Jacqueline Hochheiser, Corporate Communications
Breaking into the engineering industry and making your mark is no easy feat. Especially as a part of the up-and-coming generation of young engineers, it can be difficult to decide which field to pursue. Victor Slomushynsky, is already blazing his own trail toward a prosperous career in engineering after finishing his second internship with Mini-Circuits this summer. Victor went above and beyond his duties to not only excel at the project he was assigned, but to also develop new processes that have helped the Mini-Circuits Florida team become more efficient and accurate in their work.
For his second stint with Mini-Circuits, Victor worked closely with Mini-Circuits Florida’s engineering test teams to assess wooden test fixtures and redesign them with sturdier materials and better functionality. Many of the wooden fixtures at Mini-Circuits Florida (MCFL) have been around for 20 to 30 years! Victor’s job was to catalog all wooden soldering/casing fixtures (chosen to create a manageable list for the time he was with the company), and if needed, design a replacement.
The process for narrowing down the fixtures alone, was a large undertaking. Victor first looked through a list of models that were assembled at the facility in the last three years, and cross-referenced case styles with the solder Cps (Cp-4901, Cp-4902 and Cp-4903). From there, he would note which models had a tracked fixture and which ones did not. In some cases, the fixtures were created at Mini-Circuits India Urjita (MCINU) and would need a replacement for use at MCFL.
Since this method proved to be tedious and time consuming, Victor also created a fixture sign-out sheet to be filled out by the engineers whenever a wooden fixture was taken from the shelf. The second method created a passive way to track which fixtures were used most frequently, which was useful for prioritizing which fixtures he should choose to work on first.
Once all the fixtures were identified, Victor moved on to the design phase. Through the design process, he was able to apply all the knowledge learned at school and on paper to real world applications. SolidWorks was also a pivotal tool during this phase, as he used the 3D modeling program to create renders of the new fixtures before sending them to the machine shop for fabrication. Over the course of designing each fixture, Victor worked closely with MPE Manager, Gennady Simkin to review the work he had done and to ensure that the design could be easily made by the machine shop.
The first fixture that Victor designed was B85D211900-00 for case style J17, which holds PCB boards steady for the operators use for testing. This fixture holds the PCB at the correct angle and the cutouts provide space for components to ensure they don’t get in the way of the operator’s work.
Fixture B85D212400-00 for the M22 case style was another model that Victor designed, which required some creative thinking on his part. The type of fixture he made is unique and hasn’t existed before. Victor noticed that with the original fixture, the PCB would not lay level during the soldering process. Previously, the operator would have to manually hold the PCB in place. With this in mind, Victor created a fixture with sliding metal arms that will hold the PCB in place and at level every time.
Over the six months that Victor spent at Mini-Circuits, he created a total of 15 different fixtures. Once the fixtures were created, they went on to the evaluation stage, where an operator would use it and assess its ability to do the job. If the fixture passed evaluation, it was assigned a serial number and updated on the MCFL assets sheet (a binder that lists all the fixtures used at the facility).
Victor also took it upon himself to go one step further and help MCFL create an organized system for storing and locating test fixtures. He stored like pieces in boxes and labeled each box on the shelf. In addition, he created an excel sheet that mirrors the exact positions of the boxes and the fixtures they contain. All members have access to the excel sheet and can edit it to create a spot for any new fixtures or changes to the layout.
Physical labels mimicking the placement of the labels in the Excel sheet.
Overall, Victor aided the Mini-Circuits Florida team with reorganizing fixtures, as well as taking old and obsolete fixtures out of the equation and creating brand new ones that work even more efficiently than the older models. When asked why Victor chose to come back to Mini-Circuits for a second internship he said that his experience with his first internship was memorable and taught him a lot of new skills. This year, he came back to become more involved in a larger project to thoroughly test the skills and knowledge he has learned in school, and from his past year with us. With the fixture project, Victor says he learned valuable organization skills and design skills, which made his experience incredibly rewarding.
Victor is currently studying mechanical engineering with a concentration in aerospace at Rutgers University. He is embarking on his junior year, and plans to explore more engineering fields. He also states that in the future, he would value working at a startup since the work is fast paced and he will be able to be a part of many different aspects of the business. In his free time, Victor is passionate about snow boarding and has recently taken up running. We wish him luck in all his future endeavors, and thank Victor for his time spent with us!
You must be logged in to post a comment.