Guyson Corporation hosted a group of 13 high school seniors enrolled in the New Visions Engineering program at the company’s design and manufacturing facilities in Saratoga Springs, New York, on November 25, 2014. The future engineers inspected four robotic blasting machines on the factory floor and discussed the central role of engineering in the custom machine building business.
New Visions Engineering students pause in front of a twin turntable robotic blasting system at Guyson Corporation
Guyson’s Director of Engineering, Mark Butler, greeted the students in the design engineering area of the plant, gave the young people a brief overview of the roles that engineers play in the specification, quotation and manufacturing processes, then took many questions from the group. The students, who are focused on diverse engineering careers, including electrical, chemical, mechanical, nanotechnology and other specialties, were curious about the daily activities of his staff, what Mark looks for in reviewing the resume of an applicant and the most important parts of a job candidate’s interview. Butler advised that he scans the paperwork, looking for relevant experience, such as familiarity with software, but places the highest value on evidence of a collaborative, team-oriented attitude, since every Guyson project requires the work of contributors from many different engineering disciplines.
On their tour of the production area, the New Visions group inspected ten custom-engineered machines in-process, including a robotic grit-blast machine built for an aircraft turbine manufacturer in which the components are presented in a tray, and the robot grasps the parts, manipulating them under the blast from a single suction-blast gun. Shane Lewis, Guyson’s Senior Robot Programmer, who led this leg of the group’s circuit, emphasized the importance making sure the function of the robotic blast system matches the customer’s work environment and fits as perfectly as possible into the production flow.
One of the highlights of the round was a look at the robotic blast machine Guyson presented for the first time at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), held in September, 2014. New robotic tool-changing technology developed by the Saratoga Springs, New York, company, was explained to the group, in which the robot selects one of three different media-blasting tools, including a lance nozzle, a straight pressure-blast nozzle and a component-holding gripper, according to the process program, and precisely executes a surface treatment routine.
The final stop of the tour was the engineering test laboratory, where Sean Bicknell, Lab Technician, showed the students a wide variety of components received for lab trials, including medical, firearm, aerospace, automotive and other parts, explaining the surface condition desired by the customer and the challenges of blast process development.
New Visions Engineering is one of the STEM enrichment programs of northeastern New York State’s Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) for Washington, Saratoga, Warren, Hamilton and Essex Counties. Students from 31 school districts are elligible to compete for a position in the special engineering-oriented Career and Technical Education program.
To learn more about the New Visions Engineering program, visit http://www.wswheboces.org/CTE.cfm?subpage=119.
