Experience Matters - Grand Valley State University

Trane, Creative Solutions Team, Electrical

Dakoda
Major: Mechanical Engineering I mainly focused on D-team engineering which are chillers that come from pueblo like the RTAC, CGAM, and ACRB. I focused on pump packages, dual point power and waterside economizers. Additionally, each electrical drawing needs to be audited which falls pretty heavily on the intern. Finding mistakes in others works helped to point out potential mistakes of my own. Each job can be broken down into 4 parts. Purchasing, drawings paperwork and programing. Purchasing includes adding all items on the Bill of Materials (BOM) to a requisition program JobBOSS and sending it to the materials team. Drawings includes updating and adjusting previous jobs to meet the new design requirements or starting an new drawing from scratch if nothing similar is available. Paperwork includes special shipping labels, installation and operation manuals and test logs built for the customized changes to the unit. Programming includes using Tracer TU to adjust previous programs to meet current requirements.

3rd Co-op Rotation at Ravenna Ductile Iron

Jack
Major: Mechanical Engineering - Cleaning and putting away pattern plates - Operating a jib crane and hi-lo to put away pattern plates. - Improving the current tools to run better(this is done in CAD). - Designing how a customers part will fill and solidify within a sand mold (this is done in CAD). - Quoting and launching tools with different pattern shops. - Making PowerPoints for modifications to be made to pattern plates. - Submitting .stl files for sand mold filling simulation. - Analyzing simulation results and making changes in CAD accordingly.

HVAC Equipment Sales at Trane

Sydney
Major: Mechanical Engineering My main responsibility is generating equipment submittals, which document what equipment and accessories a customer has ordered, along with performance. The process includes reading building plans and specifications then verifying that Trane supplies everything the customer needs. I also generate quotes for equipment replacements. This involves translating the old unit model number(s) to a current Trane model, checking what units we have in stock, and pricing the units.

Fall Co-op Rotation

Danielle
Major: Mechanical Engineering I was the lead on several equipment/assembly line moves. I contacted suppliers and sales representatives for quotes of new equipment. Prepared documents and background for implementation of new tools/processes. I owned an assembly line, and was the main point of contact for day to day issues on the line, or ergonomic improvements. I also led weekly meetings for redesigning an area to help with flow, safety, and ergonomics. I designed a bunch of solutions on Solidworks for different problems. For example, press brakes needed new tables, and brackets for new light curtain distance. I designed and had all of it made up and reconnected. I also designed carts, deflectors, tables, guarding on machines etc. I did some plant layout as well.

Third Co-op Rotation at Rose Medical

Jenna
Major: Mechanical Engineering My third co-op rotation consisted of developing dipping and molding processes. I was in charge of learning how the temperature, pressure, and time settings on the machines affected the outcome of the silicone molded parts. Learning the effects of these settings allowed me to develop processes for multiple silicone molded parts and ship samples to the customers. Additionally, I was able to run my own project this semester. I was in charge of creating all of the specifications and documents and leading weekly meetings with the customer where I kept them informed on the progress of the job. I was able to develop the manufacturing process, ship sample parts to the customer, and run a production run.

OSM Co-Op

Benjamin
Major: Mechanical Engineering My workload consisted of creating prototype parts and mockups, temperature testing, durability testing, driving the mirrors, and other smaller projects that follow the guidelines of research and development

Genesis Seating Experience Matters

Lucas
Major: Mechanical Engineering I walked around the assembly floor observing and analyzing assemblies, and come up with concepts to make assemblies more simple and efficient. I'd spend time making drawings of these concepts on SolidWorks and once the drawings were complete and approved, I'd build them in the maintenance area. Some of these projects involved making concepts/building an assembly table, mobile carts, and a hitch to connect carts together.

Engineering Co-op 1

Timothy
Major: Mechanical Engineering My main assignments were designing weld fixtures to help make parts for several of our customers. I worked with the engineering team to gather data and direction along the way. I conducted design reviews for each fixture to bring the team up to speed and to make important decisions. I also helped our machinists in the tool room with the assembly of this tooling. Beyond weld fixtures, I designed check fixtures for a number of the parts we manufacture and I produced overlays of old and new parts from customers to investigate the changes between revisions. In addition, I helped one of the engineers to program a tube bender.

Mechanical Engineering Co-op Rotation #1

Jacob
Major: Mechanical Engineering As a mechanical engineer intern in their first rotation I took on design lead in several projects rather quickly. I was tasked with designing and creating models in SOLIDWORKS for several brackets, wall art, and linkage systems. Conducting prototyping with 3D printed parts after the models and drawings were complete. Created bills of materials for several projects. Also wrote design reports and pulled together presentations on project progress to share with the customers.

Magna Mirrors - 1st Rotation Co-Op

Jamal
Major: Mechanical Engineering During my first rotation at Magna, I was tasked with measuring and analyzing critical dimensions on mirrors, conducting capability studies on various processes throughout the facility, programming a multisensor measurement system, and creating MRO forms for spare parts. I also had the opportunity to do some design work in SolidWorks for multiple new machine components.

Aerospace Co-op Experience

Dawson
Major: Mechanical Engineering This summer I was able to work in Commercial Shroud components, which are directly installed into commercial jet engines for Boeing and Airbus planes. My goal this summer was to implement control limits to 30+ product families, and see out that these were restricting tolerances to ensure better parts and more confidence.

Engineering Intern

Micah
Major: Mechanical Engineering Since it was my first co-op rotation at Trans-Matic, I worked mostly on revision work. Revision work involves updating engineering drawings to match changes in the tooling or layout changes made by the toolmaker. However, as the rotation progressed and I gained more designing skills, I was assigned projects that required design work to fulfill requests made by the toolmakers or customers. For example, one of the toolmakers wanted some grating dropped eighteen inches in Trans-Maticýs large 240 press. Although it sounds like a relatively easy task, it was challenging since the grating still had to fit in the confined space provided while following regulations mandated by OSHA. In short, as I gained experience at Trans-Matic, I received projects that tested my abilities while also allowing me to gain new skills.

Shaping Metal, and a Career

Nathaniel
Major: Mechanical Engineering As an Engineering Intern, the majority of my tasks involved part/drawing/print updates and the use of Creo (Pro-E), my new favorite CAD software. Tool-makers on the shop floor would make changes to prints in order to improve tooling and the quality of production parts; it was my job to verify and implement them. I was also given a handful of small projects that involved developing creative solutions to real problems. I enjoyed these a lot, as I was able to exercise some creativity and apply concepts from previous coursework.

First EGR Co-op Semester

Samuel
Major: Mechanical Engineering This semester I completed a lot of interesting tasks and assignments. One task that was commonly assigned to me was completing engineering change requests. These are usually changes in dimensions or part numbers in a certain table/desk assembly that requires me to go through and change all of the engineering drawings that contain the part that was changed. Along with this, I also created setup drawings where I would have to add all of the different parts in a desk assembly and then create the engineering drawing for it. One project I did this semester was created nested drawer CAD files and then worked with a CNC programmer to mill out many drawer panels out of sheets of melamine. Another project I completed was designing a new modesty bracket for a table. I had to redesign the hinge to be universal because it had been assembled wrong on some tables and caused the veneer to tear off the modesty panels.

Magna Co-op

Lucas
Major: Mechanical Engineering At Magna engineering I worked on projects that provided product support to validation testing, manufacturing, product development, and customer relations.

Engineering Co-op #1

Mallory
Major: Mechanical Engineering My first rotation of co-op consisted of an abundance of different tasks. I assisted in an engineering transfer, where I completed the required testing/reporting. I completed process, operational, and installation protocols as needed for both the engineering transfer and regular operation. I helped work the backroom of an audit, participated in customer meetings and projects, and wrote, updated and revised documentation as needed.

Realization that it is worth it

Marshall
Major: Mechanical Engineering My tasks can be broken up into daily responsibilities, large projects, and odd jobs. My daily responsibilities include running APDýs 3D printers. We have a very large FDM machine and two SLA printers. It is my job to ensure any requested prints be completed on time and the requestor receives regular updates on their parts. If a print was requested from outside of APD, I would have to walk them through the resin selection process and explain the finer details of 3D printing if they had any questions. Many of the large projects I worked on I cannot explain due to my NDA, but let it suffice that during my rotation I completed testing, which included hands on measurements and method creation, data analysis, and data/ result presentations. Through my work on the larger projects, I have gained a new appreciation and understanding of proper methodology and data recording, along with how to create professional yet enjoyable presentations. Many of my odd jobs included normal intern stereotypes. Scheduling appointments, contacting dealerships, coordinating teams, and designing tools for the office (printed on our 3D printers of course) were all tasks that could be asked of me by any of the engineers within APD.

OSM Engineering Co Op

Benjamin
Major: Mechanical Engineering Magna Mirrors includes a lot of testing of prototype materials and parts. There might be a large sum or a small amount due to how much prototypes are available for testing. The testing is simple to do but it might take once or twice to get used to get a hang of things. therefore, I recommend doing practice tests on parts that already have been tested to compare results with the concluded results to check accuracy and precision.

Summer 2021 Co-op experience

Jeremy
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked on many smaller physical projects and some larger ones. About 40% of my time was spent working on projects, and the rest of my time was spent running production on our assembly line. The projects were almost always geared towards improvements and updates to the line I worked on. One major project was assisting in moving an injection molding machine onto our line, which required many smaller projects like designing and building a feeder mounting plate, building machine doors, and plumbing hoses on the machine.

First Co-op Rotation at Rose Medical

Jenna
Major: Mechanical Engineering My tasks at Rose Medical were split into two categories: process development and protocol writing. My main assignments relating to process development were to design 3D fixtures to aid in the manufacturing processes, run DOEs to determine which settings the product should be made in, and evaluate how successful a product is when certain conditions change. For protocol writing, I wrote numerous installation qualifications, operational qualifications, process qualifications, memos, and customer-requested validations. My task was to write the protocol, take the necessary data, and write a report for the customer. On top of product development and protocol writing, I was heavily exposed to the workings of a cleanroom environment, I was able to sit in on customer meetings and calls, and I learned about new technology and equipment.

First Co-op Rotation at Gentex Corporation

Ben
Major: Mechanical Engineering During my co-op, I was responsible for several projects that sought to improve our manufacturing processes. Most of my projects involved designing fixtures to aid in the calibration processes of our machines. In addition, I also conducted preventative maintenance and efforts to improve assembly line ergonomics.

First Co-op Rotation

Olivia
Major: Mechanical Engineering I was on a team that want confined space entries to be significantly reduced due to them being unsafe and very expensive. I worked on a mechanical arm that would be able to do the tasks that a human would normally do during these confined space entries. I was able to get feedback from the inspectors and then further improve the pole. I oversaw an underground pipe inspection which was a lot of emails, calls, and meetings with lots of different companies. I helped in the risk management software that Corteva has, which was exciting to use a new software.

Jr. Fire Systems Engineer

Daniel
Major: Mechanical Engineering I designed fire sprinkler systems for various building types, ranging from residential to industrial.

Custom Automation Engineering Co-op

Camryn
Major: Mechanical Engineering During the semester, I was mainly responsible for writing the ladder logic for PLCs as well as creating HMI screens for a couple different machines. I started out by completing small programming tasks to help my mentor complete a project he was working on. I was then responsible for programming two different machines on my own, with help from my mentor of course. After completing the programming of those machines, I worked with the customer to make any changes to the ladder logic or HMI screens in order to ensure the machine ran according to what they expected. I spent additional time helping my mentor with small tasks on a larger machine he was responsible for, such as figuring out how to set up new ethernet devices.

Co op Position at Hutchinson

Andrew
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked on failure analysis of durability parts and tested parts to meet specifications. I also visited companies that Hutchinson works with in outsourcing some tasks, like plastic over-molded brackets.