Magna Mirrors Engineering Co-op 3
Jacob
Experience Information
Employer: Magna Mirrors
Job Title: Product Engineering Co-op - Door Handles
Major: Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Magna Mirrors is a division of a larger company called Magna International. Magna is a Tier 1 automotive supplier based out of Canada with 338 manufacturing facilities and 89 product development, engineering and sales centers in 28 countries. However, despite its size Manga Mirrors Kentwood facility has a small company feel. In my department we primarily work on the development of exterior door and liftgate handles. However, Magna Mirrors is also a global leader in the innovation and production of full mirror systems. Magna Mirrors allows you to gain expertise in product creation, design, engineering, testing, validation and manufacturing of interior mirrors, exterior mirrors, actuators and door handles.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
This semester I worked along with product engineers in the door handle product development department. Throughout the semester I helped with the design and validation of various handle projects for numerous leading car manufacturers. Since the facility I worked at is an R&D facility, I spent a lot of time in the tool shop and validation lab modifying and testing handles for travel, effort, water ingress, and freeze testing. This semester I also started to work with designers to make changes to products I was working on. I was able to get FDM prototypes made and evaluate my designs. Along with testing, I was also tasked with filling out the DFMEA (Design failure mode and effect analysis) document for one of our new programs. This is a very important document for the beginning of a new program and it allowed me to learn a lot more about what is required and expected from engineers in industry.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
Throughout my experience at Magna Mirrors I've learned a lot about what it takes to manufacture quality products. Additionally, I've improved upon my talking and presentation skills through creating presentations of my work and participating in meetings. One of the most beneficial skills that I have learned while at Magna Mirrors is how to better manage my time with a large workload, as well as how to communicate with my team to effectively and efficiently get my work done.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part about my co-op experience was being able to work with other students from Grand Valley and other schools that have different engineering degrees than me. In school I don't work with them often since we take different classes, however co-op allows you to learn a lot from fellow engineering students.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
This experience has pointed me in the right direction of what I want to do with my engineering degree. I now know what areas of engineering I enjoy as well as what I don't enjoy as much. This experience will help me while looking for a job for after graduation.