Mechanical Engineering Intern Studies Investment Casting Process

Barron Industries is happy to welcome back intern Daniel James, a Mechanical Engineering student at Oakland University. Daniel started with Barron last year in the CNC Department and is now working in Quality and Engineering where one of his current projects involves testing wax patterns to find ways of reducing waste and costs in the investment casting process.

Daniel’s goal for his internship is to gain as much experience and knowledge as he can.

“At the end of the day, I want to be going into a field that I enjoy and would like to pursue,” he said. “We work for 50 years of our lives or more, and I’m trying to find that place where I enjoy my work.”

Daniel says he likes troubleshooting and working with his hands – and at Barron, he gets to do a lot of both.

He started out in the CNC Machining department where he worked on production jobs and making fixtures. Although Daniel had a little basic machining experience at a previous employer, he’s learned how to make fixtures on the job here at Barron.

Now Daniel is part of the Quality and Engineering team where he’s analyzing the shrinkage of wax patterns and trying to find ways to reduce waste and cost in the production of ceramic molds.

When in high school, Daniel discovered that finding solutions to problems is one of his strengths.  His experience on the robotics team gave him the engineering bug.

“We were building a robot from scratch without any instructions really,” he said. “It was all very hands-on and troubleshooting.”

But engineering also runs in Daniel’s family where he is the youngest of six children. His father and two of his brothers are working as engineers and his sister is studying biomedical engineering. While sharing similar career interests, his family also plays soccer together, another of Daniel’s passions. He joins his father and siblings to make up most of a team on a local co-ed soccer league.  Daniel also coaches the team he was on in high school, the Lapeer Lakers.