LSSU senior engineers, industrial partners to unveil some really cool stuff on May 4

BAJA CART PROJECT – Lake Superior State University engineering students with LSSU chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) perform maintenance on one of two Baja racing carts, with the other chassis serving as test bed for a 2018 senior-year engineering project. Senior project teams will showcase LSSU-industry partnerships to classmates, faculty, families, and the public on Friday, May 4. Presentations and demonstrations are 1:30-5 p.m. in the Center for Applied Science and Engineering Technology, abbreviated CASET. LSSU’s Baja cart project is coming into its 25^th year. (LSSU/John Shibley)

Lake Superior State University student-engineers have prototyped a machine-vision system to inspect car lights on auto assembly lines and designed a robot tool that inspects and refurbishes filters used in a variety of Corning’s manufacturing projects.

These are just two of the design projects that senior teams in LSSU’s School of Engineering and Technology will showcase to classmates, faculty, families, and the public on Friday, May 4. Presentations and demonstrations are 1:30-5 p.m. in the Center for Applied Science and Engineering Technology, abbreviated CASET.

Project presentations and demonstrations let our seniors showcase the tangible results of all their hard work throughout the year. Plus, a demo very appropriate to the May 4 date: robots playing the theme to Star Wars.” .Dr. Paul Weber, lead engineering faculty organizer

Senior design projects provide real-word engineering experiences for LSSU students who are making the transition from academia to industry or graduate school. Each project requires a detailed technical engineering analysis, development, and follow-through to provide a realistic experience. In many cases, students find positions within the companies that are sponsoring their projects.

Teams address timeline, monetary and management issues, as well as communication, paperwork, and logistics within their teams. They also handle guidelines, design reviews, development and production issues, purchasing, changing project definitions, and lessons-learned as they work with their faculty advisors and industrial customers. All projects have been at least a year in the making.

Industrial partners for this year’s projects include Corning, KUKA Robotics, Textron Aviation, SCHUNK, Cognex, Esys Automation, Nexteer Automotive, and LSSU’s Robotics Laboratory.

Sponsors of one project — LSSU’s Mini Baja Kart — include Chippewa Motors, Rodenroth Motors, Aim Tech, Lonestar Racing, American Star Racing, and Quality Drive System. The Mini Baja effort, in its 25th year, is presently overseen by the LSSU student chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Underwriting also comes from the Fund for LSSU.

The university invites area businesses and organizations to submit projects for senior-level engineering students to complete during the 2018-19 school year. For more information, contact David Roland Finlay, dean of the School of Engineering & Technology, at 906-635-2111.

The presentation day program is available to view.