Monday, June 26, 2006

Posted 1 year, 10 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 4 hours, 36 minutes ago

This week has been very busy.  I am really enjoying my safety class.  One of my assignments this week was doing some safety evaluations.  So, I did these evaluations at the facility where I am doing my internship. Last Tuesday, I did a process evaluation where I observed two ladies at a work cell.  In this evaluation, the teacher provided a table in which to fill but I had to come up with my own categories and subcategories that were pertinent to the work cell.  On Wednesday, I did an ergonomic survey on a lady hand assembling locks.  This evaluation was a little more simplistic given the fact that I used a checksheet that contained all the categories necessary for the evaluation.  On Thursday, I did a product evaluation on a rack plating line.  This was probably the best evaluation in terms of all the safety features that it contained.  All in all I am learning a lot of valuable things from this class.  I am seeing the importance of understanding safety issues especially as it relates to engineering.
My internship is going quite well.  As always, I learn new things everyday.  I have spent a lot of time lately on putting together spreedsheets on the properties of the various parts that I have been modeling.  This becomes very important for the plating department.
I am looking forward to the exciting things in store at work and school this next week!

Charles

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Posted 1 year, 10 months, 4 weeks, 2 days, 2 hours, 20 minutes ago

Much like last week, I spent a lot of time on SolidWorks.  However, I was performing other responsibilities as well.  Thursday morning, I was invoved in a design project for a locking truck handle.  At 1:00pm, I was in a research and development meeting. That was really interesting.  Friday, I became involved in another project.  Within this project, I had to draw a new cam that would fit the proper specifications on a present assembly that has been running on the floor.  I finished the cam drawing yesterday and took it to the floor for test production.  My manager approved the samples today, and they went in full production.  The cams are scheduled to be attached to the assemblies tomorrow and then be shipped by Friday.  I enjoy seeing a project go from design to finished product.  That is what is so rewarding about it all.

Charles Davies

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Posted 1 year, 11 months, 6 days, 16 hours, 7 minutes ago

During these past two weeks I have spent a lot of time on SolidWorks.  At present, most of the parts at this facility are drawn in a 2-D design program like AutoCAD.  Here shortly this program will no longer be supported.  Therefore, I have been working on converting these drawings to SolidWorks files.  However, there is another reason for this.  This company is presently installing a new plating line.  It is crucial that the surface areas of these parts be determined so they can be platted to accurate tolerance.  SolidWorks has the capability of finding surface areas of models.  So, my job has been modeling these parts and then transfering them onto engineering drawings.  This has required much patience and time.  I have learned to have a critical eye.  In the lock manufacturing industry, componants have to be manufactured within thousandths of an inch accuracy.  I have observed instances where parts were a thousandths of an inch off and the lock would not function.  So with that said, engineering is a field that requires observance to detail.

I’ll end this blog with one final note.  I am really glad that the Western class I took last semester introduced me to SolidWorks and other 3-D modeling programs.  I am beginning to apply what I learned in the classroom to the engineering world. 

Thinking engineering? Think Western.

Charles