Experience Matters - Grand Valley State University

1st Co-Op Semester

Erik
Major: Mechanical Engineering Many of the tasks and project that I worked on involved becoming familiar with the machines and manufacturing processes that are used to maintain part quality. This included working with machine operators, checking part dimensions and aiding in capability studies, and working on preventative maintenance sheets. I also worked on two different projects that helped reduce the number of parts damaged by the wash machines (used to remove chips, oil and other debris from parts).

GHSP Intern

Zachary
Major: Mechanical Engineering The tasks that I completed consisted of sound testing, creating and editing tolerance stacks, creating and editing bill of materials, designing and building prototypes, conducting independent studies of parts and issues associated as well as many more tasks.

Haworth Engineering Internship -Brian

Brian
Major: Mechanical Engineering I was involved in cost reductions, quality issues, and new product launch.

Haworth Inc.

Colton
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked on many engineering drawing updates and part model updates using ProE. I helped to construct, then run tests on Haworth's newest desking system. I worked on consolidation and quality control for different parts. I also worked on conceptual designs for a table leg.

A Semester At JR Automation

Daniel
Major: Mechanical Engineering This semester I worked as a mechanical engineer in the design department. I was tasked with various problems that I would have to develop and design, using PRO Engineer design software, a solution for. These problems varied from issues that had arose from machines that had been in operation for a few years to design new technology that was being implemented for the first time.

Cost and Concept Development Engineer

Erik
Major: Mechanical Engineering Been working on creating quotations for different automation projects in a variety of fields.

Engineering in the Motor City

Andrew
Major: Mechanical Engineering Working in the design department, I was responsible for designing pistons, bearings, piston rings, and connecting rods. I also created drawings related to these 3D models. I worked closely with other engineers from related companies such as Ford, GM, an Chrysler.

Co-op Round #1

Prisciliano
Major: Mechanical Engineering Being the first co-op, I started with some smaller tasks but was quickly brought up to speed. I started with prototyping possible new products and getting familiar with the injection machines and their programs. Shortly after this task was complete, I started building components for an entirely new production line. The line consisted of welders, inspection cameras, and component assembly robots.

Padnos Co-op 3rd Semester

Jason
Major: Mechanical Engineering I was able to experience every aspect of a project at Padnos; from meetings, field measurements, design, fabrication, installation, and follow-up improvements. This included coordinating with on-site supervisors, scheduling meetings, design, overseeing fabrication and installation, and following up post-installation with supervisors. This role carried through many projects including a vibratory shaker installation underneath a shredder mill, conveyor rebuild, access deck/stairs/ladder installation, an over belt drum magnet for ferrous material removal, and many more.

Fisen Co-op

Tyler
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked on standardizing a modification so that when a job comes up with it, all the engineering is done beforehand. In doing this project I had to complete a few different tasks. These included 2-D and 3-D modeling, Electrical drawings, talking to vendors, and creating documents needed for sales. I also had the chance to help on the production floor installing modifications.

Learning the Skills

Kyle
Major: Mechanical Engineering My projects were based on increasing the efficiency of the assembly line I was assigned to. During this work experience I designed an automatic oiling and filtering system that replaced an operator that manually filled and filtered the contaminated oil. I installed and fabricated a carrier steel straightening system that prevented 50 weekly interventions and 2.4 hours of downtime. I participated in many small installations around the line that increased production by 20%.

Dematic Co-Op: Final Rotation

Jillian
Major: Mechanical Engineering This semester I was given the amazing opportunity to go to Europe for 2 months of the semester. I was there to ensure install of two sites went smoothly and turn the distribution centers over to the customer. I went to both Milan, Italy and Lille, France. When I returned, I worked on wrapping up the projects from the engineering side and turning the projects over to customer service. The rest of the semester I devoted my time to working with engineers to start up a new distribution center in Maryland. I was offered a job with Dematic before I left for Europe, so I have been learning more of what I will be doing when I start full-time after graduation.

Automotive Crash Testing at Shape Corp.

Stephen
Major: Mechanical Engineering I developed 2 LabVIEW data acquisition programs according to the needs of the tech center. One program is a strain gage data collection program that instructs the user how to mount strain gauges and will record data for up to 7 strain gauges at a time. I designed and built the software and some hardware for this project. I also got a lot of hands-on experience in a machine shop. My projects required me to use a manual mill, drill press, saws, and other equipment. I performed a lot of daily tests with the testing team including; dynamic vehicle crash tests (pendulum, flat barrier, IIHS, offset barrier, etc), pedestrian protection tests, dog bone and hardness material tests, and more.

Lab Intern

Joshua
Major: Mechanical Engineering The testing of the incoming steel to ensure that the coils are what the suppliers claim it will be.

Stryker Instruments Co-op

Caitlyn
Major: Mechanical Engineering During this second co-op experience, I worked with the Stryker Surgical division within R&D. I developed and designed a fixture in Pro-E to aid in the testing of a power drill used within knee and hip replacement surgeries. I investigated and implemented an ergonomic design for the fixture to provide a safe testing environment for developers and consultants. This design was tested and improved with the input from the Surgical R&D team. I researched and implemented electronics and a data acquisition system to obtain quantitative data on the drill throughout testing. Throughout this internship, I was also able to see the project through from beginning to initial testing.

TBVC first rotation co-op

William
Major: Mechanical Engineering TBVC implemented a great co-op program for me in which I worked in each department before becoming an engineer. I started molding and assembling parts to get a good understanding of the fabrication process. I then worked in the test lab to better understand the different types of tests that can be performed. I finished the semester working in the chemical lab where all the rubber is produced. This is my first of three semesters at TBVC and I will begin design projects my next semester.

Best Mechanical Internship

Erik
Major: Mechanical Engineering Got to be a part of a machine design team that takes requirements and specifications from customers and create machine solutions for them in CAD. I have gotten to experience starting small projects and working by myself but also being part of a group for greater projects. My work has involved 3D design in CAD, checking other designers work for errors and mistakes. Also gotten the opportunity to work with builders and make modifications on existing machines.

First Co-Op Semester At Innotec Corporation

Matthew
Major: Mechanical Engineering The vast majority of my semester experience was focused on learning production and running the production lines (being machine responsible). I was machine responsible for an average of over 30 hours per week for the semester. The responsibilities associated with this were keeping production running no matter if it involved the clearing a simple error to tearing apart a station to replace a component which had ceased to function properly. My next biggest daily responsibility was being in charge of ordering spare parts and parts needed for production line changes or improvements. This was very challenging since most orderable parts used on the machines were not documented and required research and price comparisons before ordering. The remainder of my time was spent working on projects to help improve the production process. Some of these are listed and briefly described below: Circuit Press Oil System: Updated current automatic oiling system, rewired panel, and updated company logic based software. Finished Goods Stacker Extension: Finished goods tote auto-stacker was extended to allow for more tote capacity. Along with this the entire E-stop system was rewired and updated. Finished Goods Stacker Re-alignment: The rails used for stacking the finished totes needed adjustment to prevent failures for totes both entering and leaving the system. Line Capability Improvements: A second Power/Reset/Go setup was added to production lines along with a second monitor and mouse station. This allowed for faster machine failure fixes by eliminating the need to walk around the production line to restart a machine. Additional Printer & Label Redesign: A printer was added to the production area so that label printing could be performed without the need for walking back and forth across the plant. Along with this change, a complete label redesign was needed for functionality with a new program. Various Small Tasks: Changes to the company based machine logic software, addition of sensors, and other small engineering changes were made throughout the semester in order to improve production capacity and time between machine failures.

NSE Product Engineering

Caitlyn
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked on two of the high-speed NSE drills, the Core-U Drill and the Sumex Drill. Both drills contained rotor issues in which solutions were implemented. The Core-U Drill rotor contained an issue during the assembly of the balance rotor. When the front balancing ring, which is the last component pressed onto the rotor assembly, was pressed, a bur would form due to the misalignment. The front balancing ring was a softer material than the rotor; as a result, a majority of the bur's material was from the front balancing ring. This bur was being formed 30% of the time, causing a slip fit bearing to be unable to be placed onto the rotor for balancing. One this occurred, the entire order would need to be placed into rework until the situation was corrected. My project was to develop and test solutions that would reduce and hopefully eliminate the bur formation issue. Throughout this project, I worked in Minitab and Pro-E to develop DOEs and Rotor Assembly Blanks for testing. There are two possible rotor changes and three possible front balancing ring changes. For the two styles of rotors, a chamfer of 75 degrees was added for the first style, and a radius of 0.0035 for the second. For the front balancing ring, a vibratory finish, Loctite 680, and a combination of the two were added to the different styles. A total of 12 combinations were tested, including the control group. These test results provided feasible solutions for preventing the problem in the future. The Sumex Drill was the highest scrap and warranty product of the NSE division. For this project, I was required to discover and implement a solution to fix one of the larger drill issues. After looking at the complaint trending information and the fishbone diagram that I created, I was able to find that there was a large number of complaints involving the balanced rotor assembly. The rotor shaft drive groove would contain an increased depth after repeated use of the routers with the footed attachments. The rotor shaft drive groove is the area where the rotor comes into contact with the router when a footed attachment was used. The router in the attachment was a harder material than the rotor causing the rotor material to compress form to the shape of the router's contact end. This increased depth created an increased gap between the router and the footed attachments, which impended the craniotomy that was going to be performed. In order to solve this issue, a carbide plug was added to the rotor shaft drive groove area. This solution was found through research performed by the new product development department. For this change Pro-E and PTC Change Request systems were used. I created the changes that were required in the rotor and worked on creating a fixture for the carbide plug to be pressed into the rotor in Pro-E. I also began a Change Request in the PTC system.

BISSELL co-op 2nd Term

Tony
Major: Mechanical Engineering I was given two large projects to work on this term, and was given more control of the projects than I was in my first term. The two projects involved a lot of statics knowledge, along with CAD design, and a little bit of dynamics/fluids understanding.

Trane BAS Internship

David
Major: Mechanical Engineering I had the opportunity to work on graphics for each job. Through the use of Photoshop, I created floor plans, where I then inserted the components, such as air handlers, VAVs, heaters, and coils. The components of the air handlers and water systems were also created in Photoshop, which would be later used as the basis for the building controls in Summit and SC automation.

Mechanical Engineering Internship

Jake
Major: Mechanical Engineering On any typical day, I was exposed to constructing drawings, Bill of Materials, setup sheets, process management, prominent customer interaction, developing presentations, and answering floor workers questions.

Oliver-Tolas Healthcare Packaging: Second Term

Spencer
Major: Mechanical Engineering I was involved with the installation and qualification of several new pieces of machinery as well as product and process qualifications. This involved a lot of hands-on work performing testing on the new equipment, and a small amount of report/paperwork preparation and routing. Notably, I was responsible for the installation of a radioactively sourced gauging system used to determine the thickness of finished products. This project entailed designing the hardware necessary to mount the system, working with Plant Services to make the appropriate preparations for installation, and working with the device manufacturer's Engineer to install and set-up the system. Beyond this, I was responsible for all of the testing necessary to demonstrate the devices functionality and report my findings to my superiors.

From Sheets of Metal To Finished Product

Husam
Major: Mechanical Engineering I was assigned project manager on some of the main projects that DeWys had at the time I started my co-op. Working as a project manager gave me the opportunity to experience every aspect of a manufacturing company. It improved my understanding to the process from the beginning until the product is finished and shipped to the customer. During my co-op I had many tasks and problems to solve, but basically I was coordinating everything that was going on for the project and ensure problems are solved.

Mechanical Engineering Co-op term 1: BISSELL

Tony
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked in product attributes, which meant I was given many different tasks from many different engineers. This was nice from an experience gaining standpoint, because it meant that I got a fairly broad taste of the industry fairly quickly. I did a decent amount of work in Pro-E and ANSYS, and spent a lot of time running tests and helping out with different design projects.