Guiding the next wave of engineering excellence in the foundry industry.
The Lawton Standard Co. is proud of its internship program, where we can help teach, guide and lead the next generation of foundry engineers.
Meet this Year’s Intern, Ryan Hart
After pouring through resumes, interviews and other job checks, Lawton hired Ryan Hart to be this year’s engineering intern.
Ryan is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying mechanical engineering.
He is really focused on the design aspects of castings, studying the software and equipment Lawton has to design, create and complete castings and other foundry industry-related tasks.
“One of the things I’ve been most excited about was my ability in SolidWorks, that’s where they have had me working the most, has grown substantially,” said Hart.
Creating a New Process to Make Flask Assembly Easier
Ryan’s crowning achievement during his internship this summer has been his work on making it easier for our engineers and foundry floor workers to create the flasks they need.
“I’ve been working on speeding up the process for flask design ,” said Hart. “I’ve been working on something special there, where you can fill out the form and it will automate the flask itself, which I’m excited about.”
Engineers at C.A. Lawton in De Pere, where Ryan is doing his internship, are excited about this new process as well. Saying it will save time and allow for engineers and other workers to see the flask design before it’s even put together on the foundry floor.
Along with creating the new flask process, Ryan has been working on a lot of time studies.
“I’ve just been getting down the time it takes for everyone’s tasks out in the foundry. Get a general idea of how long everything takes,” said Hart.
He also said he worked with the melt deck on some time studies to better understand the timing of the melt deck process. “They wanted me to get the time it took between every step of the melt deck process, so I stayed for two different pours and I got down all the times the power changed and what they were doing,” said Hart.
Ryan’s Biggest Takeaways From his Time at Lawton
Ryan said he couldn’t have asked for a better internship experience at Lawton.
He learned all about the iron casting process, the tools used to design and create quality castings and the timing it takes to get things done on the foundry floor.
“I think the most impactful thing about my internship is just the knowledge I’ve learned with SolidWorks,” said Hart.
He’s been working with our head engineer on SolidWorks, learning the process and the ways he can get better and grow. SolidWorks is a software program that uses parametric modeling to help engineers design and build 3D models of future flasks, molds, castings and much more.
“It allows you to really get down the dimensions, the materials and in my case, it will allow me to use the model to create multiple different dimensions to see which one works best,” said Hart.
Ryan is also excited about learning so much about SolidWorks because it’s the same software he is being taught on at UW-Madison.
While SolidWorks has been one of his best experiences at Lawton, Ryan says “My favorite part, without a doubt, is the connection I’ve had with the other engineers here at the De Pere location.” Ryan went on to say “It’s been great to see them every day and hear about their career paths. It’s been super helpful and they’re very knowledgeable, so I’ve learned a lot with my mentorship with them.”
Ryan hopes to focus on the designing of castings and parts. He says he really likes taking his ideas and seeing them work. “The idea of making something like the automation I’m working on, for my job, is really where I want to end up,” said Hart.
Why You Should Intern at Lawton Standard
Hart talked about other takeaways from his internship, which included learning how to better communicate with people, growing in SolidWorks and learning how to pace out long tasks that aren’t done in just a day.
What does he have to say about others who may be interested in an internship at Lawton? “I would say definitely look at it, it’s the kind of thing where it fits into the manufacturing side of things, so there are lots of different roles you can fill in the industry, and it’s also a cool process to watch,” said Hart.
He continued “It’s also fascinating to see all the different people it brings to the table. And if you’re interested in that type of thing, go for it.”
Learning real life skills inside a foundry can be super valuable for your future career. As an intern at Lawton you will get a hands-on experience with engineers that have been designing, creating and checking the quality of castings for decades.
Ryan said his internship has been a positive experience and a great step forward in his career aspirations. “I couldn’t recommend it enough,” Hart said.
How to Get Involved with the Lawton Internship
After reading this, you may be wondering “how do I get involved and apply for an internship at Lawton?”
Well, for now Lawton is running the internship program during the summer, so the engineering intern position is usually posted in the Spring.
Lawton has worked with the Foundry Educational Foundation to help attract young engineering students to the program. And thanks to an FEF grant, the internship program is going strong at Lawton.
You can check on the latest job openings at Lawton by clicking here.
For more on the amazing variety of steel, iron, continuous cast iron and other alloys, visit our website or give us a call at 1-800-CASTINGS.