

The ENGEL donation is due, in part, to the efforts of two PSU graduates, Mike Mirocke and Don Hardin.  “Shortly after each of us graduated, Don and I became involved in the advisory council,” explained Mirocke, who now operates Mirocke Sales Corp., Shawnee, Kansas. The council advises the plastics technology program about “real world” issues and the changing face of manufacturing. “We worked with equipment procurement to update the school’s laboratory with the most sophisticated equipment possible in every type of processing,” Mirocke said. “I have a strong commitment to Pittsburg State University, and I want to ensure that the students continue to have broad exposure to various processes in the laboratory.”

The ENGEL e-motion 440/110 is the company’s third injection molding machine donation to the college. The ENGEL e-motion offers consistency, precision and energy efficiency in an all-electric injection molding machine. The e-motion’s design features universal operation for the smallest shot weights, and for standard to high-speed parts. Its short cycle times and high efficiency combine for low energy consumption.
Herring said the e-motion will be part of many upcoming programs at PSU. “Plastics engineering technology covers the entire plastics industry, and we are challenged to fit our training to that broad range of interests,” he said. New programs will include an advanced injection molding class that will involve cavity pressure monitoring and control, multi-shot molding, automation and material handling.

“Our students need this hands-on experience to see how the various injection molding systems work,” Herring said. “The e-motion is a great machine to demonstrate this high technology, as well as the controls and the automation that are available.”