Michelin Co-op Provides Student a Well-Rounded Experience
Its a good thing University of Cincinnati industrial design senior Lyle James doesnt tire easily.
Or else he might not have been able to handle the responsibilities that hes been given by Michelin on his current
assignment. Lyle, presently working a six-month double co-op with Michelin North America, Inc., in Greenville, S.C., is designing a futuristic concept car theoretically to be out on the market in 2030 that makes use of Michelins TWEEL (a non-pneumatic wheel and tire in one).
The TWEEL concept car is just one of many projects Ive been working on, but its certainly the biggest, explains Lyle, adding, Well be producing a fifth-scale model of the year 2030 concept car, and Ill be presenting my designs for the TWEEL to Michelins leadership on Dec. 22.
However, the breadth of the project reaches beyond Lyles December presentation to Michelin leadership. For instance, because the TWEEL is such a revolutionary product, its actually a challenging sell to automakers. Thats because use of the TWEEL would require design, manufacturing and maintenance adaptations on the part of automakers.
Lyle explains that because a TWEEL is an airless wheel and a tire in one, it would be impossible to have a flat with one; and it would also basically serve as a replacement to a cars suspension system. Because it replaces the conventional suspension, it takes much of the control over a cars personality and driving dynamics away from the car manufacturer and puts it into the hands of the tire supplier. Thats why the TWEEL is difficult for auto makers to accept, states Lyle, a student in UCs internationally recognized College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning.
So, one of Michelins long-term goals is to demonstrate the value of the TWEEL, convincing auto makers of its advantages. With his design work on behalf of Michelin, Lyle is hoping to accelerate the companys efforts.
His concept car design focuses on a futuristic vehicle for the 2030 Paris-Dakar rally (a long distance race) where it would encounter European winter snows as well as searing desert heat and sand. Its a car, according to Lyle, that demonstrates ultimate capability and performance.
The work Lyle is performing at Michelin is so important that the company actually launched a worldwide search for the perfect intern/co-op to fill this slot within their design department. The company received countless portfolios from students vying for the spot.
Lyle, the first UC co-op to work for Michelin, received the co-op offer after Michelin representatives visited DAAPs
studios. The universitys program is
so that didnt hurt my chances. Also, I had previous auto design co-ops, and Im fluent in French, and Michelin is a French firm, said Lyle who, in fact, spent one of his previous co-op quarters living in France. While there in 2003, Lyle made contacts at Peugeot and Citroen in France and with Car Styling SE in Belgium. He also was able to view the 24-hour Le Mans road race held in June of that year.
During his previous co-op quarters Lyle worked for Hasbro, Inc., designing toy cars among other items; and for Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited where he designed three concept, work-site vehicles
Some of the work that Lyle has already produced for Michelin has been on public display. These include art tires the custom carving of a blank tire for display in magazines, at races and at auto shows. Lyle has supervised the production of a number of such tires, including one for the Turbo channel a new, all-things-auto channel from Discovery Communications more commonly known as the Discovery Channel. Of the carved and colored tires, Lyle, 24, from Pendleton, Ind., opines, They look sweet, but theyre not useable. Basically, theyre celebrations of the art inherent in the auto.
Not surprisingly, Lyle admits to being an extreme car enthusiast, much like his dad who Lyle confesses is obsessed with cars, motorcycles and racing. Ive just taken that obsession to a new level, he laughs.
In fact, Lyle first began illustrating cars when he was 16 and would visit road races around the country. I would draw vehicles and then sell reproductions of the work at the races. But once I reached a plateau in terms of technical skill, I looked to UCs industrial design program for an avenue to be more creative. For a while though, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, he recalls.
Ditto for this co-op job, and thats why Lyles working tirelessly. The best part, says Lyle, Is the responsibility Michelin has given me. My title might be co-op, but Im the project leader on everything I work on. Because there really are no car designers here, because Michelin has always been more engineering oriented, Ive been given a lot of freedom. They didnt have design mold that I had to fit into. Thats why the 2030 concept car is
my
concept car.
Lyle will finish his current co-op work in December and will return to the UC classroom in January. Hell also return to a long-term goal: To design, build and then finally race his own car. Well, its easy to see that hes on the right track.
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