Roncelli Plastics
Summer 2025 | Monrovia, California
Smart Manufacturing and Digital Transformations Team
At Roncelli Plastics, I had the opportunity to merge my love for engineering and AI in a manufacturing setting. I helped implement smarter systems across the shop floor, developing automated dashboards, programming robotic arms, and utilizing data analytics to uncover inefficiencies that resulted in real savings. Every project demonstrated to me how technology and human problem-solving can come together to transform manufacturing into a more connected and efficient process, streamlining repetitive tasks. Working alongside engineers and machinists, I learned the importance of collaborating closely to innovate and implement solutions, while treating those for whom you’re building tools as true stakeholders.
Exploring AI Document Analysis through Copilot and Power Automate
In this project, I created an AI-powered workflow that automates the process of reviewing purchase orders. Using Microsoft’s AI Builder and Power Automate, the tool extracts key data points and compares them with previous revisions in the company database, saving time and reducing repetitive review work. In this video, I break down how the system identifies updates and streamlines a process that once required manually checking every detail. Later, Copilot announced integration with ChatGPT-5, and we quickly realized building agents to achieve this same task is more user friendly, but I still enjoyed exploring the tool!
Cobot - Robotic CNC Mill Setup
Programming and integrating the 6-axis robotic arm was one of the most rewarding parts of my time at Roncelli. I developed a fully automated CNC milling setup where the cobot managed three hydraulic vices, transferred parts between operations, and coordinated door sequencing, all without human input.
After dozens of tests and refinements, the system completed over 100 fault-free unattended cycles, saving more than 100 machinist hours. This project taught me the importance of precision, timing, and communication between robotics, software, and hardware to create a reliable, lights-out manufacturing process.
Shop Wide MES Deployment
Machine Metrics
MachineMetrics is a Smart MES platform that collects real-time data from operating machines, tracking metrics like cycle times, utilization, and part output. Early on, I realized its potential to transform how data drives decision-making on the shop floor. I divided the project into three main areas: connecting machines, integrating the system with existing software, and developing tools for actionable insights. My role involved configuring machine connections, building dashboards within the platform, leveraging API data in Power BI for custom analysis, and creating automated workflows to relay operator updates directly to production leads.
Connecting the machines proved to be one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of the project. Each machine had unique issues, some physical, others software-related. The problems often required hands-on troubleshooting and the installation of different I/O adapters to establish stable connections. Some of the more capable machines often double-counted parts, but through testing and calibration, I helped increase overall connectivity from 45% to nearly 70% by the end of the project.
In this video, I walk through how we integrated a new MES across the shop floor and built custom tools that turned raw machine data into actionable insights, helping drive smarter, data-driven decision-making within the existing software stack.
Here’s an example of a tool I built to bridge the gap between live machine data and business metrics. It pulled information from the company’s ERP and the MachineMetrics API to visualize utilization, parts produced, and average cycle time. The tool had an interactive slider for daily, weekly, or monthly views. The goal was to create a clear, visual way to identify problematic trends, helping production leads quickly spot consistent time losses and make data-driven decisions to improve efficiency.
Once I had the tools built and connected, I was able to lead the first data-driven case study at Roncelli, analyzing nine different machines across the shop. By comparing the quoted cycle and setup times from the sales team with the actual data recorded through MachineMetrics, we uncovered $90,000 in time losses. Seeing the numbers side by side revealed how small inefficiencies can accumulate quickly in a high-precision environment. This project really opened my eyes to the impact of smart manufacturing and how using data as feedback can make operations more transparent, accurate, and efficient.
Connecting Production Leads and Operators through automated workflows
At the end of my internship, I worked on a project using MachineMetrics dashboards to improve communication between production leads and machine operators. We built automated workflows that sent instant notifications when a machine crashed, ran out of material, or required attention, helping production leads respond faster and more efficiently.
In this video, I walk through how we used webhook integrations to route these notifications through Microsoft Teams. There is already a feature to send a text, but we can also use the webhook to further integrate with the current software stack making the shop floor more connected and dynamic.