Experience Matters - Grand Valley State University

Axis Automationý2nd Co-op Rotation

Mason
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering I had the opportunity to assist in projects underway where project leaders could assign design-related tasks as a learning experience. While detailing and releasing design packages for projects were routine, a few projects consisted of: Material handling stations, end-effector tooling changeout stands, and improving an existing tooling station for a bumper assembly. Most notably, fabricating a container to house a robot while considering how to redirect fluids in a corrosive environment.

Structural Concepts - Engineering Co-op Rotation #1

Treman
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering Over the course of my first rotation, I brought several engineering designs to life in our facilities to address issues on our manufacturing floor. My first designed part was a mobile stainless steel cover for hydraulic pumps that power lift tables on our assembly lines. This design was adopted by several lines in our facilities. From there, I practiced many different skillsets to assist our continuous improvement team with different areas of our manufacturing facilities. I collected and analyzed data of the different types of tools being used on our assembly lines. This was in an attempt to create a collective tool bag which each worker would get for use on the line due to tools often being misplaced, causing unnecessary downtime looking for the proper tool. I made an excel spreadsheet to help rethink how we organize our fastener storage area. As it was, fasteners were hard to find because they were all in boxes and out of order. I made an excel spreadsheet which served as a way to enter in descriptors of a fastener (size, color, name, description, etc..) and would then point you to the specific location of the fastener to save workers time. I designed a storage unit for rubber bumper that is used on sharp edges of our cases. This storage unit is used in multiple locations within our warehouses. I helped create a customizable workbench that served a dual purpose by also functioning as a computer stand with retractable keyboard holders and a pegboard backing. This design is currently being adopted by all areas of our warehouses and will likely be built 50-100 times. There were many more small creative design projects similar to the ones described previously. Often times, I worked on open-ended problems with no clear solution and was given creative freedom to develop a solution as I saw fit. My final and largest project was the implementation of machine data collection software in our sheet metal department. I built up all of the user-interface required to implement data collection of the causes of downtime within the department as classified by our operators. I also built up the backend of the software to ensure that the hardware collecting data within the machines was functioning and reporting properly. I worked with area leaders within sheet metal to implement this software and build a routine for using it and logging data on a daily basis. I also set up several styles of reports to use for data analysis which will then be used to tackle large issues of downtime. The software even provides us with clear cost justifications for our machines and will allow us to make better decisions in the future regarding the area.

Electronics Design and Manufacturing at Ram

Joe
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering This semester I worked on a number of products that Ram is currently designing for different clients. These include an IoT backup pump system, a capacitive touch desk lamp, and a number of power supply products.

Launch Engineering Co-op - 1st Rotation

Walker
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering Day-to-day tasks included running and testing machines, debugging machines,continuous improvement of machines, and vision programming. The main job of a launch engineer is to debug machines and make adjustments to them so that they work as designed.

Engineering Co-op

Nora
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering At Twisthink, I worked in the AI and Computer Vision team. This team is responsible for creating systems that map perceived environmental conditions to suggestions, answers, decisions, and autonomous actions. The projects I worked on were in the early research and development phases. Our goal was to identify the most effective detection system within given constraints. To do this, we took an iterative approach, evaluating the effectiveness of several sensors and their associated detection algorithms. One project included the development of a sensor and algorithm to detect the strokes of a deep well hand pump utilized in third world villages. The purpose for this was to track the health of the pump over time. Currently, if a pump breaks, it takes time to mobilize the resources to fix it, leaving locals without water. The device I worked on will use signal processing and machine learning to process signals from special sensors. The processed signals will be sent to the cloud allowing the health of pumps to be monitored and resources allocated prior to their failure.

Summer 2018 Co-Op

Samantha
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering I worked directly with a few companies helping them optimize the design of their products so we could put them into production. Since I was aware of what Rose Medical could offer, I would help shape the design around what we were able to produce and then I would help design the machines that produced the parts. I worked directly with many different prototypes but I also worked a lot with improving processes to decrease the time it takes to make a part in production. I spent a lot of time learning how to write technical reports and becoming much better at CAD. Every day was different and we were allowed to work independently even as interns. It was a lot of hands-on problem solving.

Engineering in Deutschland

Andrew
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering My tasks and projects focused on supporting the product development team, specifically the prop shaft and dynamic damper engineering teams. I conducted benchmarking work on a new product that reduces noise and vibration and turns it into sound and comfort on new BMW vehicles. I also worked with the data in the form of hysteresis curves for tolerance development submitted to automotive companies. Daily tasks usually included doing applied math problems for decision-making big and small.

Biomedical Engineering Clinical Internship

Alexandria
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering My daily tasks include operating the technical portions of gait analysis studies, processing motion capture data and creating reports of this data for gait analysis by our in-house physical therapist. Due to recent scheduling changes, I have filled in as the primary engineer in my supervisor's absence, fully operating a system of twelve motion capture cameras, two analog force plates, a plantar pressure mat, electromyography and two-perspective video collection throughout our clinical studies. The data collected is then analyzed using biomechanical models, comparing and contrasting the kinetics and kinematics of our patients' gait patterns to that of a typical, non-pathologic gait. Over the past ten months, I have become acquainted with clinical interpretation of graphs of these kinetic and kinematic measures and have begun to recognize common pathologies associated with derivations from normal gait patterns. The typical interns at the gait lab are clinical exercise science, pre-physical therapy or pre-occupational therapy students. As the first engineering student to work in the Motion Analysis Center, I have been tasked with developing a curriculum for future co-op students. I have expanded upon the typical clinical internship tasks to incorporate Matlab programming, technical troubleshooting, procedural technical writing, data analysis and research interests. In the semesters following my start at the center, we have had four engineering students. These students have continually sought my guidance and instruction in the process of learning technical procedures and troubleshooting our complex and highly nuanced data collection system. As someone who enjoys leadership roles, I have appreciated the opportunities that have accompanied this aspect of the co-op position.

Biomedical Engineering in a Clinical Environment

Alexandria
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering I processed the data collected during the study using a few custom biomedical motion capture software programs and assisted in pulling together the reports that are then given to a physical therapist. The physical therapist and engineer discuss the patient and the study's finding with a doctor and together, they determine a recommended plan of action. As my supervisor, Professor Amy Lenz, is also teaching at Grand Valley this semester, it was my job to learn the systems in detail so that I could troubleshoot in her absence. I had to make sure that the clinical visits go as smoothly as possible from a technology standpoint while the physical therapist in our office works directly with the patient.

Environmental Engineering

Nathan
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering 1) GPS Surveying Navigation to points Elevations set to construction grade Verification of construction grade Wetland delineation staking Set construction stakes 2) Instrument Surveying Drain elevation surveying for WWAT approvals Surveying to reset staff gauges Ponds and wetlands 3) Well Sampling / Soil Sampling Peristaltic pumps, submersible pumps Field water meters Static water levels, groundwater contouring, database updates Profile coring tool for making composite samples for irrigation field testing 4) Reports and Letters Project updates Sampling Summary 5) Soils Lab 6) Beneficial Reuse Project 7) Microscope Analysis a) Frac sand determination 8) Geoprobe 9) Sludge Testing / Application 10) Infiltrometer Testing

Design Engineering Co-op

Alex
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering As a co-op student, I was placed on projects that were related to my interest. Due to the diverse make-up of the company in terms to technical and design focuses, I was exposed to a multitude of projects. My work was generally done alone, interfacing with teammates when necessary. I focused in large parts on a testing system for the user interface of a product we were working on for a customer. There was consistent correspondence with the customer as we worked together to identify bugs within the system, pinpoint their causes, and adjust the code to fix them. This was a nice project to work on in that it was nearly instant gratification. When we were able to pinpoint an error in the code, fixing the bug generally didn't take long and the device firmware was quickly updated. One of the more fun projects I completed required me to do a physical build of an office productivity unit; this hands-on project was an incredible change of pace from the research that I was so often assigned and was a great opportunity for me to express my creativity in the prototyping process and iterative stages of the design. Additional projects included an analytical demo project working to develop the company's technological resources for future projects, product benchmarking,