Meridian Automotive Systems is an international supplier of interior and exterior automotive components for the world-wide automotive industry. The facility that I worked in produces chrome bumpers for use on such light-trucks as the Ford F-series and Chevy full-sized trucks and vans. My principal role was as Plating Maintenance Engineering Technician. Duties included PLC programming, operator interface development, electrical engineering, troubleshooting and maintenance for AC/DC motor controls, positioning systems, cranes, shuttles, rectifiers, and level, temperature and dosing controllers. This required a broad knowledge of both the hardware and software integration of the complete robotic plating line system. In addition to my role as maintenance technician, I was called upon to engineer and install new functions and improvememnts to the control system. These improvements included the CAD drawings, component specifications, PLC code and installation for operator interface terminals, remote I/O scrubber alarm systems, flight-bar ground-fault detection, and the integration of additional rectifiers for the purpose of dual-rectification.  As time permitted, I also updated and developed new and existing CAD drawings for the system and have become a proficient CAD operator, having designed hundreds of 2D schematics and 3D models of electrical and mechanical systems and devices. I also made it a goal to create complete documentation resources for the many sub-systems associated with the plating line and produced entire books that included PLC ladder logic and CAD documentation in printed and digital format with troubleshooting guides specific to each sub-system.

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Plating Line Elements by Kelly Torrance Various Original Plating Line Drawings Click thumbnail for larger image