Technical Communication
See examples below of my experiences with technical communication. Technical communication encompasses all the methods not covered by the other communication mediums, primarily physical models. This medium is most useful for situations where a video is not able to be produced thoroughly enough, soon enough, or detailed enough, to convey the message you wish it to. Technical models can provide spatial realization better than written or spoken communication, but is seldom unaccompanied by these other methods when conveying a concept.
3D Printed Hypercompressor Model
At ExxonMobil, I was tasked with 3D printing a desktop model of a hypercompressor cylinder for future training purposes. A hypercompressor is used in polyethylene production to reach pressures above 30,000 psi and consists of a cylindrical plunger (which oscillates like a piston to increase the pressure), check valves, packing (which acts like a seal to keep the pressure inside), a housing, and additional components that were not part of my model. The model I printed had a 1/4 section removed to allow one to see inside the housing, and the end came off to allow one to spill the components onto a desk and learn how they fit together in the real compressor. I color-coded the parts to make explaining the different components simpler.
3D Printed Machine Design I Model
As part of our analysis of a prescribed mechanism, I created a Solidworks model of and then 3D printed the mechanism we were given to better understand its motion and how it behaved to a steady input. This was used to communicate to my teammates the mechanism’s output velocity to input velocity in a physical sense, as the kinematic coefficient analysis may be more difficult to understand at first.
ME 4243 Solidworks Models
For ME 4243 Capstone Senior Design, I created CAD models in Solidworks to convey the concept of our project before final, detailed models could be created. These were used in reports, meetings with sponsors/advisors, and with other teammates to convey the overall layout of the skid. They function much better than attempting to use multiple paragraphs to explain the embodiment of the skid we are designing.
Later, I created highly-detailed, final-design models to facilitate manufacturing of the project and to convey to the Capstone Panel the exact vision for the final product.
