Controls Systems Engineer Intern at Freund-Vector

About this employment

Developed solutions for product development of granulation, compactor, and mixer machines. Rewrote an internal application from VB6 to C#, improving efficiency and accessibility.

Tags: #ideology/control-systems#ideology/manufacturing#ideology/plc-programming#ideology/robotics#ideology/systems-engineering#programming-language/csharp
Started: Jun 1, 2023
• 3 min read

Controls Systems Engineer Intern at Freund-Vector

Position: Controls Systems Engineer Intern
Company: Freund-Vector
Location: Marion, IA
Employment Period: June 2023 - August 2023
Industry: Engineering/Manufacturing

Overview

As a Controls Systems Engineer Intern at Freund-Vector, I worked on developing control systems for pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment. This role combined electrical engineering, software development, and industrial automation to improve the functionality and efficiency of granulation, compactor, and mixer machines used in pharmaceutical production.

Key Responsibilities

  • Developed solutions for product development of granulation, compactor, and mixer machines

    • Designed control logic for automated pharmaceutical equipment
    • Implemented safety interlocks and fail-safe mechanisms
    • Created HMI (Human Machine Interface) screens for operator control
    • Tested and validated control systems against FDA requirements
    • Collaborated with mechanical engineers to integrate sensors and actuators

  • Rewrote an internal application from VB6 to C#, improving efficiency and accessibility

    • Analyzed legacy VB6 codebase to understand business logic
    • Designed modern architecture using C# and .NET Framework
    • Implemented new features including real-time data visualization
    • Improved application performance by 300%
    • Added multi-user support and role-based access control
    • Created comprehensive documentation for the new system

Technical Skills Acquired

  • VB6: Legacy code analysis and migration
  • C#: Modern application development with .NET
  • Systems Engineering: Designing integrated control systems
  • Control Systems: PID control, state machines, safety systems
  • Manufacturing: Understanding of pharmaceutical equipment and processes
  • Engineering: Applied electrical and computer engineering principles
  • Electrical Engineering: Circuit design, sensor integration
  • Robotics: Automated system design and programming
  • Computer Engineering: Embedded systems and real-time control
  • PLC Programming: Ladder logic, structured text, function blocks
  • Visual Studio: IDE proficiency for .NET development

Impact

The control systems I developed improved the reliability and efficiency of pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment. The modernized C# application replaced a 20-year-old system, providing better user experience, improved data collection, and enhanced regulatory compliance capabilities. My work contributed to reducing machine downtime and improving product quality consistency in pharmaceutical manufacturing processes.