I have worked as a Controls Engineer CO-OP at Coldwater Machine Company since the Spring of 2014. Since then my repertoire of knowledge has vastly increased. With having had two official CO-OP's while at the University of Cincinnati, I have worked every summer break and holiday breaks prior to my first CO-OP semester. I started off updating and making schematics in Autodesk to managing projects of my own. Below are a few of the larger projects I have participated in. These are not all of the projects I have been apart of but a few that I feel have had a significant impact on my learning.
The image shown above was a project for a large appliance manufacturer. The project consisted of 7 Fanuc 2000iC Robots and several other stations. At this point I was still learning to program at an industry standard and creating drawing packages. I helped debug code and assisted in the hardware setup with the lead Controls Engineer on the project. This project really provided a lot of the back bone to my learning in this field. Along with helping with the hardware setup, I did a lot of the HMI programming in Factory Talk Studio communicating to an Allen Bradley PLC. As the project started to finish up mechanically, I started to learn how to program the Fanuc Robots and the initial start up process of a project. I spent a couple months at the customers plant on install of the machine. This consisted of countless hours of debug, wiring, and touching up all of the robot points. I also went alone to the customer site for robot maintenance or to configure new motor drives. The next project I further developed my robotic and Omron PLC programming skills with a different customer.
For this project shown above is for a Tier 1 Automotive supplier. This project had two separate cells that made different parts but were controlled and powered by the same control cabinet. When I returned from school the project was in the initial start up phase and I immediately jumped right in. It was my first time using Omron CX-Programmer & CX-Designer for the programming of the PLC & HMI. The project consisted of two Fanuc 2000iC Robots and multiple end of arm tooling (EOAT). The lead Controls Engineer programmed the larger cell with several EOAT and a 7th axis on the robot. I programmed the two HMI screens, the other cells' PLC & Robot programming. I really enjoyed programming the Fanuc Robot's which then inspired me to go earn my Fanuc Handling Tool Certification once the semester ended.
Each project I helped with I became more independent and would do an entire part of a project. For example, I would do all of the hardware, or all of the programming and debug. This past CO-OP semester, I worked with same Tier 1 Automotive Supplier as stated above on a project that consisted of a Fanuc 2000iC Robot. This project I was the lead "Controls Engineer" and did all of the hardware, PLC & Robot Programming, and communicating with the customer myself. This was the largest project I have lead on my own and managed. Of course I asked many questions to the other Controls Engineers but they were mostly "Workflow" questions. I wanted to make sure I was effectively managing the project. I am a strong believer in learning things the hard way but I avoid doing so if it may cause any large problems.
Along with doing projects like the ones shown above, I also help out in the Weld Lab at Coldwater Machine. The cool guy in the picture above is me in a high voltage arc flash suit. I was installing a RPS Spin Weld Cabinet and running 480V to a live breaker panel shown behind me. The weld gun operated manually and was triggered by a push button. We needed the weld gun to run constantly for a set amount of welds, so I integrated a small PLC to trigger the weld gun to weld for the desired amount of welds.
