First Engineering Internship
I participated in my first engineering internship during the summer after my sophomore year at Janicki Industries in my hometown.
For the first month I did mostly labor and assembly work to integrate into the employee base, and it was a great experience. Eventually however, my manager gave me an engineering problem to solve.
They needed to be able to move resin barrels around the shop floor, but since they vary in weight based on how full they are, it creates a safety hazard to move them with cranes. My manager wanted me to design a hoist fixture that would safety lift barrel carts of various weights and changing centers of mass.
After a long period of analysis, I finally began my first design in Catia, the same design software that Boeing uses. It was based mostly on a horizontal plate with supports, and would be attached to the crane with a hoist ring. You can see the progression of this design in the photos below.
For the first month I did mostly labor and assembly work to integrate into the employee base, and it was a great experience. Eventually however, my manager gave me an engineering problem to solve.
They needed to be able to move resin barrels around the shop floor, but since they vary in weight based on how full they are, it creates a safety hazard to move them with cranes. My manager wanted me to design a hoist fixture that would safety lift barrel carts of various weights and changing centers of mass.
After a long period of analysis, I finally began my first design in Catia, the same design software that Boeing uses. It was based mostly on a horizontal plate with supports, and would be attached to the crane with a hoist ring. You can see the progression of this design in the photos below.
I showed this design to my supervisor, but he was unsatisfied with it for several reasons. First of all, the design would require that some of our welds be capable of holding tension, and that would require a weld inspection, which he was unwilling to do. After all, weld inspections cost a lot of money, and are a significant time sink. Second, my design required the purchase of several hoist rings, which are expensive. Additionally, no company makes a hoist ring big enough to fit our cranes, so we would need an additional cable loop to hook our structure to the crane.
After some thinking, I decided to ask my dad for advice. He took one look at the problem, and said: "Why don't you just make it look like two overlapping coat hangers?" It was like a lightbulb went off in my head: this solved all my problems. With overlapping coat hangers, all of our force would go through the vertical members and not the welds, and I could incorporate my own attachment points in whatever size I wanted.
I spent the next few days designing my new version, and finally showed it to my manager. He was very pleased, and told me to run it by the stress analysis department. I was able to learn finite element analysis, and after analyzing my system, I made a few parts larger. Finally, I made drawings and sent them to the shop floor for production.
After some thinking, I decided to ask my dad for advice. He took one look at the problem, and said: "Why don't you just make it look like two overlapping coat hangers?" It was like a lightbulb went off in my head: this solved all my problems. With overlapping coat hangers, all of our force would go through the vertical members and not the welds, and I could incorporate my own attachment points in whatever size I wanted.
I spent the next few days designing my new version, and finally showed it to my manager. He was very pleased, and told me to run it by the stress analysis department. I was able to learn finite element analysis, and after analyzing my system, I made a few parts larger. Finally, I made drawings and sent them to the shop floor for production.
Second Engineering Internship
For my second engineering internship, I returned to Janicki Industries so I could spend the summer at home again. However, this time my project was completely different.
We were working on a new project for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to treat sewage in third world countries. Many people around the world live in environments where human waste is not properly disposed of, and pathogens spread easily from person to person. The Gates Foundation believes that we can find ways to treat this waste on site and destroy the pathogens.
Our project was an omni-processor that burns sewage and generates electricity. My job was to research, design, and install the concrete refractory for the boiler of the processor. It was a great experience to work on a project that may have the potential to impact many lives around the world in a positive way.
We were working on a new project for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to treat sewage in third world countries. Many people around the world live in environments where human waste is not properly disposed of, and pathogens spread easily from person to person. The Gates Foundation believes that we can find ways to treat this waste on site and destroy the pathogens.
Our project was an omni-processor that burns sewage and generates electricity. My job was to research, design, and install the concrete refractory for the boiler of the processor. It was a great experience to work on a project that may have the potential to impact many lives around the world in a positive way.