DeWys Manufacturing Co-op
Zachary
Experience Information
Employer: DeWys Manufacturing, Inc.
Job Title: Manufacturing Engineering Co-op Student
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
DeWys is a relatively small sheet metal fabrication shop located just outside of Grand Rapids. They employ a total of about 200 people working 7 days a week on 3 shifts. For being a somewhat small shop they manufacture consumer goods ranging from office furniture to medical supplies used all over the world.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
In my final co-op rotation, I worked mainly on a project which sought to add a collaborative robot to the powder coating line on-site to help with quality issues of the powder application. I did lots of CAD design and planning, and the build and testing will be happening shortly. It was overall a great semester and I learned a lot from the experience.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
Most of the skills I acquired are on the lines of design practice and CAD methods. The final assembly was very large and I had to be sure everything was near perfect to avoid issues during the actual build. I learned a lot about time management as well, because I was always busy with multiple projects at one time.
Favorite Part of the Experience
Getting to learn about collaborative robots and get handds-on experience with them was very cool. And soon to be able to actually implement a robot into a project myself and other members worked on will be very rewarding.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
At first, I did not think I wanted to get into manufacturing but seeing how much practical knowledge I have gained from working at DeWys, I have no doubt it is the field I want to get into. Finding new and unique ways to improve processes and operations is something I greatly enjoy.