Henrietta is a Rochester Bridge Trust Arkwright Engineering Scholar. Click here for an introduction to Henrietta and the subjects she is studying.
During my two weeks’ work experience in the Manufacturing Engineering department at SPT Labtech I have worked with every member of the team and developed my skills in engineering, problem solving and computer aided design.
I have worked closely on projects aiming to increase the efficiency of the manufacturing line and have had the opportunity to design sections of new rigs that will be integrated into the Dragonfly tip process; design items to help speed up the grids process in the clean room; and design a vial holder. During the design and testing process I talked to members of the team about potential solutions; met the people who would be using these items every day; and then used SolidWorks to construct a concept. After doing multiple designs, I 3D printed the concepts and tested them. This process was interesting and helped me talk to more people in manufacturing, meaning I gained valuable insights into the manufacturing process. This process also really improved my SolidWorks skills which will help me in my future career and school coursework.
On other days I have been helping with the problem-solving part of the job by working on current projects which have had problems occur that need resolving quickly. This has involved talking to different areas of operations, following paper trails, and trying to play, “engineering detective”. This widened my knowledge of the products and their components.
I have also read the standard operating procedures and other important documents to learn more about operations and manufacturing. I have helped with data analysis which includes going through the bill of materials and looking at drawings in detail. This is more desk-based and essential to products getting where they need to be when they need to be.
I have also been getting more hands-on with experience with electronics and assembly. I worked with multiplexer boards and printed circuit boards, testing and programming them. On another day I assembled boards onto apricot heads and then tested the heads. These tests were great as they helped me understand the board and the connections to the apricot head.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my work experience and enjoyed working with and learning from all the members of the team.