Mechanical Design & Engineering Co-op
Co-op is a program through Northeastern through which a student alternate semesters of study with 6 months of professional experience. I completed my first co-op at Communication and Power industries.
My Experience
Communication and power industries is a global manufacturer of electronic components and subsystems focused primarily on communications, defense, and medical markets. I worked at the microwave division in Beverly, Massachusetts (just outside of Boston). My team specialized in RF technology for Receiver protectors.
My co-op as a Mechanical Design engineer was my first professional engineering experience. With it came a lot of firsts.
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Although I was a co-op, I was given a lot of responsibility and freedom. I learned from both Mechanical and Electrical Engineers. Through the relationships I developed with both mechanical and electrical engineers at the company, I learned about each discipline and how they worked in tandem.
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A typical day at work would include designing a part in SolidWorks and creating a technical drawing, operating strain tests on various components, writing procedures, and observing a myriad of tests.
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I learned a lot about a technical engineering environment and grew from exposure to the cross-disciplinary spaces within the company.
Vibration Fixture
Problem
Design a fixture to hold a given part during a vibration test
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Action
1. Considered the purpose of the test
2. Examined geometry of part and existing hole patterns
3. Designed the fixture in SolidWorks
4. Created a technical print and completed the proper documentation
5. Brough the prints to our in-house machine shop for manufacturing
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Result
A representation of the final fixture is pictured to the right in Figure 1. It was design so that the part could be screwing in using a portion of its existing hole pattern and held in place using tension from the neighboring walls.
Figure 1. Representation of the vibration fixture I designed to test a specific part
Product Validation
Another part of my job was product validation. I would perform a temperature test on pressure windows then check each one for cracks. The test consisted of repeatedly submerging each window into a hot water bath for a specific amount of time, then shocking it in an ice bath. After a given number of cycles, I would dry it off and perform a visual inspection under the microscope to check for cracks or leaks.
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Once I separated any faulty windows, I brought them to the responsible engineer, communicated the problem. I worked with him to help shape the assembly and diagnose the problem. The problems were often that the epoxy layer or quartz window was too thin.
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Documentation
Technical Prints
During a typical day at work, I would find myself making a lot of technical drawings and completing the proper documentation. After receiving an email about a part change, I would locate the part file, open it up and make the change, update the drawing, and draft up an ECO to send to the responsible engineer.
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Other times I would have to draft a new technical print. When doing so I learned about the different part angles, how to measure from an origin, relative position and tolerance, and radii. I learned how to create simple prints with the minimum number of callouts that would still allow the part to be built properly.
Toward the end of my co-op, the workflow slowed down a little bit and I found myself with some extra time. I had heard about GD&T as an industry standard and wanted to learn it, so my manager let me use some of that spare time to create parts in a personal folder and draft the corresponding prints following GD&T nomenclature.
Procedures
In addition to technical prints, I would also draft procedures. For example, I simplified the procedure for an XRAY machine.
About a month before I arrived at the company, they had bought a new machine which came with very complex detailed instructions that were often hard to follow. As one of my first tasks, my manager had me familiarize myself with the machine and then refine the instructions for specific tests. In order to create a safe and comprehensive set of instructions, I followed the original instructions to take photos of spare parts. As I did so, I took my own notes and added details and pictures to clarify the tasks. I took pictures of the controls and labeled them as well as indicating when each control or button was used.
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This was helpful because I took the time to decipher the manufacturer's instructions, simplify the wording without losing the intended meaning, and include visuals so that the machine user could easier identify controls. Doing this gave more people access to the machine and ensured safe usage.