Experience Matters - Grand Valley State University

Super Extravagant Co-Op

Joseph
Major: Mechanical Engineering Some of my responsibilities are benchmarking new outside mirrors that are entering the market on vehicles that are on the road, and 3D printing prototypes or parts for miscellaneous projects and innovations that are being done. I have been working on an advanced technology project for GM that is in very early stages. This has involved benchmarking, creating CAD designs, and decisions matrices for several mechanisms. I am also working on a lot of studies with our inside mirrors that have been on going for a couple months. Testing done for ground illuminators and many other tests that were needed.

GMCH 1st Semester Co-op

Alex
Major: Mechanical Engineering The first two weeks I was just getting familiar with the plant and processes. The manufacturing floor is split up into north and south, so I spent time with both teams. During this time I did some part gauging, tried learning how to run all the machines, and did a bit of "grunt" work. The next few weeks I spent working with the advanced team. During this time I was assigned to an engineer and it was to him that I reported. My engineer have me a project where I was to develop some new parts for use in engine installation. Here develop means design, get parts built, and test parts according to a test procedure that I wrote. As of writing there is still a little work to be done on this project. I also did some benchmarking against competitors' parts and am planning on doing some tension testing to help one of the engineers refine the FEA simulation that he designed. Now I am working with the current manufacturing team. My duties include helping with machine qualifications, R&R's, and learning what goes into getting a new product line ready for production. Overall there will be a slow day here and there where you end up waiting on someone but usually there's quite a bit that needs doing. If you ever need something to do, ask.

EGR 290 Co-op Experience

Andrew
Major: Mechanical Engineering I have been exposed to many different projects as an intern. Most of my time is spent detailing drawings, updating drawings, and occasionally small design projects. Therefore, almost daily, I am moving around to help different engineers with a variety of tasks. I was also tasked to decrease the overall price of a custom design smoker/grill with the help of several other interns. We were able to decrease the price by about 50% and there is now a good chance the smoker will actually be produced and used at the business unit I worked in.

First Engineering Co-Op

Gunnar
Major: Mechanical Engineering Jr allowed me to experience a wide range of tasks, mainly detailing projects (placing dimensions on 2D prints), checking other designers work, and updating drawings to how a machine was actually built. I also got to get out on the build floor and experience some of the actual building of the machines.

Enjoyable Design Work

Ben
Major: Mechanical Engineering Right from the beginning, I was introduced to the full design process, being tasked with designing a specialized part rack to challenging specifications. Throughout the semester, I performed much of the same kind of work done by my superiors: designing different stations for an automated headliner assembly line, re-designing portions of existing machines to accept new parts, and coming up with solutions for problems encountered in the assembly phase of several machines. Only a small portion of my time was spent on more "traditional" intern work, like creating standardized part models and updating old documentation, and such work was only assigned when there weren't more in-depth projects available.

Great Hands-On Co-Op

Jake
Major: Mechanical Engineering As a co-op student at Innotec, everyday is its own project. Innotec is a company that expects constant innovation, so there is always something to improve on. However, there are two projects that stand out to me from this semester. The first was a solo project that involved me creating and programming an excel document that would replace our old production white board. The goal was to create a spreadsheet that would look professional but be able to be completely independent from a keyboard, as the goal was to use a touch screen monitor. The second project was quite a bit larger and it involved my entire cell. There was a company-wide goal this summer to limit the number on interventions that were required on each machine. Our machines load plastic vanity covers into totes which need to be replaced or stacked every 20 minutes. We originally were planning on building and automating a tote-loader, but the final product ended up being a conveyor system that replaced the totes altogether.

Envirotronics gives practical experience!

Jeffrey
Major: Mechanical Engineering I started out by going through a lot of the old prints and updating scrap costs. By doing so I began to understand how they organized their prints. I did some cataloging of parts which helped me to understand how important correctly labeling parts is. I also did some excel documents that dealt specifically with engineering calculations. I did some designing of simple parts that were to be used on projects using AutoCAD and Pro E. Using those same programs I redesigned a few chambers so that they could be sent out for customer approval (mostly editing the drawings and parts, not actual design work). I also did a lot of dimensioning/editing of drawings for other engineers.

EGR290 Co-Op

Artur
Major: Mechanical Engineering Working alongside the Process Engineer I worked on designing and improving patterns. These patterns are attached to a giant machine called the DISAMATIC(video) that compresses and makes impressions in a special type of sand. Molten metal is poured into these molds. After cooling the solid metal part comes out at the other end.

Trane Internship

Luke
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked on the graphical user interface between for the HVAC equipment and modified control drawings for the instillation of HVAC controlling equipment.

My Internship at JR Automation

Colin
Major: Mechanical Engineering I was a concept and cost engineer, or quoter. I completed quotes for machinery. My job started by receiving the request for quotation from our salesman, doing the necessary research, concepting, and preliminary design for the quote, and ended by getting approval from the necessary personnel and having the quote sent to the customer.

Everything is bigger at Padnos

Nathan
Major: Mechanical Engineering I did everything from detailing a small handle on a hydraulic line to redesigning a conveyor belt, which included measuring the belt and the guards on the belt, taking the information and processing it in SolidWorks, redesigning the belt, and then sending the work down to the machine shop and finally seeing it taken out as a finished product. I was kept pretty busy throughout the semester with a variety of projects resulting in a variety of experiences for me.

Summer 2012 Mill Steel Co-op

Ryan
Major: Mechanical Engineering I tested steel samples in the lab for chemical and physical properties, reviewed these test results to verify accurate properties, and worked with business representatives to fit individual steel coils to matching customer orders.

Gentex Summer 201

Dan
Major: Mechanical Engineering Worked on an assembly line for the first week to become familiar with processes. Shadowed a Production Support Engineer to become familiar with troubleshooting the automation equipment. Constructed automation guarding using 8020 extruded aluminum. Completed multiple design projects using SolidWorks and had the parts fabricated by submitting tech drawings to the tooling department. A number of projects also required significant research for proper materials to use.

First Time Around

Nick
Major: Mechanical Engineering I had three major projects during the semester along with many other small ones. My first project was to fix the steel plug problem. Some customers request steel plugs which cost about $0.75 per plug and some cylinders require up to four. All other customers get plastic cap plugs which are fractions of a penny. My job was to find the jobs that required steel plugs and add them to the bill of material so the inventory was correct and our costs were accurate. My next job was to try and standardize the tangs. First I had to clean up the descriptions and dimensions so the parts could be easily searched. The overall goal was to find parts that are used repeatedly and have high usage. Out of about 370 tangs we have, about 40 of them consisted of 70% of the tangs used in the last year. By making these parts standard we can order larger amounts and save money making less custom parts. Another benefit was to have a list of parts that can be made from a standard part which will add to the total usage of the standard part. My final project of the semester was to design a torque multiplier or a "Nut Buster". Basically we will be having some large cylinders come through the shop and we needed a device that will be able to torque the nut on and off. By bench-marking I was able to find a design another company had used and was able to make a similar design, why reinvent the wheel was my though. So by using two cylinder and a ratcheting system we can create about 26,000 foot pounds of torque. This system is mounted to a 14 foot long table with adjustable v-block rests and a brace to hold the other end of the cylinder. Very fun project to end the semester and it was nice being trusted with designing a machine we have never made before.

Designing at JR Automation

Lauren
Major: Mechanical Engineering During this co-op, I was in the mechanical engineering department at JR Automation. One of my big projects was designing a robotic cell that assembled a chair frame. All of the modeling was done in Pro/E. I took it all the way from kick-off to release and went through the design process of concepting, modeling, getting approval, detailing, checking, and releasing the project. I also worked on modifying and adding on to previously designed projects.

Co-op at BISSELL

Thaddeus
Major: Mechanical Engineering I ran tests on dry time and cleaning score of carpets, designed and prototyped concepts for a side brush and foaming nozzle, and gathered data from the company database and the internet.

Automation Sensation

Andrew
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked on projects with more experienced engineers, completing smaller parts of their larger projects. I would do ProE CAD modeling and drafting frequently. I would also work in the quoting office, estimating costs and writing proposals for new work that the sales team would bring in.

1st Co-op Semester

Matt
Major: Mechanical Engineering As an intern with previous knowledge of Pro Engineer (Creo), I was able to fill a need in the outside mirrors division as an FEA resource. I performed both static load and force frequency response analyses on many mirror programs. I then was also able to take my results and apply changes to the model in order to make recommendations as to how to make improvements.

Engineering Co-op

Conlin
Major: Mechanical Engineering Daily Tasks: 1) Walk-around to ensure production being maintained a. Making sure processes are being followed (Standard Work) b. Watch for waste in processes c. Solve issues identified by Members d. Make sure areas are 5S compliant 2) Quality Control a. Ensure parts are being hung properly, i.e. Correct Rack and Orientation b. Ensure parts being unloaded onto correct racks 3) Performance a. Ensure line density is to standard per part and rack b. Check to make sure members are being flexed properly Also worked on Projects for paint line, component assembly, and the warehouse

Third Times a Charm

Nick
Major: Mechanical Engineering Analyse and design parts used on hydraulic cylinders Designed and updated floor plan layout of building Organized the return department to track ongoing quality issues Designed tooling to ensure quality of seals during assembly Investigate floor changes throughout the manufacturing process Helped standardize parts for quicker lead times Devised an engineering test plans for performance testing of inserts Organized tooling and machine lists to optimize efficiency Headed machine repair software to schedule machine maintenance Designed a torque bench for assembling or dis-assembling large cylinders

Real Experience

Tyler
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked as a student engineer at Midway. My job was to prepare operational manuals for all the equipment that was designed and built. This required me to have extensive knowledge in the mechanical function of all equipment I was assigned to. I also had to review equipment models/drawings to ensure no parts would interfere with one another and that proper GD&T was practiced.

Amazing Hands-On Padnos Co-op

Jason
Major: Mechanical Engineering This semester we have been installing a new non ferrous metal mining plant. I have been assigned design work, drawing/detailing, overseeing of fabrication, surveying, product sampling, and experiment design/implementation; among a variety of other tasks.

EGR Co-op Third Rotation

Reid
Major: Mechanical Engineering This semester I worked primarily in the mechanical design group. I had numerous projects where I was the only engineer assigned to the project. On the majority of my projects I was supplied with data from the customer and was required to fully design a machine that would meet the customer's requirements.

Fall 13' Co-op Experience

Eric
Major: Mechanical Engineering Working as an engineering intern I started back in the lab where we test the physicals, chemistry, coating weight, and hardness of the material. After working in the lab for several months learning the system and type of material I was promoted to a material analysis job where I reviewed the results tested by the labs to determine whether or not the material would work for customer orders. I have also worked in the purchasing department as well as quality support. Mill Steel has allowed me to get a great feel how the business works.

Dematic Summer Co-Op I

Jillian
Major: Mechanical Engineering While at Dematic, I was assigned to a project that was in its final stages. It was a huge sort center and one of the first of its kind. The team didn't have a lot of information to reference back to in order to see how a site like this was done in the past. I was able to edit drawings where needed, order parts to get shipped to site, print blue prints of all sections of our conveyor and go to the site to help installation and start-up run smoothly.