INTERN Spotlight
“Nicole conducted herself in a professional manner executing tasks with a high level of quality in a timely manner. She was able to manage her activities with a minimal amount of oversight during the week to make sure when report outs came around, she was prepared to discuss progress and obstacles in a constructive way. She also did a fine job of building a network within the company and leveraging it to get the help she needed to be sucessful.”
– Brian Zimmer, Hitchiner Manufacturing Co., Inc.
NICOLE AZZARITO Hitchiner Manufacturing Co., Inc.
T
his incredible Internship opportunity at Hitchiner has granted me an
abundance of
experience and knowledge in a truly amazing field. At Keene State College, my unique major; Sustainable Product Design and Innovation, or SPDI, has allowed me to explore the various paths that may be in my future by immersing myself in artistic, scientific, and technical aspects of designing consumer products from a viewpoint that values sound business practices. The project- based learning that I have acquired from Keene has given me the proper tools and experience for the work environment at Hitchiner.
All the projects at Hitchiner were insightful, but I want to take the time to highlight a few. The first project I was given by Greg Naughton (Engineer at ACF, Hitchiner), was to determine how to use and implement a new Brookfield Viscometer. Reading the manuals allowed me to familiarize myself with the machine, along with the encrypted software, Rheocalc-T.
I set up 4 main
tests with preset parameters for the different slurries used in shell. Along
26 ❘ December 2019 ®
with viscosity, the operator will also know the temperature, date, RMPs, spindle, torque and graphed data points that will all flow over to an excel file. This Viscometer makes it easy and efficient for operators to check the slurry and reference data.
The next project I really enjoyed
was creating shadow boards designed in Solidworks to hold fixtures for the center drill, side and nose grind torque bar operations. John Wokuluk and I utilized space and ordered more shelves for the cabinet. We got quotes from companies for pricing and for material options. This shadow board project will help the operators find the tooling for a part easier and faster, while keeping the cell organized and clean.
The last project I will describe
was Modulus of Rupture testing. Greg Naughton is trying to configure a way to reduce shell strength on the turbo wheels to eliminate heat tears. We tested nearly 40 MOR bars both green and heat-treated states. We analyzed the data which gave us a solid foundation to work with to attain a new potential slurry pattern for the turbo wheels.
Throughout my learning experience at Hitchiner I gained a strong professional skill set, network of contacts, enhancement of skills to boost
my resume, real world experience and I feel more prepared for graduation. I was able to gain insight on how a manufacturing
company operates,
learned how to be proactive and even more responsible than I already am.
Career objectives I aim for are
to grasp real life concepts of lean manufacturing methodologies, while exploring ways to eliminate waste in order to boost productivity. I plan to position myself in a company where I can prove myself as a designer and present innovative ideas in hopes to increase the market. I plan to navigate through the design process, including my knowledge of sustainability, and collaborating within the interdisciplinary areas to bring solutions to improve our lives on this planet.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
