The Cutting Edge — October 2003

Education & Scholarship

This was our first experience with the intern program, and it was certainly worthwhile. We assigned to Bryan the responsibility of re-designing the end trim units that we use on all of our edgebanders. We have kept the same design for a number of years, and have been evaluating a number of different options for a new design.

After we reviewed the various types of end trim units, we let Bryan spend some time with our Service Technicians to see how the units work in production environments. He then was involved with members of our Engineering Department to process the changes that we felt needed to be incorporated to satisfy our customers.

Several different varieties and systems were looked at, and the attached design is the one that best suited our needs. Due to limited research and development on the model unit, we have not converted to this system yet. However, we do anticipate switching to this improved model, and the net result will be faster production, and a more dependable operating machine for our customers.

Bryan fit in well here, and we were pleased to play a part in his summer work experience. I personally feel that the WMMA Scholarship moneys were well spent with Bryan, and hope that we can continue to have a positive impact on the students who enter our industry. Thank you for letting us be part of the Scholarship program. Please let me know if you have any questions, or if I can of assistance.

My Summer Internship with Fletcher Machine Inc.
by Bryan Kearse, North Carolina State University

This summary of my internship with Fletcher Machine Inc. begins with my first encounter with the faculty in April. When I called to schedule an appointment to meet with my supervisors for the summer I was greeted with a friendly, “Hello.” Immediately, an interest into my activities with the company this summer was evident. I felt welcomed by the friendly voices and reception I was given in the few short minutes we spoke on the phone. My first meeting with Jeff Lowman, Gene Hansen, and Ray Fletcher proved that the welcome was whole-hearted and I looked forward to spending two months of my summer in the company of these men.

Jeff Lowman and Gene Hansen were my chief supervisors. They explained the workings of the company to me and helped me settle into my new surroundings. After a few short weeks, I had introduced myself to nearly the entire staff and began to interact with employees on a regular basis. I was also given a design project to complete. My project was to re-design the current end-trimmer work unit for the edge-banding machines. I had many questions about the project. After much research using internet resources and gathering knowledge from various members of the staff, I answered my questions and accumulated enough information to put together a solid approach to solving the design criteria. My resulting design used industry-leading modeling software, Solidworks, which gave the staff a look at the next step in CAD and possibilities for improvement in engineering their products. Also, my design used fewer manufactured parts, thus eliminating machining problems found in the existing design. Finally, my design saved wall space on the edge-banding machine, thus reducing the overall size and price to manufacture the machine. In fact, the price of my proposed work unit was nearly half the price of the existing design.

In conclusion, my final design was not completed to the level I had hoped to achieve. However, the experience I received as a result of working with Fletcher Machine Inc. has given me a greater appreciation for the woodworking industry in every respect. I hope the future internships for Fletcher Machine Inc. will continue to profit both the company and the student.

To learn how you can sign up for the Education & Scholarship Program, click here.