Controls Programming At Koops
Max
Experience Information
Employer: Koop, Inc
Job Title: Controls Programming
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Koops is a company that specialized in designing and manufacturing automation equipment. The company is mostly dominated by engineers. The company is very personable and not a whole lot of upward mobility as their hierarchy is an employee, supervisor, operational manager, and CEO. The lack of movement is due to the companies business model and size, which is around 200-220 people. That being said the company emphasizes on inclusiveness making for a great work environment.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
The projects I was given were PLC based, which is programming via ladder logic. A task given to me was to offline code machines; this is creating the general structure of the machine and how it processes inputs and outputs. Another task of a controls engineer at Koops is to debug machines, which required working with the PLC and the hardware of a machine to create create an operational PLC.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
Throughout this semester I gained the knowledge and skill to program a machine using two different types of controls software, Rockwell and Siemens. I
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of the co-op experience was the hands-on and troubleshooting of the debug process. This is because I am a visual and hands-on person. However, working at Koops is an excellent opportunity because the people are excited, caring, and ready to teach.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
Although the experience was good and I enjoyed the work, it made me realize that PLC coding is not the job I want to be doing for a career. It has focused my discipline into other types of engineering more focused on design and prototyping than purely control programming.