The Cutting Edge™ - November 2003

Education & Scholarship

I was amazed at how easy it is to participate in the WMMA® Education & Scholarship Program. I simply let headquarters know that I had a candidate I was interested in mentoring, filled out the paperwork, and in no time, Clint Denning was accepted into the program.

Clint, a student Mechanical Engineering student at Purdue University, worked at DuBois Equipment as an intern this summer. Clint progressed very well throughout his internship. By the end of the summer, he was able to handle projects with very little guidance from the rest of our engineering staff. We look forward to having him back on his next break from school.

In looking back at my summer engineering internship with Dubois Equipment, I am surprised at all I learned. Going into this internship, I was curious as to what the company was going to have me do and nervous as to whether or not I was going to be able to meet their expectations. Working in the shop during a previous summer allowed me to have a good knowledge of the kind of work that the company did, but I was never really exposed to what took place in the engineering department.
My first task was to simply put old, hand-drawn drawings into the computer files for easier reference with the use of AutoCAD. Over the summer this ended up being something for me to do when I was between projects. The next task that was asked of me was to figure out how much coating was in an odd shaped pan if a measurement of the depth was taken from a certain place. This required me to use several simple math formulas that I have learned. After coming up with a solution, I produced a spreadsheet that would give the customer a volume in gallons for his measured depth in 0.25” increments. Another task along these lines required me to find a new sheave to replace an existing one on a motor, which was used to reduce the speed of the line. These two tasks, though simple, actually made me feel good, as I was solving real world problems that would be used rather than finding solutions to problems out of a textbook. Several other small tasks such as detailing machine parts and putting together assembly drawings were also completed throughout the summer.

My major task was to improve an existing design for easier and quicker production. This was a filter/exhaust filtration system that was used to recycle excess coating from a newly designed spray machine. I was able to work not only with the head engineer of the project, but also first hand with the people assembling the system. However, before I started I went to the plant where the first system was set up for production. Here I was able to gain a better understanding of how the system worked, as I was not able to collect everything from the drawings. Through suggestions and personal ideas, I was able to obtain several new things that cut down on production time, space, and materials. For one of the exhaust systems, the customer needed the design to be built to allow for space where another machine would be placed. This was a good experience because I had to come up with a solution within a limited amount of space. However, I was not able to alter the design very much because this could easily hurt its performance.

During these projects I was able to apply several things that I learned from my introduction course to engineering design. Ease of manufacturing was the main concept with which I worked. Documenting what was used to build the machine with the use of a Bill of Materials was also a tool from my classes that I was able to use. The best skill that I used, which is hard to teach, was being able to analyze how a machine was pieced together and break it down to see how it worked.
Another specific project given to me included a deadline. Taking an assembly drawing, I had to draw the detail drawings of each part so the pieces could be manufactured and shipped within a certain time frame. This project allowed me to witness first hand the types of things that will be expected of me in my future job.

As mentioned earlier, I learned a great deal while working in the engineering department this past summer. One of the most important things that I was able to witness and experience first hand was the importance of communication between a team. Without good communication in an engineering atmosphere, several things could go wrong. The engineers that I worked with were very helpful when I had questions and I think that this allowed me to mature as an engineer. There were also times when I made a mistake, and I had to go back and come up with a solution to correct the error.

Another benefit that I got out of this summer internship was being able to get my hands dirty. Prior to this internship I had no actual engineering experience. The only things I knew where the things that I learned from by textbooks. In each of the above tasks and projects I was constantly learning new things. Whether it was setting tolerances for boltholes or simply picking the right size bolt to use, I realized that learning is a never-ending process, especially in the engineering world.
Overall I was very pleased and grateful to have the opportunity to work along side the engineers of Dubois Equipment. While it was only for a short time, it was one of the best learning experiences that I have had yet. This internship will be very helpful in paving my path towards a future job due to the knowledge and skills which I received, whether it is with Dubois Equipment or another company interested in me.

To learn more about the WMMA® Education & Scholarship Program, and how you can participate, click here.

To view last month’s article, “Members Speak of the Benefits: Fletcher Machinery Mentors Summer Intern,” click here.