2019 Summer Newsletter

Richard Wand on August 29, 2019

Meet the Team!

Ryan Richards is a mechanical engineer and FEA analyst at MJ Engineering. “Our job is to help make sure things like amusement park rides are safe, and machines function as intended,” says Ryan, who helps examine new and existing CAD models to determine whether they are structurally sound and if any design changes are required. The variety and unique nature of the projects are what Ryan loves about working at MJ Engineering, where he interned for two summers before being hired last spring. “My first day here, I was working on a vision inspection system,” says Ryan, “and the next day I was learning how to make a firetruck safe.” Ryan, who grew up in Central Ohio, earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University in 2018. He says the work he does at MJ Engineering relates directly to what he learned in school, and that it’s an exciting time to work in a tech-savvy city like Columbus. “The breadth of work that we get is indicative of the fact that people are currently rethinking how they used to do things, redesigning old tools, and even concepting new ones,” he says. Another thing Ryan likes about MJ Engineering is the family atmosphere.

Fun facts: When he is not at work, Ryan is most likely outdoors. He loves running, biking, swimming, and snowboarding, and he has even hiked part of the Appalachian Trail. Ryan also loves to do aerobatic and formation flying in private planes

Brian Vagnone is a lead technician responsible for electrical and mechanical assembly at MJ Engineering. He also does programming and other general duties in the shop. Brian was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He says he knew he wanted to work for MJ Engineering while he was contracting for them. “It seemed like a really good company to work for,” he says, “small but capable, with a chance to do different activities and not be stuck in one area.” So when an opening became available recently, Brian seized the opportunity to join the team full time—and he is happy he did. Brian describes his job as “a nice balance of everything,” saying what he likes most about working at MJ Engineering is the freedom and openness. “You can talk to everybody, and if you have a question, you can go to that person and get answers,” says Brian. “Everybody is cool here, and we work together to come up with the best solution to solve problems.” Brian is currently working on an automated machine that puts a gasket on a clip.

Fun facts: At home, Brian enjoys cooking and making things, in part because they are skill sets from which
he can learn and grow. Brian also enjoys the outdoors, fishing, running, working out, relaxing, and socializing.

MJ Engineering Helps High Schoolers Build Better Robots

A local high school robotics team soared all the way to the FIRST® Championship in Detroit, Michigan, this spring, thanks in part to financial support from MJ Engineering. Based out of New Albany, Ohio, The Digital Eagles 5667, also known as NAHS Robotics, is a high school FIRST® Robotics Team “devoted to helping young people and communities discover, develop, and apply their passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (nahsrobotics.org).” The FIRST® robotics competition is a six-week program for high-school students, where they must build 120-pound robots that can complete tasks. With the funding received from supporters like MJ Engineering, the team came up with a successful design, which earned them the 20th spot at their first competition last fall. They were also first runner up for a Safety Award. After making some improvements, the Digital Eagles became Regional Finalists and won the Chairman’s Award at their second competition. The team earned a respectable 29/68 ranking at the Championship in the Tesla Division, and they are already gearing up for next year.

MJ Engineering is a big proponent of educating and inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in engineering. Over the past few years, company employees have traveled to high schools to give presentations about roller coasters and other exciting engineering applications, judged regional DECA competitions, which prepare students for their professional careers, and spoken to OSU engineering students about what it means to be an engineer.

The next generation was also a topic of discussion, among many, at FANUC America’s 20th annual Authorized System Integrator (ASI) Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, earlier this year. Specifically, a panel discussion revolved around the next generation of manufacturing personnel, focusing on high schools and technical colleges that are trying to graduate people with experience in the robotics industry. FANUC is one of the largest makers of industrial robots in the world, and they supply many of the robots MJ Engineering uses in the automated systems they design. MJ Engineering President Richard Wand was in attendance. “The purpose of the conference is to get integrators together to talk about the status of the market, new products FANUC is coming out with, and how we might be able to implement those products,” he said. The two-day conference hosted a variety of speakers, including the president and CEO of FANUC. A marketing expert talked about the current status of the market and provided overviews of the automation industry. A third-party economist discussed the state of the economy and its impact on the market and ability to get new projects. Attendees also learned a lot about the FANUC product line, new applications and versions of robots they are coming out with, things they are doing to make their robots easier to use, competitive products, collaborative robots, innovative systems being produced, and safety and collaboration within the automation industry. Finally, FANUC showed videos of its planned new, 420-thousand squarefoot facility, which will allow them to increase their spare parts and robot volumes in the US and shorten their lead times to delivery. “They are willing to put their money where their mouth is,” said Richard, who also attended FANUC America’s annual ASI Product & Application Sales Training event in June at FANUC’s US headquarters in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The event was targeted specifically toward integrator team members in a selling role or those involved in the sales process.

MJ Engineering Encourages Engineers to Pay It Forward by Sharing Their Knowledge

Richard Wand on August 29, 2019

If there is one thing we’ve learned in our 30+ years of engineering, it’s that no one has a corner on knowledge. At MJ Engineering, we are always expanding our expertise, perfecting our processes, and refining our approaches, but we know that the knowledge we gain is not ours to keep. In fact, the more we pass it on to younger generations, the more it comes back to us.

How we feed the future

Since our beginning, we’ve taken the time to share much of what we have learned with others. Typically in a classroom, we tell students stories of our discoveries and our failures. Rather than resulting in a loss of equity in intellectual property, giving freely of our knowledge and experience is actually an investment—one that pays dividends by promoting leadership, inspiring discovery, and creating assets in the form of future engineers.

That is why MJ Engineering team members periodically give presentations about roller coasters and other exciting engineering applications, judge regional DECA competitions, and speak to college engineering students about what it means to be an engineer. Most recently, MJ Engineering donated to a local high school robotics team, who made it all the way to the FIRST® Championship in 2019 (see our Summer 2019 Newsletter for more on that endeavor.)

Promoting leadership through shared knowledge

One way to sustain any industry is to raise leaders who can carry the vision after the current generation has retired. How can this be done if not by sharing the excitement we have about our industry? For many of us, we learned to love what we do by watching someone else who held the vision before us.

“When presenting to young kids, particularly elementary school kids, we want to ignite that spark that gets them interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM),” says MJ Engineering President Richard Wand. “It is that spark of curiosity that, once ignited, is very hard to extinguish. When presenting to high school students, it has been my experience that the spark is either already there or has already been extinguished. So it is especially important to reach those kids in first through fourth grade, who are most apt to respond to a STEM-style presentation and have it affect them to the point that they start looking at things differently.”

Inspiring knowledge with shared experience

There is no stealing of ideas in these arenas, nor is it a matter of limiting genius. On the contrary, as we share our knowledge, the articulation of ideas makes them stronger in our own minds. After all, if you can’t communicate something, do you really know it?

More to the point of true understanding through communication, we find that apt young minds will bring the questions that those of us who have been around for a while either forgot to ask, or have settled on the answers we discovered years ago. For many, the mystery of new technology has long left the process, and the burden of feasibility has taken away the wonder.

However, in teaching the younger generations about this industry and the ways we create solutions, we are reminded of that wide-eyed discovery that—against all odds—leads to new discoveries. As Richard says, “Experience maximizes technology, but inexperience inspires technology.” And the truth is that without such inspiration, many industries will wither away. It is absolutely vital to the sustainability of any industry to keep a fresh set of ideas coming in.

So our decision to share what we’ve learned over the past three decades is not entirely altruistic. In truth, we gain so much more than we give. In addition to the satisfaction of impressing and inspiring a new generation of would-be engineers, what drives us back to the classroom time and again is the dream of keeping our industry viable and engaging for many generations to come. And who knows? One day those young engineers may create the very thing that makes our lives easier when we have long since retired.

3D Printing Services

Richard Wand on August 5, 2019

MJ Engineering now offers 3D printing services, and we are proud to show off our latest acquisition—a Markforged Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printer.

What is 3D printing?

3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is a process of making three-dimensional solid objects from a digital file. To build the object, the printer lays down one layer of material at a time, precisely following a design in a computer program. The object can be made from a variety of materials, including plastic and plastic reinforced with carbon fiber or Kevlar. It can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 24 hours to print a part—much faster than most traditional manufacturing methods.

Benefits of 3D printing

The number of companies choosing to use 3D printers is adding up! Being able to quickly print a part to solve a problem can be a big time and money saver. Some advantages of 3D printing include:

Speed at which parts can be produced
Complexity and design freedom
Customization
Increased flexibility in production flow
No wasted material
No need to create specific tooling or use several tools

Let MJ Engineering 3D print it for you

Our 3D printer has already revolutionized the efficiency and efficacy of how we do things here at MJ Engineering, and now we want to share it with you. After all, not every company has enough know-how or need for a 3D-printer to justify buying one. No problem! MJ Engineering has already made the investment. Whether you need to rapidly assess if a part will work before committing it to production, or you know the part you want and need it to be produced quickly—we can help. With our 3D printer, we can create parts as needed, much faster than a machine shop. Read a Dunlop Systems case study and how they produce custom tooling for their facility, saving tens of thousands of dollars with their own Markforged 3D Printer. This case study is very similar to the work MJ Engineering is doing with their own Markforged 3D Printer.

Watch our 3D printer at work

Our engineers are always finding new practical uses for the 3D printer; they use it to solve problems practically every day. In fact, it has hardly stopped running since we got it!

“It’s fascinating to sit and watch; it’s a beautiful machine.”
–Richard Wand, President of MJ Engineering

Engineering “The Frenzy” Amusement Ride

Richard Wand on January 3, 2019

While you are dangling in the air, staring straight down at the pavement 60 feet below (getting closer every second), it is not the time to worry whether the ride you are strapped into is safe. However, it is a legitimate concern—one that most likely more people have had since the Fireball tragedy at the Ohio State Fair in 2017.

After all, so many of these rides roll into town, are set up, taken down, and roll out again before you can finish your cotton candy. One can’t help but wonder: “Can these rides possibly be safe? Are they soundly constructed? Is anyone making sure they are up to code?” Rest assured that the answer to all of these questions is “Yes.” MJ Engineering uses its years of experience to help make sure of it. We have been working on amusement park rides for about 10 years, advising on ride repair procedures, performing failure analyses, safety and risk assessments, and code compliance testing, plus helping with ground-up designs.

MJ Engineering’s client A.R.M. (USA) Inc. put the finishing touches on the second evolution of its popular pendulum-style thrill ride, Frenzy, which MJ Engineering has been involved with from its conception. The new Frenzy was unveiled in November 2018 at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo in Orlando, FL to screams of enthusiasm from riders as they got above 90 degrees from vertical.

“Hundreds of hours of engineering go into these rides,” says MJ Engineering President, Richard Wand.

In fact, amusement manufacturers must meet a federal code that is hundreds of pages long for amusement park rides, taking into account everything from patron (rider) safety, ride dynamics, storage, transport, and anything that could possibly affect the ride related to its structure, controls, performance, life, or environmental conditions like wind and ice.

Shripal Bhavsar, of MJ Engineering, helped to certify Frenzy. “Our process is to do the analysis and calculations for each individual part of the ride, based on the codes that are available,” says Bhavsar. “We usually determine a factor of safety, depending on what part we are looking at, which is critical to the structure and the patrons.”

To verify ride strength, MJ Engineering uses a combination of hand calculations and finite element analysis (FEA), which is a computerized method to help predict how the ride will react to real-world forces to determine whether it will break, wear out, or work the way it was designed. “In a nutshell,” says MJ Engineering’s Phil Snyder, who worked on both versions of Frenzy, “it needs to be designed to sound engineering principles.” Safety is one of those principles.

“Safety is extremely important to us,” says Wand, “And if we think that the safety of the patron has been compromised in some fashion, we’re required—we’re bound—to say something and shut that ride down.” For that reason, states should have more professional engineers involved in the inspection and approval process of these rides. Ultimately, it is the manufacturer’s responsibility. However, MJ Engineering supports the manufacturer by providing our professional opinion on what they should do.

“The Amusement industry is held to very high standards—manufacturers understand this better than anyone,” says Mike Gill, of A.R.M. “Generally, we approach MJ Engineering with a task, whether it be a conceptual design, a design change of an existing ride, or a repair. Then we collaborate on the task until it meets all requirements.”

For example, A.R.M. asked MJ Engineering to help the new Frenzy lose some weight to make it easier to transport and build. The challenge was controlling the dynamics of Frenzy, which is a big pendulum that swings riders back and forth. MJ Engineering managed to figure out how to reduce Frenzy’s weight while securely keeping all four feet on the ground at all times.

To achieve a higher level of safety, we spend a lot of time doing “failure mode analyses,” which means looking at everything that could possibly go wrong with a ride. We assign a risk assessment to it, and if it turns out to be high, we will put other steps in place to make sure it is mitigated, and the risk is even further reduced. Most of the time, we are looking at stresses in the structural members, specifically fatigue.

Generally, amusement park rides are very dynamic in the way they move, not just during every ride cycle, but as the ride moves, due to changes in the loads and stresses, which affect the structure. For example, the left side of the ride might be heavily loaded, and then the right side might be heavily loaded as the ride moves, due to centrifugal and dynamic forces. This situation leads us to look at fatigue, which examines the number of cycles of load changes a ride has. We determine what the minimum and maximum load cases are, then we look at the number of times it fluctuates between them, which enables us to calculate a fatigue life and predict when that metal is going to fail.

We also look at the ergonomics of seat fit and the patron restraint, such as the shoulder harness or lap bar, and the adjustability of it, to make sure we capture the patron as easily as we can while still keeping them safe. Restraint design also depends on the dynamics of the ride, how many inversions it has, and how harsh those inversions are. When we design the harness, we try to take into account how much force the patron could physically exert, plus the patron’s body weight, to make sure the harness is going to stay where it is. We spend much time making sure the restraint is capable of doing its job.

We do get to engineer fun, too. You know that stomach-drop feeling? A lot of it has to do with g-forces. Most of the time, the manufacturer who is designing the ride describes to us the experience they want riders to have, and we then assist them with achieving it—within limits (back to our safety standards). For example, if we’re applying a lateral g-force and a down g-force, there are limits on how long the patron can be exposed to that feeling—and staying within the limits of safety is always MJ Engineering’s and A.R.M.’s number one goal.
At the end of the day, we want to make sure that Frenzy or any other amusement ride we design or analyze gives its riders the thrill they are seeking while keeping them safe and returning year after year.

According to Federal code, amusement park manufacturers are required to make rides last 35,000 working hours, which equates to approximately 20 years. Federal guidelines also dictate patron loads and how the restraints must be designed, based on the dynamics of the ride. Fortunately, patron load can usually be determined by seat fit and what the restraint will do, which saves patrons the embarrassment of being weighed as they are standing in line. The general rule is if the restraint locks, you can ride.
We also look at the ergonomics of seat fit and the patron restraint, such as the shoulder harness or lap bar, and the adjustability of it, to make sure we capture the patron as easily as we can while still keeping them safe. Restraint design also depends on the dynamics of the ride, how many inversions it has, and how harsh those inversions are. When we design the harness, we try to take into account how much force the patron could physically exert, plus the patron’s body weight, to make sure the harness is going to stay where it is. We spend much time making sure the restraint is capable of doing its job.

Click here to see an edited version of this article on the Amusement Today amusement industry news website.

2018 Fall Newsletter

Richard Wand on December 21, 2018

Meet the Team!

Two of the newer members of the MJ Engineering team, Corey Caldwell and Shripal Bhavsar, both agree that a few of their favorite things about working at MJ Engineering are the variety of projects and industries they get to work with and the assistance and knowledge they gain from the helpful, more experienced engineers.

Corey Caldwell is a controls engineer responsible for programming the automation equipment that MJ Engineering designs and develops. He is currently working on a project for DuraShield, an Ohio-based company that creates paint protection film. Corey is helping to create a barcode scanning system for bakery pans to determine when they need to be recoated. The Ohio native earned a Mechanical Engineering degree in 2014 from Cedarville University near Dayton. He says his background in mechanical engineering helps him on the job, and he is learning some of the electrical side as well. Corey, who started at MJ Engineering last April, says he enjoys working as a team and the challenge of figuring out how to make things work for new applications he has never done. “I am excited to be here, grow in my role, and learn some new things,” says Corey. Fun fact: Corey enjoys woodworking and playing basketball—he does skills coaching with a group in Columbus!

“Most of the time, I am trying to analyze something,” says Shripal Bhavsar, a mechanical engineer with a passion for finite element analysis (FEA). Shripal recently worked on MJ Engineering’s latest amusement ride project (see the next article for details), doing hand calculations to confirm whether the ride setup was sufficient to handle a particular load. Shripal helps with platform certifications, and he is also involved in design. Shripal earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (ME) from India and a Master’s in ME from California State University, Fullerton. “I wanted to be in a field in which I can give the answers to engineering issues that we face in day-to-day life,” says Shripal, who likes to use creativity and precision to solve challenging engineering problems. Fun fact: Shripal comes up with his best answers in the shower!

MJ Engineering Helped Create a Frenzy This Fall!

MJ Engineering has a decade-long relationship with amusement ride manufacturer A.R.M. (USA) Inc. This fall, A.R.M. put the finishing touches on the second evolution of its popular pendulum-style thrill ride, Frenzy (original version pictured at left), which MJ Engineering has been involved with from the beginning.
Hundreds of hours of engineering go into these rides. In fact, they must meet a federal code that is hundreds of pages long, taking into account everything from patron (rider) safety, ride dynamics, storage, transport, and anything that could possibly affect the ride related to its structure, controls, performance, life, or environmental conditions like wind and ice.
“In a nutshell,” says MJ Engineering’s Phil Snyder, who worked on the original Frenzy as well, “it needs to be designed to sound engineering principles.” Safety is one of those principles. “Safety is extremely important to us,” says MJ Engineering President Richard Wand. “If we think that the safety of the patron has been compromised in some fashion, we’re required to say something and shut that ride down.”
“The Amusement industry is held to very high standards, and manufacturers understand this better than anyone,” says Mike Gill, of A.R.M. “Generally, we approach MJ Engineering with a task, whether it be a conceptual design, a design change of an existing ride, or a repair. Then we collaborate on the task until it meets all requirements.” (See the next article to find out how the new Frenzy did at its recent debut.)

Trade Show News—IAAPA in Orlando, FL

“Excellent show—it made my feet hurt!” said MJ Engineering President Richard Wand about the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) trade show he attended last month in Orlando.
The show encompassed more than 10 miles of displays, booths, and rides—not the least of which was the new Frenzy, which was located outdoors and giving rides every day during the expo. “It was a pleasure listening to the squeals of patrons once they got above 90 degrees from vertical,” said Richard.
Trade shows are a great way to meet current and potential clients and learn about what’s happening in the industry. MJ Engineering employees are encouraged to attend, when possible.
While at the IAAPA trade show, Richard spent a significant amount of time talking to other ride manufacturers, including one for whom MJ Engineering helped get a ride approved for the Chinese market. Another satisfied customer Richard ran into was Majestic Rides (https://www.majesticrides.com/back-spin-roller-coaster—mini.html) who reported that their customer was extremely happy with their new ride—one that MJ Engineering assisted with in the past.
Other good contacts at the expo were an Italian manufacturer, Moser Rides, who wants to bring another of their rides to the U.S., and a major manufacturer of U.S. trampoline parks and soft play activities. In addition, Richard talked to several other engineering firms, inspectors, fabricators, family entertainment center (FEC) manufacturers, and owners. So the possibilities are seemingly endless for MJ Engineering to help make the world safer and more fun!