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amanda quotes

Amanda’s Quotes #3

[167-172] Yeah, one class that all engineers is [Intro engineering course], that we’re having a few projects throughout the semester, one was you were supposed to design an airplane or you were supposed to do the calculations, you were not really suppose to design it, like how much air and drag it had, and it would give you some practice, like it would need to be able to fly from here to Europe and then you need to do some assumptions and calculations, so that was more like a math project.

[172-177] And we had a second project, you were supposed to do a ball launcher for a dog which the dog can use without the owner being home. That was a lot of math calculations, maybe like what angle you wanted the ball to be thrown in and stuff, but that one we were actually supposed to build. We didn’t design it on the computer because we hadn’t learned how to do that so we just had to sketch on the paper and a few classes you can be in workshop and working on it.

[185-194] I’m just the kind of person that wants stuff to be done as quick as possible and not to do it the night before, so I think I usually take the role where I’m like trying to make a group of the students pass the ball and like making sure we get started. But then, I think we stayed equal amongst all of us. Some people come with some ideas what kind of ball launch we could do and all of us came up with like two different ideas that was like what we decided to do, and then one day we met up and just discussed which one we liked the most. There was a combination of two of them and then we started to build and there was one guy in our group that had been a worker once, so he kinda knew the most and he kinda told us what to do and how to build it.

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amanda quotes

Amanda’s Quotes #13

[192-197] Another course called Preliminary Design involves a yearlong project. I am working in a group of three, and we are designing an ankle brace that is supposed to prevent ankle sprains in soccer. In the beginning of the semester, we had lectures, which covered how you should think when you are picking out material, or how you should think when have different concepts, and the concept selection. But now later on in the semester, all those class times have just been time for us to be able to work on a project.

[200-207] I’m working in very good group. Everyone is doing what they’re supposed to do. And our goal is to have a prototype by the end of the semester, and we are using a flexible plastic called CPAs. That is supposed to allow natural range of motion and also provide forces at a higher velocity. We are 3-D printing the brace to be able to do thin, because current braces on the market are very bulky. And we have now downloaded prototype, and obviously it’s going to have to be redone because it was used the outer shell of it. So, there’s no support yet or anything.

[210-212] So when we’re getting our prototype by the end of this semester, we go ahead and do testing on it next semester. Probably redesign it to make it better than the current one on the market.

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Amanda’s Quotes #14

[374-377] We wanted to go to conference to receive some more knowledge about how we could develop our ankle brace. To attend the conference, I had to be a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society.

[390-394; 37-407] The conference consisted of interactions with the faculty. Also, we saw a lot of schools promoting their graduate program. So, it was a lot of talking about their graduating programs. But then we also had the chance to attend sessions to learn more about biomechanics. One session was about injuries in biomechanics, and it was supposed to be a one hour, and then you went to that class, but it was 15 minutes presentation. But then one could talk about ankle injuries and some can talk about concussions, or something like that. So, it’s 15 minutes per presentation during this hour.

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Amanda’s Quotes #21

[106-111] As far as senior design, last semester we were trying to develop a prototype for an ankle brace that’s supposed to prevent ankle sprains. And then this semester it’s more trying to perform testing to validate the product. So, I try to look first and improve our design on the brace because we got a prototype, but we still wanted to improve our prototype. Currently, we are conducting the testing which is basically building ankle which can do inversion and eversion. Then we will see if the brace is preventing it to rotate.

[115-122] We have three different tests in mind. The other test was a tensile test so you basically take the brace, put it in a tensile machine and the machine like drags it out and then it can get the formation curve. Also, we’re thinking about doing a fatigue test to see how many times the brace can rotate or perform before it’s going to break. That information is good to know how long would it last before the customer has to buy a new brace. But we knew we weren’t going to have time to do all three of the tests, so we decided to do the tensile testing and the first test I was talking about. That’s been a plan the whole time. We got maybe halfway or something with both of the tests.

[124-127] Maybe a bit more like 65%. But then this virus happened so now we’re not allowed to be at school or be at the lab so we’re not going to be able to perform the tensile test because that’s with a machine that was at our university. So now we’re only doing the test to test the brace itself. The one I was explaining first about where the ankle is rotating.

[132-135] Yeah, so I’m proving the design we’re doing all the time like we’re doing currently similar testing. We hope to have a prototype that we think will work in May when we’re graduating. The testing has to be complete this semester even though we’re testing when our product is not working because that’s a part of the curriculum that we had to perform some testing.

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amanda quotes

Amanda’s Quotes #22

[315-320] We are working with a company to develop a prototype for the ankle brace. They’re very helpful, a very good company. We even had a phone conference with them so we told them what we had to get done and they can customize their product to us so it would help. Then it has been taking too long of a time producing the part compare to what they say and then to ship the part and they didn’t tell us about it. When I expect the product and it’s not there, I contact them, and they say it still hasn’t been shipped or stuff like that. So, it’s taking a very long time but every time I talk with them, they’re very helpful.

[307-311] Overall, our interactions with the company has been good. Sometimes it can feel like sometimes when we’re trying to order something, or we feel like they may not take us as serious because we are students compared to if a professional industry would order something. They are late with the parts and not really giving us an update what’s going on or why it’s late. I had to reach out to them all the time because I don’t feel as respected as it should be. And that may could be because we’re students.

[326-328] We can still develop our prototype without having their parts. It’s always like something you can do even though you don’t have what you need. But it has for sure slowed down our process because they have not met the deadlines.

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Josh’s Quotes #3

[245-257] I really enjoyed my classes in the fall. We built a robot, and we built a catapult completely from scratch to our specifications. In the spring, we got into specifically mechanical engineering. I had an intro to mechanical engineering course, and we did six weeks in the computer lab and six weeks in the machine shop where we designed, fabricated and assembled a soft blow hammer and a tumbler. It’s a plastic block with a metal swing arm on it and you can you just crank it endlessly; it’s like a little toy. That was to teach us how to deal with tolerance, to get pieces to fit together. They also, in the catapult project, put us into groups because the purpose of engineering is to learn to work in a group as well as doing things on your own. So, those definitely satisfied that curiosity of saying, “How can I make this machine make a piece of solid metal into some intricate design? And how can I transfer that skill into a different project and use it in this way?”

[258-263] So, I feel like that only increased my desire and I still wanted to be an engineer. The schooling, obviously as we go on, gets harder and becomes more of a workload. But, I still have that curiosity. We’re doing less hands on now than we are doing theoretical work, and I think the hands on is what keeps me interested. But the theoretical work does satisfy me to an extent because it’s still the satisfaction of solving problems or figuring out equations and finding the right numbers.

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Josh’s Quotes #7

(176-177; 179-183) So the [mechatronics] practicum, he—well, so we are usually working in groups of two in class when we do labs, when we do projects, anything like that. When you come in he gives you, basically a lab sheet like you would with any other thing, except you’re expected to do it on your own. So we basically start with a hundred, and then every time you have to ask for help or you get something wrong, he deducts points. And you’re based on your ability to build and test a circuit without the assistance of the professor.

(145; 201-203) . . . right now we’re also working on a design project. I only have one team member. I know my team member from last semester. And this semester we have a lot of classes together, so we’ve gotten to know each other a lot better, so we work together well. But it’s very low stress environment. We’re both very open to the other’s ideas, and if we don’t understand, we’re honest about it.

(434-436; 438; 446-450; 439) I don’t interact with all of my peers, but the peers that I do interact are pretty much the same ones that I see day to day and that I interact day to day and it’s a very helpful environment. And I mean not everyone likes everyone. I’m not saying this is the case, but I might be a quiet introverted person and someone might be loud and extroverted, and I don’t want to be around them. Or they might be rude and obnoxious and I don’t want to be around it or vice versa. Someone may consider me rude and obnoxious. Or when I answer the questions in class, people might consider me a teacher’s pet, but we can put aside our differences to help each other.

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Josh’s Quotes #9

(230; 501-502; 506) So I still don’t have a co-op. I actually have an interview today at 1:30, a phone interview at 1:30. I didn’t include it on the journey map, I forgot to. But part of that last up curve I’d say was procuring the phone interview I have today. Slightly nervous, very confident.

(259-262; 264-267) So with this one, this company that I am interviewing with today, they design and manufacture pipe fittings. And my dad was a sprinkler fitter for 35 years. And when I told him that I applied at this company, that they want to interview me, he said that he worked with their products. So that’s one thing that I will plan to be using as an “in” into the company, to say hey, I know your products are good, I have primary source knowledge of this, and I want to be a part of that process.

(106-111) I definitely am not ready to go into the workforce as an engineer. I would say I’m getting closer. This summer I’ll be going through my first co-op internship. So I think once that happens I’ll feel a lot closer because I’ll start to get work experience in. I feel very confident in my problem solving skills and my ability to work on a team. So in that sense of an engineer, I feel very confident.

(476-480) I was not very involved before I came to college. I never considered myself a leader. I considered myself a follower. But since I’ve come to school I think I’ve developed the leadership and communication skills necessary, not only to succeed in my field, but also to move forward in life and be able to interact with the people I meet in my daily life and in my professional life in a way that we can collaborate efficiently and cohesively.

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Josh’s Quotes #16

[5-62] As a result, this semester I’m working for a company and it has five major divisions. There’s paper, lumber, hydro, and then I forget what the other two are. One might be petroleum. But I worked in the Hydro division. The Hydro division designs, manufacturers, and rehabilitates turbines and other components for hydro-power. I worked in the turbine team. I was a turbine engineering intern. Like most internships, I did pretty much what was needed of me. But it definitely was not like, “Go get us coffee, go file this meaningless paperwork so that you have something to do.” It was actual work that applies to the things I’m learning in school and it gives me experience that I’ll be able to take moving forward. Actually, there were some Excel spreadsheet things they wanted me to fill. Then there are also a lot of situations they would hand me a technical drawing and they would say, “We need you to remodel this and make a new drawing because this one is out of date.” I would do that. There were a few design projects I was actually in on where I was able to come up with the design that would be used for various things in the field. If there’s anything else I can say about that, but that’s pretty much the general overview of my experience at my internship.

[112-128] Interestingly, the onboarding process was different at this company in comparison to last summer. When I started at the company, at my internship last summer, it was a lot of interns. They put us in a room and gave us a presentation. But at this company, I was the only intern at the beginning. Since then, there’s only been one or two others that I’ve seen. It’s a different type of thing. They didn’t have an orientation day set up for me, but what they had, it’s called an eight by eight by eight. It goes eight hours, eight days, eight weeks. You have a list of things that you need to do, and you have a contact for doing that. Then you have a place for them to sign once you complete it. Some of the stuff was read the code of conduct, go on our website. There was a PowerPoint they wanted me to go through that kind of talks about what’s in a powerhouse, so I understand what I’m doing. But there was also the Solid Edge tutorials. I got a tour of the machine shop that’s there. There’s also a hydraulics laboratory and getting tours of those was part of my orientation. That was, eight hours it was the first day, get your ID, do the basic stuff.

Eight weeks or eight days was the tutorials that really get you started. Then the eight weeks was the go online and look at these supplemental materials. It was up to me to do that. My supervisor, I don’t really talk to my supervisor that much. He’s very helpful. He sets me up, if I have questions, he tells me where to go. But the internship is very self-driven. I set up my trainings, I set up my projects, and I talk to the people I need to talk to. Unless I need him for something or he needs me for something, which is not a lot, I just kind of go on and do what I’m doing how I want to do it.

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Josh’s Quotes #18

[67-77] Another aspect where I had to adjust to while working at the company was the 3D modeling software. At school, for reference, the 3D modeling software that we use is called SolidWorks. This company uses Solid Edge. It’s the same concept, different application, different buttons, pretty much how everything else is on a computer. But at first I had to learn that, which was not that difficult. But as I had mentioned before, the difficulty kind of came when I had to learn all of their specific systems. In the sense that, they have a system where they store all of their finalized drawings. I had to learn how to go in there, how to make a drawing and there are certain steps. You have to have certain things set right when you create the document. It has to be a certain type of document. Once you’re done with it, you have to make sure it has a certain name based on what it is for what project. Then you have to promote it to somebody. Then once they approve it, then someone else has to approve it. Then you have to, I think, release it one more time. There was a lot there.

[78-87] Then there was another program called SAP, which is kind of where all the intricate things came in. If you have a drawing with something that you build, you have all of these individual components that go into it. SAP is where you store all of the bill of materials for these components. Again, you have to make a bill of materials, you have to fill in certain things. They have certain call-outs for specific parts. Whether it’s because it’s like a bolt or a nut, or it’s because it’s in a certain part of the powerhouse. Learning all those short names, learning the process so I don’t mess it up or so that there’s less to fix later. Then the same as the other thing, someone else has to check it. I have to update it and then release it and go through all those steps. Learning those systems I think was the most difficult aspect of the internship. I did end up having difficulties with Solid Edge. But it wasn’t necessarily with learning Solid Edge itself, I think it was more so the specific project I was working on.

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