Engineers excel at creating a superior type of cheesecake
In a bid to enhance the cheesecake assembly and baking process, a team of senior engineering students from a university has collaborated with Wegmans, a regional supermarket chain, on a project known as the Cheesecake Water Dosing Automation Project.
The project, which is part of an ongoing working relationship between the university and Wegmans, aims to provide a better ergonomic solution for the water pouring process in cheesecake production. The team met with employees involved in the cheesecake production line to ensure their proposal would be accepted.
The team, led by Rodrigo Velarde, a fifth-year industrial and systems engineering student, consists of Noah Mauer (electrical engineering), Tuo Shen (electrical engineering), Geoffrey Cresswell (mechanical engineering), Joel Sack (mechanical engineering), and John Janiszewski (mechanical engineering).
Prior to the students' intervention, the introduction of water into sheet pans was done manually. However, the new dispenser system established by the team detects when pans are in the queue, sends signals for measured water distribution, and signals when the pans are ready for the oven.
The dispenser system is equipped with several inter-related sensors, and the team applied engineering design principles, including electrical, mechanical, and industrial engineering processes. The project's focus is on improving Wegmans' cheesecake assembly and baking process.
Wegmans requested solutions to eliminate the repetitive lifting motion by employees while retaining the essential step in the overall baking process. The team's efforts centered around the part of the system where water is dispensed into sheet pans holding the cakes prior to baking.
The Cheesecake Water Dosing Automation Project was featured at the Imagine our university: Innovation and Creativity Festival on May 7. The team answered questions about the design at a booth located on the fourth floor of James E. Gleason Hall in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering. They received positive feedback and great suggestions from the employees.
If the testing, currently underway, is successful, the automated solution could lead to a quick implementation into the production process. The team is hopeful that this collaboration will contribute to a more efficient and ergonomic cheesecake production process at Wegmans.
While specific details about the project or improvements in Wegmans' cheesecake assembly and baking process were not found in the given search results, it is clear that the Cheesecake Water Dosing Automation Project is a significant step towards improving the cheesecake production process at Wegmans. For detailed information about this project, it may be necessary to consult Wegmans’ official communications, industry publications, or contact Wegmans directly. Each summer, representatives from the university and Wegmans discuss potential design projects for the following academic year.
- Rodrigo Velarde, a fifth-year student studying industrial and systems engineering, leads a team of fellow students from different engineering disciplines who are collaborating with Wegmans on a project called the Cheesecake Water Dosing Automation Project.
- By utilizing their knowledge in electrical, mechanical, and industrial engineering processes, the team is designing an automated water dispenser system for Wegmans' cheesecake production line to improve ergonomics and efficiency.
- In addition to enhancing the cheesecake production process, this online education project offered a valuable opportunity for engineering students to apply their learning and self-development in a real-world application at a renowned company such as Wegmans.
- As part of an ongoing working relationship between the university and Wegmans, the Cheesecake Water Dosing Automation Project was showcased at the Imagine our university: Innovation and Creativity Festival, promoting education and technology innovation within the community.
