LSSU Engineering House

Welcoming our new residents to the house with a fun game a disc golf with current residents and some of the engineering faculty!

Mini golf with our new residents!!!

So excited to be finishing up another year and happy for our graduating housemates!!!!

SENIOR ENGINEERS, INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS TO UNVEIL SOME REALLY COOL STUFF APRIL 28

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Lake Superior State University student engineers constructed and programmed a 2,000-pound, computer controlled milling machine, and redesigned a system to help pharmacists spend less time sorting pills and more time helping customers.
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, April 28. Presentations and demonstrations are 1-4:45 p.m. in the Center for Applied Science and Engineering Technology, abbreviated CASET.
Senior design projects provide concrete 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 most cases, students find positions within the companies that are sponsoring their projects.
"All of our senior engineering students partner with faculty advisors and industrial clients to design, simulate, and many times build, a project before graduating," said Dr. Paul Weber, who is lead faculty organizer of the afternoon's events. "In doing so, the students utilize both their technical and general education to create a useful product."
Students address timeline, monetary and management issues, as well as communication, teamwork, paperwork, and logistics within their teams. They also handle guidelines, design reviews, development and production issues, purchasing, changing project definitions, and lessons learned as feedback progresses through faculty advisors and industrial customers. All of these projects have been at least a year in the making.
Student teams and projects, and the times when they will be presenting, are listed below.

Lake Superior Automation (LSA)
Presentation: 1 p.m., CASET 212; demonstration, 1:30 p.m., CASET 120.
Team Lake State Automation was commissioned by Mactech On-Site Machining Solutions to design, build and automate a prototype CNC milling machine. The project came about due to the desire for increased flexibility and functionality of a current machine. The project entailed upgrading an existing gantry mill that was originally manually operated. The new machine is designed to work in a wide range of applications, from ship maintenance to bridge building. It may be mounted and operated in any orientation, and is completely mobile.
The machine also features increased speed, accuracy, and repeatability. New FANUC hardware has allowed the machine to be operated by software that may be created off‐site. Automation of the machine has greatly increased its capabilities and reduced human labor. Mactech On-site Machining Solutions will now replicate the project’s prototype. Team Lake State Automation has undertaken this project under a fixed budget and a need to collaborate with multiple vendors.
Team LSA is Dan Baker (manufacturing engineering technology [MfgET]), Phil Coullard (electrical engineering [EE]), Justin Lagergren (MfgET), Kyle McKeachnie (mechanical engineering [ME]), Grace Morse (EE), Matt Simon (ME); faculty advisors are Jon Coullard and Prof. David Leach. Joel Wittebraker is client contact with Mactech of Redwing, Minn.

Conveying Automation Solutions (CAS)
Presentation: 1:30 p.m., CASET 212; demonstration, 2 p.m., CASET 125.
Conveying Automation Solutions (CAS), along with Team Automation Controls Engineering (ACE), designed and implemented a robotics training work cell in LSSU’s Robotics and Automation Lab for educating engineering students, summer camps, and visitors. Team CAS installed two KUKA industrial robots, a linear conveyor used to transport work pieces between robots, and several types of end‐of‐arm tooling for the robots. Team CAS also designed the layout, pallets, fixtures, and other components for the work cell. User manuals, engineering documentation, and lab exercises were created. Teams CAS and ACE will present a demonstration that showcases the full capabilities of this work cell and new technologies available in the robotics industry.
Team CAS is Rhett King (ME), Sara McKee (MfgET), Robert Meyers (ME), Matt Nelson (ME), Mike Smutny (ME), and Matt Thomas (MfgET). The faculty advisor is Prof. Jim Devaprasad. Industrial contacts and support are Eric Becks, Ron Bergamin, Josh Bodell and Jason Markesino, representing KUKA Robotics, the mk Technology Group, SCHUNK, JR Automation, Parker Hannifin, the Baumer Group and Cognex Machine Vision.

Controls & Vision Systems (CVS)
Presentation: 2 p.m., CASET 119; demonstration, 2:30 p.m., CASET 124.
The Pharm‐Assist project is an automated prescription-dispensing machine designed to assist pharmacy employees and increase the time they are available for customer service. Team CVS was tasked with Phase Two of the Pharm‐Assist project, where the main goal was to reduce the cost of the work cell. Building off the previous team’s proof-of-concept work cell, team CVS replaced a FANUC Delta robot with a 3D gantry system they designed and built. Team CVS also converted a majority of the control of the system from a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) to Raspberry Pi, which is based in a mini‐computer. The main focus of Phase Two was to build and test a rigid-gantry design optimized for reliability and speed (30 pills per minute). Other areas of focus for the project included reducing noise and vibration from the previous year’s design, improving the security of the cell, and converting the cell's power from 240 Volts to 110 Volts.
Team CVS is Aria Alizadeh (ME), Aron Baker (computer engineering [CE]), Cole Bertolissi (EE), Scott Coburn (ME), Chance Randall (MfgET), Chris Reed (MfgET); faculty advisor is Prof. Joe Moening. Industrial contacts are Brett Newill and Jean‐Pierre Rasaiah from 4D Systems of Auburn Hills, Mich.

Wheel Inspection Systems (WIS)
Presentation: 2:30 p.m., CASET 212; demonstration, 3 p.m., CASET 120.
Team Wheel Inspection Systems (WIS) was assigned to research and develop a system to automate the inspection of automotive rims. The system used an industrial camera and machine-vision software to capture an image of a rim and analyze it. Esys Automation, a robotics integration company located in Auburn Hills, Mich., sponsored the project. Esys Automation specializes in turnkey automation for the automotive industry. The team developed a system that recognized and recorded images of rims. To execute this project, a vision shroud was designed and built to block outside light. Black‐painted, matte, and chrome rims were analyzed by the system. During an inspection run, a rim was placed within the shroud, a picture was taken, and Cognex VisionPro was used to analyze it. A variety of lighting configurations and vision algorithms were documented.
Team WIS is Audri Anderson (MfgET), Lee Archer (ME), Tyler Fontana (ME), Jenny Fredericks (EE), Chris Kyro (ME), Henry Palmer (CE); faculty advisor is Prof. Dave McDonald. Industrial contact is Mark Compton with Esys Automation from Auburn Hills, Mich. (formerly ZF Lenksysteme).

Automation Controls Engineering (ACE)
Presentation: 3 p.m., CASET 212; demonstration, 3:30 p.m., CASET 120.
Team Automation Controls Engineering (ACE) collaborated with Team CAS to create an educational KUKA robotic platform for students at Lake Superior State University. The project installed a robotics cell that allows students to familiarize themselves with KUKA systems and train them on safety standards used in the robotics industry today. This platform features two KUKA KR5 R1400 robots that offer new capabilities such as synchronous movement. The cell includes a linear slide that lets robots send items between each other. The cell also features safety equipment, including light curtains and an area scanner. These features are new to LSSU’s robotics lab and offer a unique learning experience for students. This project helps keep LSSU’s robotics lab current with technology used in industry today.
Team ACE is Matt Maher (MfgET), Phil Paris (MfgET), Matt Patmore (EET), Wyatt Smrcka (EET), Micah Stuhldreher (CE); faculty advisor is Jeff King. Industrial contacts and support: Eric Becks, Ron Bergamin, Josh Bodell & Jason Markesino KUKA Robotics, mk Technology Group, SCHUNK, JR Automation, Parker Hannifin, Baumer, & Cognex.

Superior Racing Mini Baja Kart Chassis & Drivetrain Divisions
Presentation: 3:30 p.m., CASET 212; demonstration, 4:15 p.m., CASET 120.
Team Superior Racing has created a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) mini baja kart for competing in national off‐road competitions. The new kart is designed to be rugged, adjustable, reliable, and incorporate data acquisition for ongoing improvements. The chassis portion consists of a frame, suspension, steering, data acquisition, sensor integration, and safety equipment. The drivetrain portion has the engine, transmission, axles, spindles, hubs, wheels, and brakes. Each team member designed, fabricated, and validated individual component areas to create a unified all‐terrain vehicle.
The Superior Racing Mini Baja Kart chassis and drivetrain divisions are Megan Berkompas (ME), Adam Birkeland (ME), Lauren Graham (EE), August Klotz (ME), Gary Komora (MfgET), Alex Guzman (ME), Jordan Huff (ME), Isaiah Murray (ME), Colton Rausch (ME), Max St. Pierre (MfgET); faculty advisors are Profs. Robert Hildebrand and David Leach, with support from Prof. Zak Mahmud. Sponsors are Control Products, Inc., Chippewa Motors, Airgas, Precision Edge, Continental, Aggressive Manufacturing Innovations, Will Ross, CVTech, and SAE.
Run a Web search on “discover LSSU” to learn more about all areas of study at Lake State.
Do a Web search on "LSSU engineering" to learn more about studying engineering and technology at LSSU.

Everyone is waiting for Professor Jones to make a crazy LEGO Mindstorm project!!!!

Little Talks Guitar Cover by Lego Mindstorms EV3 It's Lego, and it's playing guitar :)