About Me
My name is Taylor Stansfield and I am a senior mechanical engineering student at the University of Michigan. This past summer, I worked as a mechanical engineering intern at Logic Robotics, responsible for a project which I saw from concept through manufacturing. This experience was focused on mechanical design using engineering fundamentals, as well as evaluating different manufacturing methods and DFM. Other than my internship experience, I was part of Michigan’s Rocketry club and the BIRDs lab multi-legged robotics research team. As a member of the rocketry club, I worked with fellow students to build and test assemblies for our ground support equipment. On my research team, I worked on testing and data collection for gait optimization for robot locomotion. In University of Michigan course work, my projects have included developing electromechanical systems, control design, and engineering testing and documentation.
ICE is a 40x48x48 inch cooler for cold-chain logistics that can interface with Logic’s robotic pallets. The requirements for my design were that it could hold 1800lbs, stay below freezing for 17 hours, and only impede inwards on the 40x48 inch pallet space by one inch. The result of my work was a highly optimized cooler that contained a welded structural frame to hold ICE’s sheet metal walls, and utilized PCM plates to maintain a consistent temperature while having walls only 1 inch in width, achieving all requirements set for it.
Utilized skills
I created a Python simulation for modeling heat transfer into the cooler to predict thermal losses, helping to understand the optimal insulation thickness.
I performed structural calculations for beam stress and deflection to inform the creation of custom-designed internal frame, ensuring ICE could hold 1800lbs when supported from its corners when resting on a pallet rack.
In meetings with manufacturers, I presented engineering drawings to build ICE’s custom frame and sheet metal walls.
Once the design was finalized, I manufactured several metal and polymer components in-house using a mill, lathe, and power tools.