Meet Ben Hu
In five years Ben sees himself handling mold design on his own, while gaining a better understanding of how to utilize CFD analysis for mold troubleshooting.
In five years Ben sees himself handling mold design on his own, while gaining a better understanding of how to utilize CFD analysis for mold troubleshooting.
Ben got into manufacturing becauese he's good at math. "I have been very sensitive to numbers since I was in middle school. The manufacturing industry allows me deal with numbers every day. My job requires me to compute various calculations within the design. So I decided to pick up mechanical engineering after I went to the college. I knew moldmaking started to boom in China in 2000, so I knew working in the U.S. and learning from an American company was a great opportunity."
His believes the best aspect of working at Westminster is being able to learn mold design in short period. "I worked on the shop floor for a brief period of time to attain a better understanding of the manufacturing process. This helped me to apply the knowledge I learned from school to the practical applications/everyday use. I also improved my 3D software skills, and learned a new 3D software called TopSolid."
He says his greatest asset to Westminster is his abilty to solve problems and minimize mistakes that could occur due to the language barrier between U.S. and China.
His favorite part of the job is CFD analysis and 3D design. "CFD analysis is about predicting plastic flow in the mold. It uses all fluids mechanics equations and governing equations to show you the result your design concept. Then you have a chance to understand and design defects. 3D design makes me feel like an artist. You can use it to draw the 3D model from your brain to real a drawing board."
The most important thing he's learned so far at Westminster is work attitude and enthusiasm. "Engineering jobs are not just jobs with a lot of numbers. You need to be very focused, and pay attention to detail. A tiny mistake may cause a whole project goes wrong."
The industry's greatest challenge according to Ben, is design for manufacturability. "A lot of designs might seem possible, but due to the manufacturing process, the design is not feasible."
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