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Michigan State University
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Phone: 517-355-4720
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Benefits of Student / Industry Internships in 2005
Matt Lindsay - Chore Time – Brock
Biosystem Engineering Junior
CTB Headquarters in Milford, Indiana
Source: http://ctbinc.com/ctbworld.htm
My summer internship at the Chore Time-Brock International Headquarters in Milford, Indiana was a valuable real-world learning experience. As an engineering assistant in the Egg Production Systems Division, I tested egg collectors; in the engineering shop, I made and assembled various parts for egg production systems. I evaluated manure drying systems and designed, prototyped and tested parts for collection system improvements.
Egg collectors are machines that transfer eggs from conveyors running alongside the cages to another conveyor moving perpendicular to the cage rows. Over the course of the summer I conducted over 450 tests on egg collectors at various sites, studying the effects of egg orientation and collector adjustments on impact magnitude. The tests used a custom built sensor that replicated a Grade A egg in shape and weight. The sensor transmitted impact data wirelessly to a handheld computer unit. The reliability of the sensor was a major frustration because it broke frequently. In addition, the test results had a large degree of variation due to numerous variables, so much to my annoyance, I had to statistically analyze the results. While this was not my favorite part of the internship, in retrospect, it was very useful and necessary.
My largest project was designing, producing, and testing prototype parts to improve upon existing collector features. Handling an egg at first inspection seems to be a rather simple task. As I later discovered, this could hardly be farther from the truth. The variation in egg sizes and constant changes in collector installation were problematic. Also, it was hard to discern why one modification would work well at one site and seem to have no effect at another site of identical set-up. Another dose of reality came when I would try a modification, only to be informed by the engineers superior to me that they had tried it five years earlier, and I “really did not want to do that.” I enjoyed having the freedom to design and build my own parts. It was a very good real world experience, where everything is not done under laboratory conditions, if any are at all.
In the end the internship was a very valuable learning experience for me. The industry is the only place to learn the value of performance and flexibility. I was surprised at the responsibility given to me. There was no one to hold my hand and tell me the next step. I was given a task and working out the details was my job. I also found the people I worked with to be some of the nicest I have ever met. Not once did I ever feel out of place and I really appreciated that.
As a Division of CTB, Inc., Chore Time-Brock International develops, markets, and supports equipment for poultry, egg, hog, and grain systems and solutions worldwide. Their US Headquarters is located in Milford, Indiana.
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