Mechanical Engineering third co-op rotation at Irwin Seating Company
Ben
Experience Information
Employer: Irwin Seating Company
Job Title: Product Design Engineer co-op
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Irwin Seating Company is a family owned company located in Walker MI that primarily produces fixed seating for places like theaters, auditoriums, stadiums, and places of worship. The company has been in business for over 100 years and has around 400 employees. There are two locations, the main location which I work at is for fixed seating and the other for telescopic seating solutions. The whole facility is all in one building so the front office is attached to an entire manufacturing facility.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
Around 90% of my time was dedicated to helping the development of a new recliner. (see attached picture) I did a lot of CAD modeling for this project as well as being involved in the discussion and decisions on various design choices. The other 10% of my time was dedicated to a mix of helping problem solve other upcoming products, miscellaneous tasks, and upkeep of the engineering space.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
I gained a lot of knowledge on linkage mechanisms and pivots. A few key aspects were riveting technology, working with bushings and their tolerances, and mechanism construction. I gained the skills to better visualize mechanisms in my head.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of the experience was getting to sit in prototypes of the mechanisms that I had been spending all of my time developing.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
This experience has gotten me more interested in linkage based mechanisms and I think a job designing them would be a good fit for me.
Internship Format
In Person