Electrical Engineering Technology Courses

In this course, students will be introduced to academic writing styles with a thematic focus on current issues. This course will help students to express themselves clearly and correctly in written form. Students will critically analyse assigned readings and express their thoughts. The course will also focus on the development of an academic paper utilizing the APA style of documentation.

This course is divided into theory and practical exercise components. The theory component will allow students to calculate resistance, current and voltage in D.C. series, parallel, and series/parallel circuits. Students are also introduced to power supplies and meter configuration and implementation. The theory concepts will be reinforced in the practical exercise component by allowing students to predict circuit parameter values before entering the lab and verifying calculations through circuit construction and actual measurements.

This course is an introduction to digital logic systems that are found in all computers. Students will focus on number systems, binary arithmetic, logic gates, Boolean algebra and integrated circuits.

The personal computer has been adopted into society as an essential business tool as well as a family entertainment and information appliance. The PC's impact on society has markedly and steadily increased ever since IBM introduced its first mass market PC, the IBM PC, in the early 1980's. The rapid rate of change of the power and capabilities of the personal computer is a major contributing factor to the significant impact the PC has had on our lives. EL166 is designed to give the layperson an understanding of the impact on society of the PC by acquiring an appreciation of the changing technologies within the PC. Rather than simply studying these technologies at a distance, students will experience these technologies with hands-on labs in addition to other methods of learning. This hands-on approach will help students to become better-informed consumers for both personal and business computer acquisitions as well as help students to gain an appreciation for and understanding of computing technologies.

This course introduces the students to electronic fabrication techniques and safety programs.

This course introduces students to the use of Office 365 applications and Windows 10. Specifically, students will use introductory features of Windows 10, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint to perform tasks commonly expected in the workplace. The lectures are delivered in a laboratory environment using textbook exercises and assignments. Home assignments will require the learner to acquire the MS Office suite of programs in order to complete and submit their assignments.

This course applies the principles of math and physics to solve problems related to electronics and industrial process measurements.

This course emphasizes the importance of oral and written communication in an industrial and business setting. In Communications for Technology, students will work on independent and group projects and apply problem-solving techniques to develop both their individual and team building skills. Students will apply computer-technology and a variety of resources for researching, writing and presenting technical data into a clear and concise format.

This course introduces the student to alternating current circuit analysis techniques. Generation of the sine wave and the relationship between frequency, peak values, RMS value and phase angle will be covered. It uses vector mathematics to calculate reactance, impedance, and voltage, current and phase angle. Students will be introduced to electronic test equipment; they will demonstrate their ability to use the oscilloscope and other measuring equipment to measure amplitude, frequency and phase angle of reactive circuits.

Students will examine the atomic structure of semiconductors, diode theory and applications; rectify circuits, special purpose diodes, bipolar transistors and their characteristics, biasing circuits, NPN and PNP and common-emitter configurations. This will establish the foundation for understanding the circuits found in computers today.

This course is designed to introduce students to the culture and legislative requirements of safety. Students will be introduced to basic concepts of industrial safety such as training and committee requirements. There will be a strong reliance on the Ontario Health and Safety Act so that students are able to reference the act.

This course is an introduction to Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) using AutoCAD software. The student will focus on all 2-D commands of AutoCAD including basic drawing and editing functions, plotting, and general drawing file maintenance. The drawing assignment material is directed to the reproduction of electrical schematics, process flow diagrams, electrical wiring and motor control ladder logic diagrams. The student also examines the processes in an engineering project for required drawings, specifications and documentation.

This course will provide students with an introduction to the history of colonization of Indigenous communities in Canada. Contemporary Indigenous community issues within Northwestern Ontario (NWO) and Canada will be examined. Students will explore the unique socio-political relationships between Canada and Indigenous peoples with an emphasis on colonial, legal and political issues. With a broader understanding of the context of colonization, students will analyze contemporary relationships and efforts towards renewed relationships and reconciliation.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the complex and evolving relationship between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian state from contact to present day. It will explore the different worldviews at contact, the years of cooperation and negotiation through the fur trade and treaty making era, and the impact of government colonial policy on Indigenous nations. The course will also explore the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal rights, which provides an important context for understanding contemporary issues between Indigenous and Canadian societies including land claims, treaties, and self-government.

The student will learn common transistor amplifier configurations using both Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs) and Field Effect Transistors (FETs) to lay the foundation for understanding advanced devices and circuits for industrial control. Circuit analysis methods are developed to support circuit trouble-shooting. Transistor and amplifier characteristics are verified in laboratory circuits using bench test equipment.

This course is an introduction to wireless telecommunications and wide area networks. Students will focus on carriers and modulation. In addition, multiplexing, subcarriers and frequency synthesizers will be studied.

The objective of the course is to introduce to students the principles of the Canadian Electrical Code and corresponding safety standards for the installation and maintenance of electrical systems. The students will gain an understanding of electrical construction in both commercial and industrial settings. Aspects of electrical estimating and safety will also be covered.

This course will introduce students to relay ladder logic and discrete electrical equipment commonly found in the industrial setting. Students will study control circuits, devices and installation methods commonly used. Material studied will be related to the Ontario Electrical Safety Code.

This course is designed to introduce the student to programming and logic skills required for technical problem solving and analysis. Skills will be developed and enhanced through the use of modularized processes, control and looping structures, as well as functions of the C++ language as they are applied to practical applications.

Digital II will cover computer building blocks including the TTL family of components (logic gates, flip-flops, one-shots, counters, shift registers, and multiplexers/demultiplexers). Analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters will be covered for digital/analog interfacing. The student will gain practical experience in digital circuitry troubleshooting.

Virtually all installations are supplied with A.C. power. To properly work in a design team or operate a power distribution system, a graduate must understand the concept of three phase power and be able to specify transformers.

This course provides comprehensive and practical knowledge of Information Networks hardware and software technologies. Using the client/server model, students will study and analyze effective solutions for large multi-user Local Area Networks. The course will deal with hardware specifications and installation, software installation and configuration network management, and system conflict resolution

The student will be introduced to AC and DC machines most commonly used in industry today. In addition to traditional starting and operating methods, the students will explore today's modern Variable Speed drives.

MA 431 focuses on the areas of differential and integral calculus. Topics covered include applications of differentiation and integration as well as methods of differentiation and integration for trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions.

Industrial Data Networks introduces the student to the software, hardware and structure of modern control system communication networks. The student will look at different types of signal mediums, modes of transmission and error detection. The student will also examine the architecture of industrial local area networks, such as RS232, RS422, RS485, RTU protocol and the hardware and line requirements for each network type.

The student will progress from Industrial Electronics I to a more advanced study of industrial devices such as operational amplifiers, power supplies, thyristors and control circuits. The student will gain experience in analysis and troubleshooting of industrial circuits and systems.

This course will cover the basics of embedded system organization including the ARM Cortex-M3, M4, and M4F microcontroller architectures. Common integrated peripherals will be studied including general purpose Input/Output (I/O), timers, Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) units, and Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC) providing the foundation required for embedded system design and development. Students will learn design fundamentals starting with the Unified Modelling Language (UML), machine code, and assembly language coding. Practical application design will be presented showing students how to interface with LEDs, external contacts, high-voltage electro-mechanical relays, analog signals, and culminate with the design and operation of a bi-directional, variable speed DC motor controller.

This course is a study of Wide Area Networks. Voice and data must be moved over great distances utilizing wireless and wired media. Students will study wired and wireless telecommunications systems including wireless voice and data transceivers, public telephone systems, private telephone systems, wireless telephones and wireless LAN communications.

This course introduces the student to industrial motor control strategies involving interlocking, timing, and counting applications. Investigation of the operation of motor control components and wiring diagrams is followed by relay ladder diagram analysis of control circuits. Automation of these motor control applications using PLC ladder logic projects is carried out through a variety of practical exercises.

As most modern control systems involve a computer-to human interface, it is the objective of this course to provide an overview and basic understanding of programming techniques used in graphical interface and control system development. This course will allow the student to utilize a high level language such as Visual C++ to construct, troubleshoot and write programs to gather data from an A/D (Analog to-Digital) converter via a PC (Personal Computer). Actual field measurements will be plotted versus time on a graph generated within the application. The PC and external hardware required to complete the task will be studied, as well as common control theory and algorithms. The concepts and principles understood here will provide a good base for implementation in the sixth semester.

This embedded systems design course is offered to fulfill the practical application of the knowledge gained by the student in EL 508. Students will build circuitry to interface with a Cortex-M4F microcontroller and design software to demonstrate the hardware and software theory learned in EL 508. Each lab is presented as a base platform with clear design objectives allowing the student to develop a custom solution using learned techniques. Practical schematic capture and PCB layout techniques will be presented allowing the student to design and build a complete embedded control system.

This course will cover more advanced theory of embedded system design with the ARM Cortex-M4F microcontroller. State-based and Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) scheduling techniques will be presented in the design of sequenced applications using the C programming language. Students will design and implement software stacks and queues used in practical applications by interfacing with other computer systems. The (Inter-Integrated Circuit) I2C bus will be studied to provide connection to external devices including Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC), Real Time Clocks (RTC) and Input/Output (I/O) expanders. Students will learn how to interface with user I/O including pushbuttons and a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) module. Analog signal interfacing and acquisition will be studied to complete a functioning embedded control system. Signal propagation will be studied including high-speed signaling and the importance of impedance matching. Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design, fabrication and assembly techniques will be presented to complete the hardware skills necessary for embedded system development.

This course is designed to expand the student’s knowledge regarding the capabilities of programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Advanced instruction sets such as data manipulation, program control, word and file moves and sequencers are discussed using realistic industrial control problems. An understanding of the configuration of specialized hardware such as analog and numerical data I/O (Input / Output) used in conjunction with the advanced instructions will allow the student to program a PLC for a continuous closed-loop control application. Students will also learn safe installation, start-up and troubleshooting procedures using the PLC programming software.

This course will introduce the student to the concepts of both integrated and PC (Personal Computer) based HMI (Human Machine Interface) and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems for industrial automation. It will focus on graphical user interface design, data acquisition, logging, event driven scripting, security and automation network layout.

In engineering design work, differential equations are used to model most kinds of non-chaotic dynamic (changing) systems, such as process control systems, mechanical devices, hydraulics and building structures. MA531 emphasizes the concepts of analytical approaches to solutions of ordinary differential equations. Topics covered include Maclaurin, Taylor and Fourier series, as well as the application of Laplace transforms for differential equations, systems of differential equations and engineering problems.

The course commences with an introduction to linear algebra concepts related to determinants, matrices and solutions of systems of equations. The course continues with a study of descriptive statistics, including measures of central tendency and variation, data presentation and basic probability. An introduction to inferential statistics plus correlation and regression analysis constitutes the remainder of the course. Microsoft Excel is used extensively throughout the course for computations and graphing.

This course initially introduces the student to static and dynamic characteristics of the components involved with process control systems. Various process variable sensing techniques are discussed as well as feedback control modes and final control elements. Controller tuning methods by actual dynamic analysis or by mathematical modeling is also investigated. A variety of control strategies are evaluated and compared for optimum control system performance.

This course allows the student to become familiarized with the tools, test equipment, and manufacturers instructions as they apply to configuration, calibration, interconnections and operation of industrial process control components and systems. The operating characteristics of process transmitters and final control elements are examined and transfer functions are experimentally determined. Students will then be able to configure and tune digital controllers and DCS systems for a variety of process control situations. Students then use software tools to tune control systems based on mathematical models.

The System Integration course allows the student to widen their knowledge base to include analog and digital signal conditioning, conversion and processing techniques using integrated circuits found in microprocessor / microcontroller, PLC and DCS systems. The successful student will gain knowledge of how analog and digital process signals are generated, transmitted and converted while maintaining maximum data integrity. Additionally, board level industrial control design will be studied.

This course will introduce the student to the concepts of quality control and quality assurance in the workplace.

This course continues the student's studies of power systems from EL-506 Industrial Power Systems, focusing on the practical study of a power distribution grid, including electrical generation, transmission and distribution. The students will study various substation configurations, including the various components included within. Students will explore the concepts associated with protection of the various system components, with an introduction to fault current calculations utilizing the per-unit method and symmetrical components method, The student will understand the need for power system maintenance and testing.

This course is designed to prepare students to successfully write the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT) Professional Practice Examination (PPE), required for certification for engineering technicians and technologists by this professional certifying body. The basics of the association's structure, contract law, ethics, and professional practice will be examined. The student assessment will include practice examinations similar to OACETT's PPE.