From the beginning, it was surprising how involved I was with the functions of Freight Car.  Some would say I was initiated by fire.  Normal duties include AutoCAD drawings of custom parts and major projects.  In addition, I develop pads or production instructions with text and picture representations of tasks. My first task was to complete 2D drawings for side sheet templates.  These 2D templates had to be drawn to scale in AutoCAD, and served as references for the Automatic CNC drill.  If my drawings were incorrect or flawed, the machine would drill incorrectly, meaning I would have wasted company time and materials.  The pressure was on!

After successfully completing the 2D templates, I was assigned the Blast Project, which refers to a blast room that is similar to a sand blasting room.  The primary difference is that the blast room uses metal grit expelled in the vicinity of 50 – 100 psi.  My assigned job was to make the environment safe for people that would possibly enter or be around the blasting room.  To insure safety, I decided to use limit switches to detect whether or not the doors to the room were open.  If any door was ajar, the air pressure would be restricted, rendering the blast guns nonfunctional.  To determine my bill of materials, I drew a logic schematic of what would be needed to incorporate an emergency stop system.  Then, I proceeded in making the actual schematic or the conceptual electrical drawing.  Panel drawings and wiring diagrams followed to ensure that installation would be easy.  I researched quotes for all the items on my bill of materials and completed a requisition sheet in order to get approval to purchase.

My next major project was the Automatic Roller Bed Project.  There is a section of the production line where people push side sheets down a series of rollers.  These sheets of metal are what are on the sides of train cars.  They are approximately 40 feet long and 8 feet wide.  The actions taken for this project were similar to the Blast Project, but it had a different purpose.  This purpose was to automate the rollers so that pneumatic motors moved the sheets down the rollers to each position, but keep the area near it as safe as possible.  For safety, I used a series of emergency stops, but the most expensive equipment was the safety mats which keep all the walkways safe during operation of the roller bed.  Other important devices needed for this project were inductive proximity sensors which detect the sheets when they are in their start and stop positions.   I had to develop drawings for this project as well. These drawings gave all dimensional information and building instructions necessary for manufacturing the needed parts.  Also featured with these drawings were 3D models to aid in assembly.  In addition, I pre-wired the main electrical panel for ease and efficiency of installment.  It was my duty to test all the components as if they were already installed on the line of production, so that I had time to troubleshoot any problems, allowing the system to be installed with ease and limited problems.

My concern in preparing to be an engineer was work experience.  My father and his wife are both engineers; consequently, they say that most graduating engineers lack work experience which is vital to be competitive in the field.  I have used my internships to gain this experience as well as networking.  Having contacts in the field makes it easy to obtain a job quickly after graduation.  Academics is helpful but nothing is as beneficial as working in the field.  I have been fortunate to have this opportunity, and I appreciate the fact that DACC recognizes the importance of internships and encourages their students to locate such experiences, and will even help students to find them.