Beyond the Classroom: Applying Real-World Experience

Signalysis is a proud sponsor of the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) Expo. The event showcases a wide array of innovative senior capstone projects from across all departments. This past April, Signalysis co-ops Kenechukwu Onaga and Leo Rainey presented their Senior Project at the expo.

Their project, titled “Wheel Rim Structural Test Stand,” involved designing and building a testing stand to evaluate the structural integrity of automotive wheel rims. The system utilized vibration analysis and modular design principles to detect and compare performance characteristics between defective and functional rims.

Let’s learn a little more in this quick interview!

Why did you choose this project over other options?  

Kenechukwu: One of the main draws for choosing the wheel rim project was that it covered a wide range of topics that we were both interested in. From structural dynamics to robotics to data analysis, all were required to complete the project. Aside from the technical experience the project gave us it also could have real world benefits in the automotive industry.

Rainey: Compared to other options this was a lot more realistic to have a final product/prototype within one school year which was important for our senior design project requirements.

What were some of the challenges you faced during the project, and which one do you think had the biggest impact on your overall experience?  

Rainey: Our biggest challenge was that we didn’t intend to purchase any new equipment or parts for our test stand. Luckily Signalysis had all the necessary equipment, but this limited our design to the resources available rather than purchasing materials based on our design. This made designing the stand trickier and more dynamic as the design could change as we came up with new ways to use available parts or find new ones in the shop.

Kenechukwu: Another challenge was our lack of knowledge of the status of wheel rims and small sample size. This made making conclusions from the results difficult. We also had other smaller challenges like issues with 3D printing and general knowledge gaps on some on the vibrational analysis we had to do.

How did you overcome these challenges? Were there any surprising solutions or moments of inspiration?  

Kenechukwu: For our smaller challenges we often found solutions through mentors at Signalysis or personal research online. When it came to our design, we approached it with an open mind and tried to keep designs modular. By doing this we were able to change or add components to the test stand late into the project without having to redo much work. To try and overcome the challenge of making conclusions on the wheel rims we implemented a Principal Component Analysis on the data with the goal of finding important features of the data that differentiate good from defective wheel rims. Though we couldn’t draw clear conclusions, this showed us a way to view and analyze data that we hadn’t seen before. It was cool to see the results displayed in a completely different and much more approachable way than their original form.

In what ways did your experience at Signalysis contribute to your approach to the project? Was there anything specific you learned here that helped you navigate the work?  

Rainey: Almost our entire project was a product of our experience at Signalysis. The idea came from some of the projects we had already worked on like a camshaft test stand. Most of what we did was ask a lot of questions and transfer knowledge from what we had done in the past. Granted, we had a bit more time and liberty because we weren’t doing the project for a specific client, so we were able to experiment a little more and try new things that might not have been done before.

Kenechukwu: Something specific that we learned that helped us navigate the work was understanding mode shapes and the information that we get from them. A lot of the analysis we did before building the Test Stand included running Finite Element Analyses (FEA) and Modal analysis on the wheels to see their behaviors at different frequencies. This information was the base of what we used for the stand build, sensor placement, and data analysis.

What are your plans after graduation, and how do you see your co-op experience influencing your next steps?  

Rainey: I’m working on my master’s in electrical engineering and will finish at the end of the Fall Semester. I had planned to get my master’s in electrical engineering but I’ve catered my classes and focused on systems engineering due to my work at SIgnalysis.

Kenechukwu: I’ll be starting my Doctoral program off as a research assistant at UC’s Lab for Intelligent Metrology Systems. My co-op experience played a big role in this decision. I was once planning to pursue a Masters in Robotics and automation, then changed my mind to pursue something more AI and machine learning inclined because I was fascinated with the data analysis that was done to create the test stand for the camshafts. I decided to go for the doctoral program because I had talks with the professor of my AI class and a lot of things done in their lab are quite similar to what is done in Signalysis. From fault detection and Health management using Vibro-Acoustic analyses, it seemed like the right option for me.

How would you describe your overall co-op experience so far? Are there any moments or projects that particularly stood out to you?  

Rainey: My experience at Signalysis has been awesome. Firstly, the technical knowledge that we gained from the short time we’ve been there is quite a lot. Before co-oping at Signalysis, I don’t think either of us could’ve imagined ourselves where we are now, let alone putting together such a robust project between the two of us. It had definitely been one of the more technically challenging experiences we’ve ever had.

Kenechukwu: The people at Signalysis were great from day one. It is the ideal workplace with personable co-workers and great management, and that made our co-op experience even better.

Rainey: Two projects that I remember that stood out are the camshaft test stand, and the breakpad tester. These two were what we used to lay some groundwork for our Senior Design Project. The use of machine learning tools and the structural dynamics analyses stuck with us and set us up on the path that we’re on right now.

Do you see value in applying what you're learning in class to real-world scenarios, and how has that changed your perspective on your field of study?

Kenechukwu: Yes, we see a lot of value in what we’re learning in class and applying what we learn in real-world experiences. The co-ops we have had are good examples of how influential class material is. The important thing is being able to use both experiences in tandem to develop technically. For instance, before joining Signalysis, we had taken classes on systems and vibrations, but we were only able to fully realize it until after we started our co-op sessions. Fast forward now, we were able to use what we learned from both experiences to put together our project.

Rainey: I think we had a very limited view of the mechanical field when we were halfway through college. Our perspective on the field was limited to understanding basic physics and being able to handle mechanical tools. These experiences we’ve had opened up our perspective of the field to other really interesting mechanical areas that we didn’t think as important like Vibro-acoustics, and quality management with structural dynamics and vibration analysis.