SEED Week 7: So Long, Farewell!

Hello! I am writing from the end of the SEED Internship! It honestly feels like we all just arrived to the OEDK at the beginning of June, but the end has already arrived. I have had a lot of fun and have also learned so much during the time I’ve spent here and I really appreciate all of the people that have helped my team and I accomplish what we have.

Anyways, back to the weekly update! I left off last week by talking about how our team was discussing changes we needed to make to our design in order to have a stable, presentable prototype by the end of this week. We made a to-do list with everything we could think of that would lead us to success.

Our final to-do list!

Monday morning began with everyone working through what needed to get done. Some members worked on sanding off welds from our frame to remove components that we didn’t need in our new design. We also updated the CAD model to reflect what our prototype would look like and did some more work on the internal connection of the cushions to the frame. We continued working through Tuesday morning, when we had a meeting with our mentors about our progress and the viability of our new design. We originally planned to attach our vertical support onto the base of the old team’s device by using bolts and brackets; however, once we put them together, the vertical support was still very unstable. This meant we had to redesign our device again. This time it was a quicker fix. We decided to reinstall the original vertical support onto the base and then bolt our vertical support to it. So, once that was determined we spent the rest of the day creating this design, finishing the cushions, finally putting our device together, and making our final presentation!

Wednesday, presentation day, involved preparing for the presentation, practicing our parts, and finally delivering it to our peers, mentors, and the OEDK staff! It was a relief to be able to present a device that works as we designed and is (almost) ready to be delivered to our client. Our presentation went well, and everyone was very happy to see our final device.

Our final device: The Hybrid Casting Stand!

We spent the rest of Wednesday preparing minor changes, like adding shims to the vertical adjustment to prevent the slight wobble, and how to finish off the aesthetics. Thursday morning was spent doing our final work on the project. We completed the shims, which did cut down on the instability, and also did some test pain on some extra metal bars. All of our documentation was worked on, and is almost finished. We were not able to paint our device, due to lack of time, but during the school year Alex, Tori, and I will come in and finish it off. Once that is completed, we will be able to deliver our project to our client! We stopped project work at lunch time, and the rest of Thursday was spent deep cleaning the OEDK, to a point where it seems as if us interns were never here. By the end of the day, the OEDK looks just as we found it, and (sadly) very empty.

Today (Friday), our last day of the internship will be spent doing a lot of wrap up. I’m writing my last blog, and after this we will do some final cleaning, then work on all of the final surveys, meetings, and interviews.

I have had an absolutely amazing experience this summer, and I am so glad that I had to opportunity to take part in this internship. From working with people from different countries, working on relevant, interesting projects, and all of the fun times we have had together, this summer experience has been great. Although this may be my last blog for SEED, this is definitely not my last work for Rice, or as an engineer. I look forward to the opportunities I will come across in the future, and hope that you can follow along too.

Thank you,

Liz Kacpura

Team Gotta Cast Em All!

One Response

  1. Carolyn Huff at |

    Harrell and I plan to follow you and your projects. We hope to see you and the rest of the Rice SEED participants as you go on to use your skills and learn more.

    Let us know when the painting is done and the project is finished.

    Meanwhile, enjoy your accomplishments. You have learned a great deal and have so much to share.

    Reply

Leave a Reply