AIST Steel Intern Scholarship
Benson R. Pulver
This summer I had the privilege of working Steel Dynamics Inc. – Structural and Rail Division in Columbia City, Ind., USA. I was employed as a mechanical engineering intern in the heavy section mill. It was an incredibly valuable experience for me and I truly learned a lot.
I was fortunate enough to participate in a wide variety of projects. I helped create piping part models in SolidWorks for a new pump system that the mill will be installing. We wanted to create permanently shimmed chocks for our vertical rollers to minimize the work and safety hazards needed for roll changes. I was tasked with documenting how many times each shim size was used in the last year and using proportionalities to determine how many permanently shimmed chocks would be needed for each shim size. The mill is also upgrading the tandem mill, so I created an inventory tracker that would ensure that we had all the parts needed for the upgrade before starting the project. I also aided in the development of a process to inspect the roller bearings for wear and damage. I had the opportunity to shadow millwrights and operators to get hands-on experience.
I am thankful to Steel Dynamics for giving me this opportunity to learn so much about the steel making process, and engineering in general. All the employees took me under their wings and helped me leave with some valuable knowledge.