Engineering projects at Big Atom are led by small teams, and I was the lead engineer for a total of twelve projects during the internship. For each project, I have personally ideated and developed designs, appraised solutions with stakeholders, been responsible for resource and budget management, as well as manufacturing and assembling solutions myself during installation, and finally evaluating them to conclude the project.
My most major project was to design and create a new magnetic overband; a machine that separates magnetic and non-magnetic material. I used the method of Reverse Engineering to disassemble and analyse an existing overband that was to be replaced. I made a basic Product Design Specification that my new design should meet. I created a fully detailed CAD assembly, modelling every component. I designed a cantilever frame, which was tested using Finite Element Analysis for quality with a safety factor accounted for. Applying the Design for Manufacturing and Assembly approach was vital, considering this was the first inhouse-designed machine that would be assembled from scratch.
Quantifiably, the new machine improved the quality of steel picked up from 30% to 20% rubber content. The primary stakeholders, the operators, experienced improved operating conditions, including better safety and product containment.
