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31/07/2026

Engineering is learned by doing: what equipment is needed in the laboratory of your career to demonstrate it

and classical mechanics with renewable energies, a practical map of the equipment that connects the study plan, the performance of students and the institutional evaluation criteria.

 

Every engineering career coordinator has faced the same tension: the student reaches the practical class, looks at the team and asks what they are for. It only serves in the real world. The question seems simple. The answer, however, depends on how much the laboratory was designed to respond.

A well-structured laboratory is not synonymous with an expensive laboratory. It is synonymous with a relevant laboratory, with equipment selected with pedagogical criteria, integrated into the study plan, adapted to the disciplines that most require experimentation and capable of sustaining activities throughout the semesters without loss of precision. functionality.

Cidepe has been developing equipment for higher education laboratories for three decades now. During this period, the main perception that was consolidated was is that the selection of the correct equipment for each area of engineering has a direct impact on the commitment of students, on the capacity of the teacher to conduct experiments consistently and, progressively, on the technical evaluation of the career according to the criteria of the MEC.

A continuation, an overview of the equipment developed for the main areas of engineering training, with a description of the pedagogical applications and what each one represents for the laboratory as a whole.

By what The selection of equipment matters more than the quantity

A recurring error in the process of equipping university laboratories is prioritizing the volume of items at the expense of pedagogical coherence. The result, in practice, is a space with a lot of underused equipment and few that really support the experiments planned in the programs.

The well-selected equipment produces the opposite effect: makes complex concepts observable, allowing the student to collect real data, interpret variables and develop technical reasoning from what occurs in their eyes. This differentiates — between what is read and what is seen — This is what well-conducive experimental practice produces.

For coordinators and managers, this means that the purchasing decision must begin with the study plan, with the disciplines with the greatest experimental demand and with the profile of the teachers who conduct the practices. Only then the technical specification makes sense.

Teams by training area

Mechanics, Experimental Physics and Dynamics

The disciplines of Mechanics and Experimental Physics in the first semesters of Engineering present to students the foundations of movement, periodic behavior and physical magnitudes that structure all subsequent technical training. The problem is that these concepts, presented only through equations, are too abstract to generate real understanding.

The Péndulo with electronic spark plug solves this problem directly. It allows the student to observe, measure and analyze the movement, transforming the concept of gravitational acceleration, for example, into data collected by themselves — do not have a memorized formula.

Pedagogical applications:

• Motion studio in two dimensions

• Periodic movement analysis

• Simple pendulum investigation

• Experimental determination of gravity acceleration

• Observation of movements on lineares

• Relationship between theory, measurement and graphic representation

For the laboratory: represents a solid base for the first semesters, the experimental starting point from which many other more advanced concepts will be resumed.

Electrical Engineering, Energy and Sustainability

The energy transition, the renewable matrices and the electrical efficiency are not subjects of optional assignments. There are increasing curricular requirements in Electrical, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering careers, and the ability to approach these topics with real experimentation represents a concrete pedagogical differential.

This set reproduces the didactic scale of the operation of a hydroelectric system, with measurement of electrical and mechanical variables in real time. The student follows the entire energy conversion process, analyzes efficiency and works with data from an integrated three-phase system.

Pedagogical applications:

• Generation of electrical energy by hydrogenerator

• Power and electrical frequency study

• Analysis of rotation speed, flow rate and drop water

• Three-phase system operation

• Energy efficiency and renewable sources

For the laboratory: enables integrated classes that connect electrical, fluid mechanics and energy fundamentals in a single experiment — reducing fragmentation between disciplines.

Set of panels for hydrostatics and hydrodynamics with interface and software – EQ310B

The behavior of fluids is one of the most demanding topics in training in Civil and Mechanical Engineering, and also one of those that most benefit from experimentation. Concepts such as pressure, flow, load loss and continuity equations become substantially clearer when the student can observe the fluid in motion, collect data and compare it with the theoretical model.

The set of panels for hydrostatics and hydrodynamics was developed to cover this demand with precision. The integrated interface and software allow data collection and analysis in real time, bringing the laboratory environment closer to the conditions that the engineer will encounter. in professional practice.

Pedagogical applications:

• Hydrostatics and Stevin's principle

• Fluid pressure and flow rate

• Reynolds number and flow regimes

• Load loss and Bernoulli ecuation

• Ecuación of continuity

• Bomb characteristic curves

For the laboratory: offers broad experimental coverage for the disciplines of hydraulics and fluid mechanics, with high potential for use across the entire Civil Engineering studio plan.

Electrical Engineering and Experimental Physics – Electrostatics

Electrostatic generator 400 kV, Van de Graaff – EQ047D

There are teams that change the rhythm of a class. The Van de Graaff Generator is one of them. The visual impact of electrostatic phenomena — visible electric field, discharges, Faraday cage in operation — transforms an introductory electricity class into an experience that students won't forget.

Más allá For demonstration purposes, the equipment has high conceptual value. It allows you to work on abstract magnitudes — electrical potential, dielectric strength, strength lines — in an observable and discussable way in the classroom, which elevates the quality of technical debate and accelerates the understanding of fundamental concepts.

Pedagogical applications:

• Electrostatics and electric field

• Electric potential and dielectric strength

• Conductivity and Faraday cage

• Power lines and discharges electrical

For the laboratory: represents a solution of high durability and permanent didactic impact for Physics and Electrical Engineering careers, with consistent application in demonstration classes of the first semesters.

Charles Ley Set with multimeter and sensors – EQ234JM

The behavior of gases is a central theme in Chemical Engineering, Thermodynamics and Materials. Charles's Ley, which describes the relationship between temperature and volume in an isobaric transformation, is presented graphically, but the degree of understanding that the student achieves when carrying out the same experiment is significantly different.

With integrated sensors and multimeter, the set allows accurate data collection, observation of variations in real time and construction of graphical interpretation from own data. The class stops being about Charles' Law and starts to be about what the student encounters. just put it to the test.

Pedagogical applications:

• Charles's law and isobáric transformation

• Gas behavior and volume-temperature relationship

• Data collection and experimental analysis

• Graphic interpretation of thermodynamic variables

For the laboratory: This is a relevant solution for careers that seek to strengthen the experimental base in Chemical Engineering, Thermodynamics and related areas, with direct application in the programs of these disciplines.

The correct selection starts in the study plan, not in the catalog

Engineering career coordinators face a situation that is not simple: limited assumptions, regulatory expectations, MEC requirements and the need to maintain functional laboratories during actions. This means that each purchasing decision must be strategic, with a focus on equipment that serves multiple disciplines, that are durable, that are used and that contribute in a documentary way to the training of students.

Cidepe's teams developed with this perspective. Before any technical specification, there is a pedagogical decision: the team must work in class practice, in the hands of the teacher, with students who arrive at the laboratory with different degrees of preparation and commitment. This requirement defines the project.

Si la carrera está In the process of structuring or updating the laboratory, the most efficient starting point is a curation by area, mapping what the study plan requires, what teachers need and where current equipment has gaps. This diagnosis defines the correct purchase, not the greatest purchase.

 

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