Introduction
My internship was unique as I worked as and independent contractor. I had to self motivate and organize to make sure I got everything done, as I worked from home. I designed and built a machine that would be part of a production line and increase efficiency in the company. The experience taught me about the expectations of companies and how it differs from building for a hobby.
Log
June 4: I did a bunch of research and I created a very unique design that I thought would work. It turns out what I did was in vain and the design was denied. (2 hours)
June 5: After getting told that my original design was not what was wanted of me, I made sure I understood what was wanted. I clarified and asked a lot of questions to make sure. I was still adjusting to working with a company. (4 hours)
June 6: I continued to the design the device I would use based on the specifications. I spent the whole day researching and designing. (4 hours)
June 7: I finished up my designs and begin to make a list of the materials I would need, I then checked this design to make sure it was what was wanted and what needed to be done. Tomorrow I will look in to the things that I have to order. (2 hours)
June 8: I continued to research the materials I needed to order. I did the normal specifications I normally do, such as measuring for dimension. The thing I was not used to was how much money was acceptable for a company to pay. I am used to making everything I build as cheap as possible, but now I was expected to aim for quality with a higher budget. Working for a company is different than working for myself. I also ordered the lasers and laser receivers today and those were normal and I only had to check with compatibility with the arduino (the board used as the “brain”). (3 hours)
June 9: I began to build the device, I started with programing the actuator. I used an arduino and a motor control board in order to run enough voltage to power the actuator. I got the actuator working and functioning relatively quickly as I had dealt with this system before. It was with the laser and laser receiver that I had trouble. The system was going to use a laser and receiver, so when something interrupted their connection the actuator would activate. It sounds simple enough in concept and it seemed to be working at first, then it stopped working and I am unsure why. (5 hours)
June 10: I kept trying to figure out what was wrong with the laser and receiver I replaced both parts, rewrote parts of the code and rewired everything. I still have no Idea what went wrong. (4 hours)
June 11: my employer found a better method and machine, one I could not hope to design on my own, it was pricier than my option, but I will agree it works better. (none)
Closing Report
My internship was unique, instead of working in a company being told what to do along the way, I worked more as a sort of contractor. I was given an end goal and I worked from home in order to meet the request. My goal was to create a stamping machine for a company called Cheap Pete’s. They build and sell quality picture frames. To show which frames they constructed, they stamp the cardboard backing with a logo that can stay there even after a picture is framed. Stamping the cardboard was tedious for the workers and their stamps would vary in quality. By mechanizing this system, the owner hoped to increase quality and efficiency. After understanding my goal I was able to start my daily work.
My daily work varied based on the progression of this project. After figuring out what I had to do, my first full day of work was going into cheap pete’s and spending the day stamping cardboard. This allowed me to understand what problems needed to be solved, first hand. From there I spent time drawing up designs and researching how other people had solved similar problems. After I had an acceptable design for the owner, I researched which products were best for my machine. After the items arrived, my daily activities became creating the machine.
I already had skills in mechanical, electrical, engineering, and computer programing. I employed all of these skills. I used my skills with mechanical engineering in order to build the frame of the machine. I used my electrical engineering skills to wire everything, including properly wiring a laser and laser receiver. I used the programing in order for an arduino board to read the data from the laser receiver, and to activate the actuator. I also had specific skills with arduino and linear actuators from a previous project, and therefor had some familiarity with these systems. Although I had previously had all of these skills, I also learned some new skills.
I had never designed and built something for a company. I never had to work in their constraints. I usually designed stuff for my own purposes. I learned just how different it is to work for a company. First they have a lot higher price margin, they have more money to spend than I do and I had to learn to be less frugal. Second the company has needs and wants that I do not always know, I had to get out of my head and get into theirs to understand what they wanted. Third I learned that companies can change their approach and all of one’s hard work can be for not. While I was able to figure out what the company wanted, and I began to build it, I could not compete with a machine that was probably designed by multiple people, and used tools that I do not have access to, to be built.
I expected to be able to design and build a simple machine that would work and be used by the company. My first expectation is that the first design I created would only need minor changes. In reality, the design had to be completely scrapped and redone. I also expected that I would be able to finish my design quickly and efficiently, but I got stuck when getting a laser and laser receiver to work and it cost a lot of time. It was the biggest hang up as I felt I had not changed anything from when it was working for a second to when it was not working at all.