During his summer here, Drew Bartel put his college education to work. He interned with Motion Products for the past three summers gaining experiences in special projects, assembly, and now with components, machining and dyno operations. Drew will be graduating from Ferris State University in December, 2020. Keep reading to learn more about his internship experience from this summer with Motion Products Inc. 

Q: Why did you choose to pursue an internship with MPI?

Bartel: Working here previously I knew I wanted to continue being part of an industry leading restoration facility with a wide range of projects and capabilities. I’ve been able to gain hands on experiences I wouldn’t have had access to anywhere else. 

Q: What does a day in the life of an MPI intern in your role look like?

Bartel: My typical day consists of many projects. I’m usually in the components department disassembling and assembling components that have been removed from our restoration vehicles such as generators, starters, and brake master cylinders. I’ve spent the summer floating between components, machining, and dyno operations. 

Q: What has been the most exciting or interesting thing you’ve learned so far?

Bartel: I learned that Motion Products has very extensive in-house capabilities, and I’ve learned a lot about Ferrari history. I’m really interested in the design and functionality of their component systems, how they were developed and how they are used. 

Q: What is one thing you have learned in your college education that you’ve been able to apply to your experience this summer?

Bartel: I’ve utilized my knowledge of Solidworks and solid modeling to model and redesign the internals of a Ferrari brake master cylinder. This process includes starting with the old castings of Ferrari brake master cylinders, and we needed to redesign the internals to accept a rebuild kit that you could find from a local parts store. Since we did the machining of the castings ourselves, we can set all of the dimensions on the inside to accept a rebuild kit. This helps our clients because it’s a lot easier to find a rebuild kit instead of trying to find a factory built one. It helps Motion Products as well, so we can make a quantity of the internal parts to add to our inventory. 

Q: What have you gained from your internship experience that you will carry with you in the future?

Bartel: I’ve learned a lot working alongside a machinist, coming from the engineering aspect of things. I was able to bring a part from a digital design to a physical product. Along the way he also gave me constructive feedback on part drawings and dimensioning. 

If you are interested in an internship with MPI, please email a resume and cover letter to [email protected].