Do you as a student provide NEDCON with a good advice or design, we put it into practice. That is what the assignment of May proves. As an intern of Mechanical Engineering studies, she designed a test rig for NEDCON in the past half year. Her design is now being built in our Test Centre and is almost ready to use. How does May look back on her experiences and what is it like to see her own design in practice?
The choice for NEDCON was made easily
When May was looking for a challenging internship last year, she discovered NEDCON. Both the sector in which the company is located and the internal process supervision from the Innovation Hub appealed to her. The choice for NEDCON was therefore made easily “and it immediately felt right”, she tells. May started her internship at the Design Principles & Prototyping department in September 2019.
Design of test rig for shuttle rails
May's assignment was to design a test rig to test the fatigue of shuttle rails. In the test rig, a cylinder mimics the force of a shuttle going back and forth on the rails in a fully automatic warehouse. The tests show how long the rails and other components will last: valuable information for NEDCON engineers.
In the research, May developed various concepts so that the best test rig could be created. Based on her design drawing, the rig has now actually been built in the Test Centre. May: “That is the great thing about Mechanical Engineering: you work on a project, you make a design, and then it is incredible to see that it is really there. That gives só much satisfaction. It is impossible to describe.”
Unique learning moments in practice
Not only the process of designing the test rig was educational, but she also learned a lot from working in a real company. From aspects such as purchasing processes and Euro standards to soft skills such as planning and communication, at NEDCON she discovered it all in practice.
Moreover, in addition to the assignment, May also had the opportunity to work with her colleagues in the department. “I got involved, which is very nice. I was able to support the employees, which at the same time delivered me a lot of new knowledge. You immediately get a taste of how things work in a company.”
A clear vision of the future
Thanks to her internship at NEDCON, May has a better idea of what she wants in the future. “I chose NEDCON because I was very interested in construction engineering and steel construction. And I had also promised myself: if I like this, I definitely want to continue in this field in the future. And that was the case!”
We are happy that we were able to contribute to this choice and wish May every success in the future. Do you like to contribute to NEDCON with a challenging internship assignment as well? Check our internships here to see if there is a suitable vacancy for you.
