Engineering – CA Work Experience Program

Day 1!

For our first day working at Cisco, we started by meeting Ms. Sandifer in which she gave us a general overview of what to expect throughout the program in addition to general details about Cisco. We also attended several other meetings throughout the day. In the first, we talked about Cisco’s culture. We learned that in the sales department, specifically, they thrive in a competitive yet community-oriented environment. They find a balance between competition and collaboration; they celebrate each other’s accomplish and work together when they need help, but also find motivation in competing.

In another of our meetings, we also talked about the pitch project that we are going to be working on throughout this week and next week. In summary, we are going to be acting as if we are salespersons who work at Cisco and are trying to sell one of Cisco’s architectures to Cary Academy. We are going to have to research our chosen architecture and then determine ways that it can be beneficial to the Cary Academy community. The architectures include Meraki, Data Center, AppDymanics, Umbrella, and Collaboration.

Finally, each member of the Cisco WEP was assigned a mentor. We were able to talk to our mentors about their experiences working at Cisco as well as recommendations for our pitch presentation from a technical perspective. My mentor shared experiences about building systems from the ground up: she worked with creating routers, switches, etc.

Here is a picture of me with my mentor: Ms. Rswaragoundan.

-Grace

Obinna’s WEP: Day 8 (Take Off)

Today was my final day at NC State. I spent the morning continuing to work on my model of the F-5A. I think I was able to successfully able to replicate the engine and main body of this jet. Dr. Gopalarathnam talked to me about how students in his department use programs that simulate airflow to test models that they design. Apparently, the program is fairly complicated, so it would be unrealistic for me to learn the program during my time here. After I finished the model, I got the chance to observe an experiment being conducted in the subsonic wind tunnel. Some students had 3D-printed a segment of a wing and placed it inside the wind tunnel. They were able to record data on the forces and torques acting on the wing segment while the wind tunnel was on. They observed how those values changed when the wing was placed at different angles. This kind of experiment can be used to calculate how much lift a wing design would get in the air. I really enjoyed observing this experiment, and the information and experience that I gained here at NC State were truly invaluable.

The Last Day

My final day at DPR started at 8 AM when I arrived at the office. I met with Justin, a DPR employee who works with 3D computer models to assist with the management of construction sites. We traveled to a United Therapeutics building that Justin is working on. There, we attended a meeting with other employees to check in on the status of the project. Justin also showed me the 3D models of the building. After the meeting, we went to the UNC hospital that I was at on Tuesday. After a quick lunch in the cafeteria, Justin brought me into the construction area. He showed me a 3D rendering of the space that was made by compiling data from laser scans of the building. It was really cool to see the room I was in on the computer program. We then proceeded to a conference room in a far-away corner of the hospital for a trade coordination meeting with some of the other workers. We went back to the office and he showed me a few more building models.

The actual building from a similar perspective.

Day 3 at Caterpillar

Today’s trip to Caterpillar was once again in Clayton and at the CMDC, like yesterday. We began by meeting Jake in the lobby and being signed in, then split up to meet with various engineers for Caterpillar machines.

I worked with one of the engineers who designs engines for the Small Wheel Loaders. As it turns out, he did robotics in high school just like me! He taught me so much about Cat’s CAD software and cooling systems, and stressed the importance of working within tight constraints and with other team members. He also took me out to the testing fields so that we could inspect the components he designed.

After that, we had a meeting to discuss Caterpillar’s automation and remote control initiatives. It turns out that Caterpillar has remote operating stations which allow machines to be controlled from nearly anywhere on earth. (Here’s an interesting article about this) They also have remote controls to be used with line of sight to machines.

After discussing the various technologies Caterpillar offers, we were taken out to the testing fields to try the remote controls! One of the engineers set up two cones and Leonora, Atticus, and I all completed a figure eight around them.

Next came the main attraction “stick time,” the two words from our agenda which resonated with me most deeply these last three days. Jake drove us out to one of the more isolated testing fields, revealing two machines, one of which I’m allowed to show you.

After a brief overview of the controls, it was my turn to try out the 13 ton apparatus. It was so fun! After operating the machines for only around half an hour, I gained enormous respect for the people who use them daily, and the people who design them. The machines were extremely powerful and ripped through any earth in their way.

(Video of me using the backhoe loader.)

After our time with the machines, we ventured back to the offices for an engineering challenge and a tour of the 3d printing space. The engineering challenge was to find a way to fit a toolbox into one of the Small Wheel Loaders. The three of us brainstormed ideas, weighed their pros and cons, then chose the best solution. It was a great activity to understand how the engineering design process works in the real world.

We then looked at Caterpillar’s 3d printer, which extrude plastic out of a fine nozzle to create 3d plastic parts. It is used very often for rapid prototyping and testing within the design departments.

Thank you to everyone today for teaching me so much! I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn about Caterpillar’s engineering work and to try out the machines for myself.

Obinna’s WEP: Day 7 (Modeling a Jet)

There was even more modeling to be done today. I started by editing the Douglas Skytrain model. Among other touch-ups and reworkings, I managed to finish the wheels that retract into the body of the plane. Now that the landing gear has been added, my model of the Douglas Skytrain is complete. Next up was my model of the F-5A. Modeling this jet is much more difficult than the first two planes I modeled. The nose of the F-5A is in a shape that is difficult to replicate with the fuselage option in Open VSP. I eventually had to experiment with settings that I’ve never used before which involved the skin cross-sections on the fuselage. Another issue is the awkward shape of the engines in the back of the jet. Hopefully, I can model them properly and finish my final model.

The Penultimate Day

Today was my second-to-last day at DPR. After meeting Dr. McElreath for a few minutes this morning, I worked on a takeoff for the lighting at one of DPR’s current projects. Essentially, I used the On-Screen Takeoff software (OST) to mark up the plans. This tells the electrical estimators at DPR how many of each type of electrical or lighting device the building requires so that they can make an accurate cost estimate. It’s quite a challenging job that requires a lot of attention to detail, since there’s about 10 types of electrical outlets and about 30 types of lighting that have to be marked. After finishing the takeoff, I met with Rachel to review my work. She said that I did a good job overall, but there were a few conventions the estimators tend to follow when doing takeoffs that I didn’t know about. After finishing the meeting, I said goodbye to Mark. He’s taking the next two weeks off for vacation. When Mike got out of his meeting, he took me to a nearby Mexican restaurant. We then went to the WeWork site at One Glenwood, where we attended a meeting with some of the subcontractors. At that point, he’s letting me go early.

Unfortunately, I’m not able to provide a new picture for today. I’ll add another picture of the dog from yesterday instead.

Day 2 at Caterpillar

Today we ventured across the street—that street being NC highway 42 business—to the Caterpillar Clayton Machine Development Center (CMDC). This facility is home to the many engineers who design and test the smaller machinery that Caterpillar offers. Sadly, nearly all of my great picture taking opportunities were staunched by confidentiality. So instead, I have drawn up a satellite photo of the design domicile.

We began our day at location A, the design center. This is where all of the engineers reside to draw specifications and model solutions for Caterpillar’s machinery. The first place we went was a meeting room, for a safety briefing. Though the briefing was lengthy-around 15 slides of a PowerPoint-it was entertainingly detailed and thoughtful.

Soon after our briefing we went out for a tour of area B, the “fields.” These fields are the testing site for nearly all of the small Caterpillar machines. While many tests are brief, such as those measuring engine temperature, load on hydraulics or braking speed (notice the oval, that’s a full speed testing track, though the full speed happens to be 15mph for these 19 ton beasts), there are also endurance tests which take place. The endurance tests are often during daytime and overnight, and simulate normal operating conditions for long periods of time. For example, a small wheel loader moving gravel from one pile to another.

After touring the testing facility, we came back to building A and completed an engineering challenge. The challenge was to build a bridge out of spaghetti which spanned 40cm. Our design ended up quite strong, even though the approach seemed rather simple. It held over 2.5kg, and only fell off the tables after bending too much, rather than breaking (I’m still proud).

We then had lunch in the “Town Hall” room, which tells you quite enough about the significance of Caterpillar.

After lunch, we moved to area B briefly, where we saw some employees manufacturing and assembling prototype machinery. This is also the place where they install the many sensors required to properly perform tests. Though it sounds trivial, the sensors are actually very expensive and complicated. To demonstrate this to us thoroughly, we headed back to building A for a sensor cart instrumentation challenge.

This is the steering cart, with a steering wheel up top, hydraulically connected to the yellow cylinder in the front. The bottom box and nest of wires measures things like pressure, angle, and displacement of the system. To be clear, all of this is to teach and test the equipment. After getting a brief overview of the system, we were tasked with installing one of the sensors and initializing its software interface.

Today was a great day, I learned swaths of information and saw real-world applications of engineering. For this, I can’t thank Collin and Viviane enough.

Obinna’s WEP: Day 6 (The Hunt for Knowledge)

I started my day by continuing my work on the model for the Douglas Skytrain. I refined its shape, edited the wings, and finally added the propellers to each side. Something that was challenging was trying to figure out how to add the wheels and landing gear to the model since the wheels retract and extend in the real plane. I think I will create a model with the wheels retracted, using ellipsoids to model the wheels. I also decided to look into modeling another plane. While looking for planes, I wanted to find something that seemed difficult but was still possible to make good progress on by the end of my time at NC State. I finally decided upon the F-5A, shown in the drawings below. I also got to visit the James B. Hunt Jr. Library. This library is surprisingly large, with five floors, a café, and lots of space to work or relax. I stepped inside and explored what it had to offer. One interesting part of the library was the section dedicated to the Institute for Emerging Issues. I think that their goal, which is to work together in order to understand and resolve health, economic, and educational issues in North Carolina, is quite admirable.

Citation for 3-view drawing:

“File:F-5A 3-View line art.svg.” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 29 Jun 2014, 06:30 UTC. 4 Jun 2019, 21:49 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:F-5A_3-View_line_art.svg&oldid=127724438>.

Day 6

Today was another interesting day in the office. I spent an hour or two finishing up the count for the electrical estimate. I also sat in on Mark’s meetings with Rachel. They are currently working on a project proposal. We went to Durham for lunch, and a meeting with an electrical engineer. The engineer spoke with me about choosing a career in electrical engineering. He told me that he never would have imagined he’d be working for a construction company when he was in college. Our conversation made me realize that I won’t necessarily be able to choose a specific sub-discipline if I go into engineering. After lunch, we went back to the DPR office.

Obinna’ WEP: Day 5 (A Douglas Design)

Today I spent my time working in OpenVSP. I managed to finish my model of the Yak 54, so I decided to create a second model. After a bit of searching, I decided upon the Douglas C-47 Skytrain. This airplane bears a closer resemblance to commercial planes, but still uses propellers to fly. I found this 3-view drawing of the Douglas C-47 Skytrain and used it to create my model. One of the challenges I faced was getting the right shape for the fuselage, especially near the front of the plane. While working, I learned how to utilize the symmetry controls in the program in order to replicate certain parts of the plane. I’ve made decent progress so far, and I can’t wait to complete this model.

Citation for Drawing:

“File:Douglas C-47 Skytrain drawings.svg.” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 31 Aug 2014, 22:07 UTC. 3 Jun 2019, 14:52 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Douglas_C-47_Skytrain_drawings.svg&oldid=133301824>.