Hey everyone (for all those who read), this past week was a fun one here in Costa Rica. To start off, a little update on work at Resonetics. I am wrapping up the two initial projects I was tasked with at the start of the internship and got the opportunity to take on another improvement fixture design that aims to shorten time to detection of defects post-machining to reduce scrap and allow for implementation of necessary process improvements that address the defects root cause in a timely manner. The goal is to create a design that improves the efficacy and repeatability of the post-machining inspection to ensure every inch of the material is inspected for potential defects that are grounds for scrapping the product. Much of the early part of the week was spent on the floor gathering critical dimensions and brainstorming potential design ideas and mechanisms on paper. Once I had a preliminary design idea, I spent the latter half of the week modeling it in SolidWorks and creating an assembly to get an initial sense of how each piece would interact and ensure my geometry didn’t let me down on the dimension side of things. I am hoping to get initial prototypes 3D printed this week and the design tested so I can work on improvements before presenting it for final approval.
In other news, over the weekend, the four of us took a one night trip to Manuel Antonio, a national park situated near the beach on the pacific ocean side of Costa Rica. We left early Saturday morning and arrived right around 10. We wasted no time, stopping briefly to unload our bags into the hotel room before heading into the park. The national park was a beautiful place situated in a humid jungle environment packed with animals, insects, and towering trees they called home. We were blessed to see a wide variety of wildlife on our hike. Some of the highlights include a sloth high up in one of the trees, monkeys crossing right in front of us on the path and watching intently from the surrounding trees, and the two iguanas sun bathing on the beach just 20 feet away from our spot. As much as I enjoyed the rain forest, the beaches were my favorite part of the trip and the weather was nice enough to let us enjoy them with the sun shining. Being from the west coast, I can not recall a time where I walked into an ocean and thought, this is an enjoyable and comfortable experience. This is however, the thought I had as I waded into the calm waves early Sunday morning as the sun was just rising above the hills. It was such a special experience and will be one of the fondest memories I take away from this entire experience as a whole.
Of course, I can’t forget about the after beach activities. We were all pretty hungry and tired after the first day so we had a relaxing evening in the nearby town of Quepos and ate at a local taco place operating out of a refurbished school bus. My eyes may have been a little bigger than my stomach as I ordered their special which came with 10 tacos but every bite was delicious and it proved to be one of my favorite meals so far in Costa Rica. After dinner, we took a walk on the boardwalk to watch the sunset and grab some photos with the group before heading back. Sunday morning was another beach day, after which we stopped in Quepos again for lunch before driving the 3 hours back home to San Jose.
It was a action packed weekend and one of my favorite so far. Manuel Antonio treated us well and I can’t wait for what’s to come. Until next time. Pura Vida!