Engineering Students Develop Steering Column Testing Device

Marie, Ontario, Austin Hicks of Bremerton, Washington, and Nik Hargenrader of Brighton. (Photograph courtesy of John Shibley, Lake Superior State University)

Five senior engineering students at Lake Superior State University, including Calvin Mattson of St. Ignace, are working with Delphi Corporation to develop a new device to aid in quality testing of automotive steering columns.

For the past two years, electrical and computer engineering students at the campus in Sault Ste. Marie have worked on researching and developing the device that will be used at Delphi's plant in Saginaw this summer.

The product is a universal signal router that will allow the company to test hundreds of different electrical steering column components from a variety of manufacturer models using one universal device. In addition to its own, Delphi tests steering columns for just about every vehicle manufacturer. Without the development of this router, each component requires separate cables and connectors for testing, which is costly both in time and money.

Tim Bennett, a senior engineer for Delphi Steering Systems, is a former St. Ignace resident whose team oversees the student project.

Mr. Bennett says his team cuts the students "no slack" when it comes to performance.

"We hold twice-weekly, industrial style meetings where we go over every aspect of the circuit, design, project timing, and more. This is a real-world project and that means the students give up holiday time and breaks to keep the project moving toward completion," said Mr. Bennett.

Professor David Baumann, chair of the university's computer and electrical engineering department, serves as advisor to the five seniors slated to complete the project in May. For them, he said, the real-world experience is invaluable.

"This has been a great opportunity for the students because it involves important aspects of engineering that students don't always see in the university setting, including working with customers, dealing with vendors, and managing a budget," Dr. Baumann said. "As an advisor, I can say something 20 times before it takes hold, but when they hear it from engineers working in the field, they sit up and take notice."

Projects that partner students with industry are commonly offered at the university; in the engineering department, roughly 40 students work with private-sector industries on senior projects annually. Students in the university's Prototype Development Center also aid small to mid-sized manufacturers seeking to develop new products or find problem-solving solutions. The center, operated in cooperation with the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center, puts manufacturing methods, mechanical services, electronics, and computers at companies' disposal.