Experience Matters - Grand Valley State University

Electrical Engineering at ODL

Joshua
Major: Electrical Engineering While at ODL I was able to design and help use a force/position tester. I was the one that made the software for the tests and helped pick the hardware. I also established Altium at ODL and was able to start designing PCBs for ODL. I was also able to make different test codes and data analysis for the different tests we were running.

Shape Corp: Thinkers, Believers, Doers.

Chau
Major: Electrical Engineering The majority of my responsibilities were split into two categories: continues improvement and maintenance. The continues improvement was an on-going project where I was responsible for designing, programming to upgrade the functionalities on all the roll-former systems, welding robot, or deburring system to improve the production processing. The main goal was to reduce the time needed to manufacture parts but still keep the product at high-end quality. On the other hand, maintenance was the work requests from other areas of the company to support production.

Engineering Co-Op 1 at E3 Compliance

Megan
Major: Electrical Engineering I personally completed several different EMC tests for commercial, medical and automotive products to help get them out on the shelves and being used in important everyday applications. These tests also included generated reports full of information which is sent to the customer. I also completed several documents, including work instructions, test setup instructions and materials lists to make things easier and more organized/streamlined in the lab.

Winter 2021 Co-op Experience

Joshua
Major: Electrical Engineering I mainly focused on software engineering throughout my co-op this winter. I was involved in our most recent mega project Urban outfitters. I re-wrote multiple high speed sorter divert function blocks and converted them from STL to SCL. This was done because the PLCs used in projects were upgraded from the Siemens 300 PLC to the Siemens 1500 PLC. I also built the visualization and PLC software for two empty tote buffer stacker and destacker systems. On top of this I engineered the added value high speed sorter loop.

Twisthink Electrical Engineering Co-Op

Sarah
Major: Electrical Engineering While at Twisthink, I was given the opportunity to work on a program for an embedded system through CCS. I was also able to work on debugging circuits on manufactured circuit boards. I was also able to redesign an existing circuit so that it could be recreated using a new software. These tasks were extremely interesting as they all built on my existing knowledge from classes, but pushed me to learn and do more with that knowledge.

Co-op Rotation II

Andrew
Major: Electrical Engineering I worked in the notching department of the battery making process. I helped keep machines running at their highest capabilities through various troubleshooting and permanent upgrades. I had a focus on reducing scrap which would positively impact our yield. I helped implement the ability to rework material that would otherwise have been scrap for in the notching process. This is the first time in LG ES Michigan that we were able to rework material in notching.

JR Automation - 2nd Rotation

Hannah
Major: Electrical Engineering I was assigned to one main project this semester that allowed me more individual responsibility, while still having a mentor to guide me. I was able to help through the debug process of the machine which included updating HMI screens, PLC programs, and teaching points for robots.

Herman Miller Co Op - Design For The Good Of Humankind

Xue Hua
Major: Electrical Engineering The majority of my responsibilities were split into two categories: The Database Project and Work Orders. The Database Project was an 8-month project where I was responsible for programming, designing, testing, and implementing an asset management system. This system would be used by the entire Controls Department at Herman Miller. The specifications included vigorous querying needs, functionality to interact with the data, and an intuitive user experience. The goal was to manufacture an asset management system where the entire Controls Department could manage its internal assets and its various details and information such as IP information. On the other hand, Work Orders were work requests from other areas of the company to support production. The one I enjoyed most was implementing a sensor to detect the edge of a panel to eliminate a design error. This work order was on the back burner for around a year before it came to me. It was a 3-month project where I had to research sensors, calibrate them precisely and implement them into the existing PLC program. This specific was project was a success and the steps I laid out were administered to 7 other machines. This was an example of a typical work order.

L3Harris - 3rd Rotation Co-Op

Michael
Major: Electrical Engineering Throughout the semester, I worked on a lot of different projects that involved things such as library development, program verification, and hardware maintenance and repairs. Most of the time spent during this semester was dedicated to writing the testing program that will be used for an upcoming product, which I was primarily responsible for.

Final Rotation at Phase 1 Engineering

Andrew
Major: Electrical Engineering During my third co-op rotation, I designed and built a test fixture used to test multiple device radio communication. I aided in the analysis of the data collected with this test fixture. Performed medical grade stainless steel welding on an expensive RF prototype. Upgraded existing testing module prototype to have use a stepper motor. Wrote controller code and installed stepper motor in place of existing motor configuration. Aided in the design and development of a photo-voltaic solar harvester for use in energy intake analysis. Built and tested all working prototypes. Created data analysis tool using java to store data in the database and then analyze data based upon user input parameters. Performed data collection with Thermo-Electric generators to determine energy output versus temperature drop across several devices.

3rd Rotation at Innotec

Cameron
Major: Electrical Engineering I completed a variety of projects this rotation. For example, I completed process improvement projects such as machining steel fixtures to improve automation, improving quality check reliability by performing simple worst case circuit analysis, designing 3D prints for machine fixtures, implemented a data logging feature on a production line, and more. I was given the monthly responsibility of 5S for my team, which involves streamlining everyday tasks such that the team operates in a ýleaný manufacturing environment.

Dematic - Rotation III

Aleksandr
Major: Electrical Engineering I was put on a project and I was working on controls layouts for most of my rotation. This involves placing devices on the conveyor, routing power cables, routing network cables, and then creating layout drawings for required views (power bus, networks, devices). I also spent some time during my last couple of weeks training/guiding a new engineer through the entire process of creating the controls drawings (including using the software the company uses) so that once I left he would have the knowledge and skills to work on an area on his own.

Consumers Energy - LVD Planning - Metro

Ryan
Major: Electrical Engineering Working in Metro as a co-op, my main task was to help the other 5 system owners with any projects/designs they were working on. Metro is a bit special in the fact that we work out of the GR & Flint service centers, yet we cover Grand Rapids, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Flint, Saginaw, & Jackson. The main difference in Metro is that all of our electrical infrastructure is located through a network of vaults, manholes, and ductwork beneath the streets and sidewalks of the areas we service. My job included planning new civil work throughout these areas and then planning the electrical equipment that would be needed to serve customers wherever we had a request.

Third Rotation Co-op at DornerWorks

Chad
Major: Electrical Engineering During this rotation, I worked on the experimental board design where I helped create and debug an experimental redundant current sense and safety circuit for a cauterizer. I also helped perform verification of a software and hardware revision of a ultrasonic based bone healing medical device. The third project that I have been working on is a Windows driver project related to the aerospace industry. For this project, I have been porting the driver to work with Windows 10. I also did schematic and PCB layout reviews on various projects.

Autumn experience

Hoan
Major: Electrical Engineering I was tasked with working on the HMI screens, configuring I/Os, writing plc logic for a few components and programs, troubleshooting programs, conveyors, and testing devices. These tasks are most often related. To design the HMI screens requires knowing tags that come from the plc. These tags provide information in different formats. My job was to find these tags, sometimes, organize them, and simply display them for the operators to interact with or if required send them to other software for further use. Knowing what tags mean, I can use them to my convenience, for example turning on/off an led, a motor, a solenoid, a scanner, and so on. Furthermore, by knowing these tags functionalities, I can decide what logic to write to bring box A in location 1 to a second location, location 2, and troubleshoot problems on the way faced by box A. The conveyor-controlling part is similar to how one would go about controlling the RoboSockey robot, by controlling different devices working together to accomplish an array of tasks. In the industry, companies just use more expensive parts.

Second Controls Engineering Co-Op

Katey
Major: Electrical Engineering All of the work that I did this semester went towards customer projects. This was certainly different from last semester where much of my work went towards process improvement. I was primarily tasked with working on the human machine interface (HMI) displays for multiple cells. In addition to this, I gained experience working with programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and updated the parts of the PLC programs that involved HMI displays. I also created the lock out tag out (LOTO) documentation for multiple projects and updated many print packages. Overall, much of my job involved paying attention to details, finding, and resolving inconsistencies between the documentation and the programs.

Rotation 2

Kathryn
Major: Electrical Engineering Throughout my second rotation at DISHER, I assisted on multiple billable projects. The types of billable projects were customers from varying industry backgrounds. That is one aspect that is awesome about DISHER, there is so much project variety! For this semester I was able to work on both hardware and software projects. When I wasnýt on a full-time customer project, I had many training opportunities to complete. One of my bigger tasks, not for a customer, was working on Altium Concord Pro. Altium is a PCB design and schematic program. Some other tasks I was able to work on was automation training and customer site visits.

Second Co-op Rotation - L3Harris

Michael
Major: Electrical Engineering Working in test engineering, my main tasks involve making sure test stations stay up to date and fully functional, as well as updating any test software and making quality-of-life improvements to make the software better in some way. Besides doing run of the mill updates, I also worked on new test systems for future products, as well as big changes to how software is loaded onto the products that are made.

Factory Automation

Colton
Major: Electrical Engineering This semester I was working with the controls programming team. I started with looking at the electrical prints to determine the components that were going to be used in the machine then looked at the model with the project manager to understand the process of operations and motions necessary for the machine to perform. I then wrote the code to communicate with the PLC and components, control sequences, and interact with digital and analog inputs/outputs.

2nd Rotation at Herman Miller - Great!

Jesse
Major: Electrical Engineering I worked on several kinds of projects, but most involved updating or creating PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) code for industrial equipment, as well as creating documentation for them (Bill of Materials (BOM), CAD drawings, etc). I wasn't stuck at the desk all day, every day, as I would need to inspect the machines or lines I would be altering to make sure design would work in reality. I worked with people from several departments to complete projects, attending meetings and such.

2nd Co-Op Rotation

Cameron
Major: Electrical Engineering As an intern within a lighting production cell, I was given cell responsibilities to assist in production and process/machine improvements daily, with monthly obligations to manage cell safety and inventory. Half of each workday I aided in operation of an assembly line, and the other half was defined as project time. I have spent time analyzing and diagnosing scrap issues such as but not limited to electrical failures and process faults. Other projects consist of designing and implementing quality tool improvements, tracking component use, and implementing safety measures.

Co-op #3

Brittany
Major: Electrical Engineering Over my third co-op rotation, I was able to tie up loose ends on a website remodeling project that was started on my second rotation. In addition, I worked individually to complete a large portion of a campaign for a product. I was also given time to look into SAR research, an area of study I am interested in.

SAF-HOLLAND Electrical Co-Op Rotation 3

Alexander
Major: Electrical Engineering During my Co-Op experience I have completed new technology research, experimental analysis, and prototype development. In my experience I researched a variety of electrical technology applications, specifically in sensor technologies. A significant amount of my Co-Op experience involved experimental analysis of both electrical hardware and software applications, which included simulations, testing, and measurement using instruments such as oscilloscopes, DMMs, current probes, and other observational tools. The experimental analysis included hypothesis testing and validation, as well as documentation of testing and evaluation. I was fortunate to work on new product development projects which included making prototypes, exploratory models, and generating testing tools. Throughout the process I performed multiple types of documentation, presentations, and reports.

Phase 1 Engineering Co-op

Benjamin
Major: Electrical Engineering Wrote embedded code for wireless charger. Wrote testing interface for wireless charger. Wrote controller for an inductive stove. Wrote interface for inductive stove.

My Final Co-op at L3Harris

Josh
Major: Electrical Engineering I specifically worked within the test engineering department. As a result, most of my time was spent either setting up/designing parts for automated testing stations, troubleshooting issues with testing stations and conducting test procedures.