ABB Robotics, a leading supplier of industrial robots, and Vincennes University (VU) have formed a partnership that will greatly enhance the Indiana college’s vocational and technical robotic training, and provide ABB with an authorized training facility in the central Midwest. The partnership includes the installation of 29 ABB robots and related work cells, software and controllers into VU’s new $9 million industrial training facility, the Indiana Center for Applied Technology (ICAT), which opened in March 2009. VU offers a two-year associate degree in Computer Integrated Manufacturing & Robotics, and a series of robotic training courses in its Workforce Development program. The ICAT will be ABB’s third authorized training center in the U.S., joining the headquarters location in Auburn Hills, Michigan and an auxiliary facility in Birmingham, AL. “VU has been at the forefront of advanced manufacturing education and training for many years and was one of the first schools to offer a degree in robotic technology back in 1983,” said VU President Dick Helton. “We couldn’t be more excited about our new relationship with ABB; they understand our educational goals and have been a great partner in helping shape the vision for enhancing our programs and making the ICAT one of the finest facilities of its kind in the nation.”The ICAT will be equipped with a full range of industrial robots and related peripherals, including eight FlexArc Welding Cells, four IRB 260 Palletizers, three IRB 4600s, twelve IRB 140s and two used IRB 140s for service and maintenance training. In addition to the software and controllers necessary to program and operate each robot, eight of the IRB 140s are equipped with TrueView, ABB’s advanced vision system. This will allow students to gain training in applications that include robotic welding and plasma cutting; picking, packing and palletizing; machine tending, material handling and product assembly; and advanced vision related programming.