Fractal Sculptures

Well... Looks like I have a future project

Designed and Built Jet Engine

Model 4 Stroke with Glass Cylinder

A thing of beauty

June 2014 Update

My internship at the Leibniz Institute of Production and Machine Tooling is nearly half over, so I thought now would be a good time to share an update of what I've been able to work on so far. The bulk of my responsibilities requires that we turn samples then conduct measurements on the specimens.  The specimens have been cut using various size cutters, different speed and feed rates, and in some cases different materials. Below are some photos of the measurement setup and what the results look like.

Other than just the personal work that I completed, I have been able to witness the execution of some pretty amazing tests that other PhD students have been working on.  One of the crown jewels of this institute is their work with 5-axis milling optimization.  A lot of effort goes into the creation of irregularly shaped objects such as false teeth, or the bust of Sir Wilhelm Leibniz.

Finally, here is what the facility looks like from above, I was really impressed with how clean it is.

Railway Track Replacement Machine

Action starts about 1 minute in. They really could have used this bad boy in the 1800's

This guy built a jet ski in his apartment

Koenigsegg 3D Printed Titanium Turbocharger

Hand Built Bicycle

Elmer's Comber Rotary Engine

Elmer's Comber Rotary Engine Project

After completing my first project I wanted to step up the difficulty level a bit. I decided to go with Elmer's #46 Comber Rotary Engine. The plans can be found at http://www.john-tom.com/html/ElmersEngines.html. I chose this engine mostly due to the uniqueness of the valve cam action.  The two pictures above show the cylinder and main bearing assembly.  It's made using 7075 aluminum with brass press fit for the cylinder sleeve and main bearing.  I was quite happy with the results.

Completed parts.  I don't currently have my own video of the engine running as I am currently out of the country, however I was able to find one on youtube of the same engine build. I have posted it in the video section under the title of 'Elmer's Comber Rotary Engine'.

First Project Results

This was the first project I ever worked on in the machine shop. I'd had quite alot of experience at this point working with wood and in general carpentry, but had never worked on a mill or lathe.  As you can see, it's not the most beautiful contraption, but it ran like a champ on compressed air. Brass tube in the top picture is the inlet and the small hole above it is the exhaust.  This type of engine is known as a wobbler and I highly recommend it as a starter project for its simplicity.

Cubli

Leno's Jet Bike

About the Author

    My name is Andrew Thraen and I am a mechanical engineer in my last semester of studies at Purdue University. The reason I wanted to start this blog is to keep my friends and family updated with any projects I’m working on, and to share some awesome engineering related images and videos on the web.  My particular areas of interest include engines of all types, motorcycles, fast cars, turbines, and the production of such items. I also enjoy wood working and metal working and combining the two in order to create moving sculptures or mechanical furniture.  I have been working at the Purdue Mechanical Engineering Machine Shop for a year and a half now, and I just finished a research internship in Germany at Leibniz Institute for Production and Machine Tooling.  Because of that background some of this blog will also be dedicated to manufacturing of parts for my personal projects.  Aside from engineering, I love to be very active and stay busy in my free time at the gym, riding dirtbikes, skiing, and playing whatever random sport has caught my interest at the time (unicycling, bowling, ping pong, badminton, and golfing, just to name a few).  A special thanks goes out to my parents for always supporting me, Bob Caras for showing me the blurred lines between engineering and art, and Thomas Cummings for teaching me that it’s ok to ask a lot of questions.

*I would like to clarify that posts in the 'Projects' section are my own work, and posts that go in the 'Images' or 'Videos' section are work done by others*

Tips for a Successful Freshman Year in Engineering (and Beyond)

Syllabus week isn’t the same for everyone

The first week or two of each semester is always very hectic as you begin to adjust to class times, normal homework due dates, and what each professor expects from you in order to perform at your best level.  Your friends in other majors may have the luxury of blowing off assignments and partying until the sun comes up, but I’m sorry to say that this is just not possible for the majority of engineers. It would be wise to do your work slightly sooner than normal in order to avoid instances of not allowing yourself enough time to complete a particular task.  Sometimes an assignment that I thought would be really easy turns out to be quite time consuming (and usually this trend will continue for that particular class so be aware of that). Doing it the hour before class starts just isn’t going to cut it.

I can usually tell how my semester will go based on just my first week or two.  If I start out behind, it becomes extremely difficult to catch back up and have a truly successful semester.  If I could offer one thing to take away from this section it would be to abandon the mindset of ‘Hey, it’s just syllabus week’ and use it to get ahead while the rest of the pack falls behind.  When you complete your assignments due the next day then you can go have fun with your friends. As a side note, in case you’re suspicious of my seeming lack of interest in having fun, I was the head social chairman at a 100 plus member social fraternity, so I’m not just some nerd who stays home on Saturday nights to study. However, it took me a very long time to be able to say no to a good time even when there was work that needed to be done.

Make a schedule and stick to it

After the first two weeks of class you should have a pretty good idea of when assignments are normally due, and roughly how long they take to complete. At this point you should make a schedule for yourself each week (I usually make mine each Sunday) that includes time for classes, the gym, clubs, sports, and even allotted nights for parties or video gaming or TV.  Schedule each item in order of how important they are for your future and end with items that are most important to keep your sanity.  So for me, classes come first, then my work schedule, then my eating schedule (takes more time than you would think), then my school work schedule with blocks of time to complete each assignment, then time for sleep. After the absolute necessities I put in time for the gym, and finally whatever is left I use as free time however I see fit that week.  If you actually follow the schedule you set for yourself in the beginning of the week you should see great results with your grades, feel good by not skipping meals or sleep, and be able to stay sane by doing the things you truly enjoy.

Go To Class!

As obvious as it sounds, this is one thing I cannot stress enough. Not only should you go to class but you should make a true effort to listen to the professor and absorb as much as possible during class time. It makes no sense to show up to class and play games on your laptop the whole time.  If you listen in class it will save you hours of going back to relearn information for homework or exams when you could have just done it the first time around.  Aside from the obvious, what are other good reasons to go to class?  One, most teachers give out massive hints in class as to what the exam will cover, and not just in the days leading up to exams. Two, even if you are thinking, “whatever I learn better from the book then from this guy anyways,” consider pop quizzes and other in class participation grades.  If you are consistently skipping certain engineering classes I can almost 100% guarantee you will not get an A in that class.  Perhaps in some majors it is possible, but at least at Purdue, many of the little points holding some students back from A’s stems from lack of consistent attendance. 

Put the phone away

Most of the work we are expected to do requires a great deal of concentration and focus. Answering text messages, playing games in class, and twitter are not going to help you to focus on the work at hand.  When in class and doing homework I’ve made it a habit to put my phone in my backpack in a place where I can’t peek at every five minutes.  This will help reduce the amount of time you spend on each assignment so you have more time to play around later.

Hobbies are great stress relievers

Stress is just a part of college life, and the difference between the winners and the losers is how you cope with that stress.  Everyone has different ways of going about this, most of my friends play pick up sports, I prefer going to the gym because I can go on my own time and I don’t have to wait around for anyone else.  I find this especially helpful when my schedule is packed during an exam week for example.  Whether it be crocheting, Frisbee, Rubik’s Cube, or even video games try to pick something you can do any time you want, something you can improve at over long periods of time, and something you truly enjoy. That way when you need it most it will be there for you.

Partying is a part of college life, but know when to get down to business

Pretty self-explanatory, if you have a huge week coming up ahead of you, skip the partying for one weekend and do what you need to do.  You can party any time but midterms and finals only come once, so know when it’s time to get to work.  At the very least, put in a solid Saturday afternoon of studying to get a little ahead of the game. If you must drink on that Saturday night, go light, because nothing kills a planned Sunday of studying quite like a bad hangover. Like a senior told me freshman year, “you can party your ass off for one year and fail out, or you can almost party your ass off for four.”

It’s going to be an uphill battle

So you just started your second semester coming away with a solid 3.5 GPA first round, and are thinking, "calculus 2 is hard, but no problem, I have some leeway just to stay above a 3.0". However let me assure you, after freshman year each semester just gets harder than the last. Not trying to scare you, just trying to motivate you never to think, ‘I’ll just make up for it next semester’. Maybe you will, but chances are that you won’t.  As long as you are giving your grades the best possible effort without going insane you can never be disappointed about a low grade.  Just don’t lie to yourself, is this really the very best that you can do? So work hard freshman year even if it doesn’t seem that difficult to you. If all you wanted was a 3.0, aim higher. Wanted a 3.5? Shoot for a 4.0 and really believe you will achieve it. Grades will never be this easy again.

If you have poor study habits now is the only time to correct them

I’m not going to get into specifics in this section, as they will come in the next one, but you will thank yourself a million times if you are able to get your study habits under control as early as possible.  There will be all stars that come to college with this area already taken care of, and these people are your competition.  Just like in the sports world, even if you are the most clever and skillful player, being out of shape will keep you off the field.  Getting into Mechanical Engineering at Purdue can be quite difficult, and is based solely on your First Year Engineering grade performance.  Very few people are offered second chances.  Some tips I’ve learned over the years for improving your study skills are presented below.

Midterm and final exams

This is a big one, and a topic of discussion that I have just now after 8 semesters finally found some answers to.  The biggest problems I encountered and also see with my friends isn’t a lack of effort or a lack of time put in, but more related to the efficiency of the time you do put in.  Everything I discuss here is a system that works for me, but everyone is different so it may take some experimenting to see what works well for you.

First let’s consider midterms.  I’m not sure how every school does it, but at Purdue there is no “midterm week.” All of your midterms usually come within a few weeks of each other and in the midst of other assignments and projects.  For this reason it is extremely important to plan ahead.  Start a week before the beginning of your midterms and make a schedule like the one we already discussed, except on a more long term scale.  Finals require similar study habits but are a little different since you can focus on studying without worrying about class and other assignments. 

Prioritize your studying by the classes with the most credit hours and the ones you are struggling with.  Huge key though: NEVER totally neglect certain classes in light of harder ones.  If you do, instead of poor grades in just one class you are looking at poor grades across the board.  Next, do a quick once over of the material on the exam and look for items that you never quite had a grasp on.  If you didn’t understand it in the homework and you don’t learn it now, chances are that you never will.  Pick the topics you least understand and either have a friend explain it to you or go to the professors office hours.  Ideally you should have done your homework right the first time and be familiar with each topic, but let’s get real, that’s not always the case.  This is why it’s so important to do each homework to your best ability, because it will significantly reduce the amount of time required to study for exams.  Once you have a baseline understanding of each topic, go through the hardest assigned homework question for each one.  Try not to waste time doing the easy ones because that won’t help you too much for the exam.  If you have to, you can go back and do a few warm up questions, but you will find as you progress through engineering, each question takes 30-45 minutes to complete, and time is of the essence. If you can do the hardest question from each homework set then you will do well on the exam while maximizing your study time.  Finally, if possible, at the very end of your preparation do a practice exam if they are available. For practice exams of nearly every subject you can check out my friend’s blog: weeklyjoys.wordpress.com. They are Purdue specific, but could be helpful for anyone in ME.

Last tip regarding stressful times of the school year in general: avoid all-nighters at all cost!  Your brain makes connections for all of the information you’ve learned during the day while you sleep, so if you are not sleeping, you are not learning properly.  It also puts massive strain on your immune system during an already stressful time. This leads to sickness which is obviously not something you want to deal with during finals week.  And if you are truly putting your best effort into studying during these extraordinarily trying times, you can never be disappointed, if you truly gave it everything you have.  

      Closing Thoughts

So to cap everything off you may have noticed that most of this stuff is pretty common sense, but executing and knowing are two different things.  Engineering (and college in general), takes a lot of discipline. Anything in life worth earning requires an ability to look toward the future and avoid being swayed from your goals by the petty pleasures of everyday life.  Of course everything must be done in balance, but when times get hard you must soldier on and look for the light at the end of the tunnel.