CERTIFICATION

This it to certify that Osisiogu Ukachi Oluwaseun, a student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University,
Awka of the Faculty of Engineering and Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering
with registration number 2010364149 has successfully completed his SIWES programme with M
& M Electrical/Electronics and Telecommunications Company, Awka, Anambra State.

Students Signature

Date

Industrial Based supervisors Signature and stamp

Date

DEDICATION
To my parents who have been a constant source of support and encouragement an epitome of
godly and loving parents.

To my siblings whose care and affection for me beats my understanding.

To every teacher who put every effort to see that they produce students who will one day become
better than themselves.

To every upcoming engineer who constantly works hard to help the world to be a better place.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
One of the major lessons I have come to learn in this life is that No man is an Island.
The completion of this industrial training was made possible because of some special persons
who have been helpful in my life.
They include
To my fellow IT students who have been very motivating to me. I am grateful to you all.
Also Engr. Abdul Malik, my industrial supervisor whose guidance has been of immense helps to
me.
The co-workers of M & M Electronics, I am also grateful.
I am also grateful to my Parents Prof. and Mrs. Osisiogu, my siblings and relatives who are
always understanding and still supportive to see that this program was concluded without much
stress.
Finally, to the Omni-potent God for His continuous supply of wisdom, understanding and
knowledge, and a whole lot more. I forever remain grateful to You.

REPORT OVERVIEW
This purpose of this report is to inform the SIWES coordinator of Nnamdi Azikiwe University. It
is also meant to serve as proof that I actually did undergo the 6 months training required for a
student to do. In this report I will present all I know about the company, what I learnt in the
company, problems I encountered in the company and as well recommendations for Industrial
Trust Fund and the company of my place of attachment.

Table of Contents
Certification

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Report Overview

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 Background of SIWES

1.2 The Objectives of SIWES

Chapter Two: Description of Establishment of Attachment

11

(M&M Electrical/Electronics and Telecommunications Company)

2.1 Location and Brief History

11

2.2 Objectives of M & M Electronics

11

2.3 Organisational Structure of M & M Electronics

12

2.4 Various Departments and their Functions

12

Chapter Three: Skills and Knowledge Acquired

3.1 Audio Amplifiers

14
14

3.1.1 Principles of Operation

15

3.1.2 How Sound Amplification Works

16

3.1.3 Maintenance and Troubleshooting

18

3.2 The Inverter system

20

3.2.1 Mode of operation

20

3.2.2 Design and Implementation

21
5

3.2.3 Maintenance and troubleshooting

30

3.2.4 Precautionary measures

31

Chapter Four: Basic Electronics

30

4.1 Construction of Delay circuit using OP-AMP

32

4.2 Regulated power supply circuit

33

4.3 Crossover Circuit

34

Chapter Five: Summary, conclusions and Recommendations

36

5.1 Problems encountered during the program

36

5.2 Recommendations

37

5.2.1: For the Industrial Task Fund and SIWES

37

5.2.2: For the Company

38

5.3 Conclusions

39

5.3.1: Benefits I got after the SIWES program

5.4 Suggestions to the Improvement of Scheme

39
40

CHAPTER ONE
1.1

BACKGROUND OF SIWES

SIWES was established by ITF in 1973 to solve the problem of lack of adequate practical skills
preparatory for employment in industries by Nigerian graduates of tertiary institutions.

The Scheme exposes students to industry based skills necessary for a smooth transition from the
classroom to the world of work. It affords students of tertiary institutions the opportunity of being
familiarized and exposed to the needed experience in handling machinery and equipment which
are usually not available in the educational institutions.

Participation in Industrial Training is a well-known educational strategy. Classroom studies are

integrated with learning through hands-on work experiences in a field related to the students
academic major and career goals. Successful internships foster an experiential learning process
that not only promotes career preparation but provides opportunities for learners to develop skills
necessary to become leaders in their chosen professions.

One of the primary goals of the SIWES is to help students integrate leadership development into
the experiential learning process. Students are expected to learn and develop basic non-profit
leadership skills through a mentoring relationship with innovative non-profit leaders.

By integrating leadership development activities into the Industrial Training experience, SIWES
hopes to encourage students to actively engage in non-profit management as a professional career
7

objective. However, the effectiveness of the SIWES experience will have varying outcomes
based upon the individual student, the work assignment, and the supervisor/mentor requirements.
It is vital that each internship position description includes specific, written learning objectives to
ensure leadership skill development is incorporated. Participation in SIWES has become a
necessary pre-condition for the award of Diploma and Degree certificates in specific disciplines
in most institutions of higher learning in the country, in accordance with the education policy of
government.
Operators - The ITF, the coordinating agencies (NUC, NCCE, NBTE), employers of labour and
the institutions.
Funding - The Federal Government of Nigeria
Beneficiaries - Undergraduate students of the following: Agriculture, Engineering, technology,
Environmental, Science, Education, Medical Science, and pure and Applied Sciences.
Duration - Four months for Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, and six months for the
Universities.
1.2

THE OBJECTIVES OF SIWES

The following are some of the objectives of SIWES:

1. SIWES will provide students the opportunity to test their interest in a particular career before
permanent commitments are made.
2. SIWES students will develop skills in the application of theory to practical work situations.
3. SIWES will provide students the opportunity to test their aptitude for a particular career before
permanent commitments are made.
4. SIWES students will develop skills and techniques directly applicable to their careers.
5. SIWES will aid students in adjusting from college to full-time employment.
8

6. SIWES will provide students the opportunity to develop attitudes conducive to effective
interpersonal relationships.
7. SIWES will increase a student's sense of responsibility.
8. SIWES students will be prepared to enter into full-time employment in their area of
specialization upon graduation.
9. SIWES students will acquire good work habits.
10. SIWES students will develop employment records/references that will enhance employment
opportunities.
11. SIWES will provide students the opportunity to understand informal organizational
interrelationships.
12. SIWES will reduce student dropouts.
13. SIWES Students will be able to outline at least five specific goals with several staff members
by comparing performance with job duties and develop a draft plan with staff to accomplish
performance needs, supervision plan and rewards.
14. SIWES Students will be able to develop a draft agency or project budget and will be able to
identify methods of obtaining revenue to support the budget.
15. SIWES Students will be able to provide tools to use in prioritizing tasks of an assigned
project and create with staff a tentative schedule for completion based on these tasks.
16. SIWES Students will be able to develop a model policy that gives current front-line leaders
the permission and expectation to work with other staff on conflict resolution and explain how
this works to current front line leaders.
17. SIWES Students will be able to describe different skills leaders can use to
Foster commitment and collaboration with both internal and external constituents.
9

The 6 months Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) which is a requirement for
the completion of my course of study, Electronic and Computer Engineering was done at M&M
Electrical/Electronics & Telecommunications Company. It has two departments. They are
experts in the field of sound systems and inverter designs. The Industrial Training was based on
working with the necessary tools used in an electronics workshop in order to design, build and
implement basic and complex electronic circuits needed for both home and enterprise users.
These things were being carried out in the company and some of them form part of my job
description.

10

CHAPTER 2
2.0

DESCRIPTION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF ATTACHMENT

(M & M ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS & TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY)

2.1 Location and Brief history of M & M ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS &
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY.
M & M is a young growing company which started its operation as a company register under
Corporate Affairs Commission on the 12th of July, 2010. Ever since then company has been
growing.
She is well interested in seeing that she helps in her own way to solve the power supply problems
in the country by engaging in the design and building of inverters that could be used with solar
panels.
She has her head office at Awka in Anambra State at Odera Shopping Complex, Shop 67 & 68.
I had the privilege of working in this company which believes in the training of young minds.
2.2 Objectives of M & M Electrical/Electronics & Telecommunications Company.
The vision this company runs with is to see that young men and women are trained in order to
live a self-reliant and independent life i.e. to make a living on their own.
They are also committed to delivering excellent services to customers.
They are committed to delivering long lasting solutions to the power problems of the country.
They are committed to excellence and a model of a good servicing company

2.3

Organisational Structure of M & M Engineering Company.

M & M has an organizational structure which is expected to be like an arranged hierarchal

manner which starts from the director, manager of technical services and management,
11

production manager and installation manager. It also should include clerical offices such as
secretary, cashier and cleaner. During my stay in M & M electronics I underwent my industrial
work experience scheme under the productions department.
Figure 1 below shows the representation of the company.
2.4 Various Departments and their Functions
1. Technical Services and Management: This department has the responsibility to make sure
that the equipment in the workshop is functional. They are also the department that repairs all the
faulty systems that a customer brings.
2. Training Department: One of the main visions of M&M Electronics is to train young men
and women who will gain skills to work in companies of relative fields and also be able to have
their own companies and be self-employed and in turn create jobs for other people. This
department is responsible to make sure that vision is fulfilled. They train students and they are
also responsible for the materials and tools that these students will use. Courese like basic
electronics, power inverter designs, micro-controller basics and audio amplifiers are taken
3. Production Department: This department ensures that all the jobs of production are being
carried out, they also regulate quality control. If a customer complains of a product they look into
it. They also make research so they can be able to provide state of the art services to improve the
companys worth. Products produces are solar inverters, power inverters, and audio amplifiers.
4. Installation Department: After the production made by the production department this
department is to ensure proper installation of equipment, it is possible that the equipment may not
have been produced by the company but they can be called upon to perform installation services
like solar power related devices, satellite dishes, inverter systems and audio systems.

12

COMPANY ORGANISATIONAL CHART (Organogram)

M & M ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
COMPANY

Secretary
Director

Clerical
Officers

Technical and Services

Management

Repair and
Troubleshooting of
Electrical/Electronic
equipment

Training

Production
Manager

Design and production of audio

system, automatic voltage
regulator, inverter and project
design

Installation
Manager

Installation of
wiring security
systems

Fig. 1: Organisational chart of M & M ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS & TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY

13

CHAPTER THREE
3.0

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED

During the industrial attachment I was acquainted with a lot of things which includes
a. Audio power amplifiers
b. The inverter system
c. Basic electronics
3.1

AUDIO POWER AMPLIFIERS

An audio amplifier is an electronic amplifier that amplifies low power audio signal (signals
composed primarily of frequencies between 20 20,000 Hz, the human range of hearing to a
level of suitable for driving loudspeakers and is the final stage in a typical audio playback chain.
The preceding stage in such a chain are low power audio amplifiers which perform tasks like preamplification, equlisation, tone control, mixing/effects or audio sources like record player, CD
player and cassette players.
Most audio amplifiers require this low-level input to adhere to line levels. While the input signal
to an audio amplifier may measure only a few hundred microwatts, its output may be tens,
hundreds or thousands of watts.

Figure 2 (a)

14

Figure 2 (b)

3.1.1

PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION

The audio amplifier works on the principle of magnetic amplification. The magnetic amplifier is
a static device with no moving parts. It has no wear out mechanism and has a good tolerance to
mechanical shock and vibration. It requires no warm up time. Multiple isolated signals may be
summed by additional control windings on the magnetic cores. The windings of a magnet
amplifier have a higher tolerance to momentary overloads then comparable solid state devices.
The magnetic amplifier is also used as a transducer in applications such as current measurement.
A magnet amplifier device may resemble a transformer but the operating principle is quite
different from a transformer essentially the magnetic saturation of the core, a nonlinear property
of a certain class of transformer cores. For controlled saturation characteristics, the magnetic
amplifier employs core materials that have been designed to have a specific B-H curve shape that
is highly rectangular in contrast to the slowly tapering B-H curve of slowly saturating core
materials that are often used in normal transformers. The typical magnetic amplifier consist of
two physically separate but similar transformer magnetic core, each of which has two windings
a control winding and an AC winding. A small DC current from a low impedance source is fed
into the series connected control windings. The AC windings may be connected either in series
or in parallel, the configurations resulting in different types of magnetic amplifiers. The amount
of control current fed into the control winding, sets the point in the AC winding wave form at
which either core will saturate. In saturation, the AC winding on the saturated core will go from a
high impedance state into a very low impedance state, i.e. current control at which voltage, the
magnetic amplifier switches on.

15

A relatively small DC current on the control winding is able to control or switch large AC
currents on the AC windings. This results to current amplification.

3.1.2

HOW SOUND AMPLIFICATION WORKS.

In the amplification of sound, you need not just the audio amplifier but also the presence of the
audio speakers and the microphones in conjunction with an audio mixer. In order to give more
illustrations we will use the block diagram.

Input Unit

Mixer
Console

Amplifier

Loudspeaker

Figure 3.1: Block diagram of sound amplification

Here, the input unit can be a microphone depending on the mode of application. This device
converts sound to electrical signals. This signal is fed to the mixer console where the effects of
the sound can be modified and made better and then this signal is fed to an amplifier which may
be inside the mixer console or through the use of a power amplifier as discussed above. Then the
signal produced by the amplifier is then fed into the loudspeaker to drive it. When this is done
this signal is then converted form electrical signal to sound.
3.1.3

Maintenance and troubleshooting

In the maintenance of an audio speaker it normally requires that you observe the sound waveform
produced through the use of an oscilloscope especially when it is running at a maximum output.
A good example of this type of maintenance is the adjustment of the bias of the final amplifier
tubes in an amplifier. Using a sine wave test signal as input to the amplifier tubes in an amplifier,
the output tube bias may be adjusted is that the output signal has no crossover distortion.

16

In any event where the audio power amplifier is not coming on, we troubleshoot to ascertain the
fault with a bit to fixing it. These are the things we were told to check.
When we plug it and the amplifier does not come on at all, we check for the fuse.
We check for the fuse in the external plug if it is bad, we replace it.
If it is not that we check the fuse in the amplifier.
We also have signs to check if it actually a power problem. For example if there is a
power surge when it is being plugged then we can infer that one of the components of the
power supply like the transformer or even the rectifier diode is damaged.
If we check the above and they are still alright, then we check the power transistors. This
is most likely to be the problem with almost all the panels we worked on. So when this
occurs we test for the damaged one and then replace it.
If the issues still persist we check for other components like the capacitors to make sure
they are connected to the printed circuit board (PCB)
We also check the relay which is used for switching
There are even times when most or all the components in a panel get burnt to much
voltage being initially supplied to it. In that case we have to design and construct a new
panel. This time around we can even produce a better one that will suit the conditions of
power supply in this country.
By the time we are sure that the solution is perfect we then test the equipment and make
sure it is working properly.
Some other issues may also come up. The ones listed above were amongst the common
ones I encountered in the workshop.

17

3.2 The Inverter System

The inverter system is an electronics device that converts direct current (DC) to alternating
current (AC); the converted AC can be at any required voltage and frequency with the use of
appropriate transformers, switching, and control circuits.
Solid-state inverters have no moving parts and are used in a wide range of applications, from
small switching power supplies in computers, to large electric utility high-voltage direct current
applications that transport bulk power. Inverters are commonly used to supply AC power from
DC sources such as solar panels or batteries. There are two main types of inverter. The output of
a modified sine wave inverter is similar to a square wave output except that the output goes to
zero volts for a time before switching positive or negative. It is simple and low cost and is
compatible with most electronic devices, except for sensitive or specialized equipment, for
example certain laser printers. A pure sine wave inverter produces a nearly perfect sine wave
output (<3% total harmonic distortion) that is essentially the same as utility-supplied grid power.
Thus it is compatible with all AC electronic devices. This is the type used in grid-tie inverters. Its
design is more complex, and costs 5 or 10 times more per unit power. The electrical inverter is a
high-power electronic oscillator. It is so named inverter because early mechanical AC to DC
converters was made to work in reverse, and thus was "inverted", to convert DC to AC. The
inverter performs the opposite function of a rectifier
We have three types of square wave inverter when we classify them under the type of waveforms
they produce
1. Square wave inverter: Square wave inverters were the first invented inverter. Square wave
inverter has odd number of harmonics and can hardly be used on AC appliances except some
18

lights and fans. This kind of inverter eventually reduces the life span of the appliances they
power. This is also the cheapest form of inverter.
2. Modified sine wave inverter: Modified sine wave is more like the square wave which
possesses less harmonic distortion compared to square wave. The harsh corners from the square
wave were eliminated to transform it to a modified sine wave. This type of inverter is the most
seen in todays market. Although it is less harmful to devices compared to the square wave, it
still heats up the coil in filer due to large amount of harmonic distortion and dissipates power.
3. Pure sine wave inverter: Unlike square wave and modified sine wave, pure sine wave
inverters maintain the best quality due to the least number of harmonic distortions present in it.
Usually sine wave inverter is the more expensive of the two.
The advantage it has over the others is that it allows us to use all AC appliances and reduces the
humming noise of inductive loads like fans. The figure below shows the output of a pure sine
wave form.

Figure 3.2: Waveforms of Square, modified and pure sine wave inverters.

Before we go into the design of an inverter we must first understand the basics.
So I will start with a block diagram
19

Oscillator
Circuit

Amplifier
Circuit

Switching
Circuit

AC Mains

Change
Over Circuit

Battery
Charger

Battery

Transformer

AC Output

Output
Socket

Sensing
Unit

Fig. 3.3: Detailed block diagram of inverter

3.2.1 Mode of operation

The power inverter I learnt during my IT operated in the following way:
The DC voltage from a battery is fed to an oscillator which produces signals that may be pure
sine wave, modulated sine wave or square sine wave. These signals can then be amplified by an
amplifier circuit which then increases the strength of the signal in question. It should be noted
that the amplifier section is not compulsory. The switching circuit is made up of transistors
especially Metallic Oxide Semiconductor Transistors (MOSFETS) and is connected in such a
way that the output of the oscillator switches them on and off at the frequency of the oscillator.

20

The transformer steps up the resultant AC from the switching circuit to a value that can drive the
required load.
The change over circuit enables the battery to connect to the oscillator which in turn feeds the
amplifier. The amplifier feeds the switching circuit while the switching circuit feeds this signal
produced to the transformer to get the required AC voltage output for the inverter. The AC from
the mains supply is also connected to the changeover circuit so that it will feed the output socket
when there is power from the public AC mains. When there is supply from the AC mains, the
oscillator circuit will be switched off to switch off the inverter. The AC main also feeds the
battery charger through the changeover circuit in order to charge the battery. The sensing unit
senses a number of conditions like low battery, full battery and overload.
3.2.2 Design & Implementation of Inverter System
In the implementation of the above mentioned design, we are going to be looking at the
following components.
a. The required power transformer
b. The regulator circuit
c. The Oscillator circuit
d. The signal amplification circuit
e. The switching circuit
f. The battery charger
g. The charge controller

21

3.2.2.1 THE POWER TRANSFORMER

In order to obtain the required specification needed to construct we are going to perform some
calculations.
Using the formula:

Where P = perimeter of bobbin

V = voltage
T = number of turns
Applying this formula we can therefore calculate the transformer windings for both secondary
and primary windings.
During my industrial training we were faced with the task of producing a 5KVA inverter, with
primary winding voltage of 48V, secondary winding voltage of 220V and the inverting voltage
to be 290V.
The perimeter of the transformer bobbin was given as 27cm2
For the primary voltage we have that V = 48V, therefore the number of turns needed is given as

For the secondary voltage winding at 220V

22

Therefore,

For the inverting voltage winding at 290V

It should also be noted that in getting the correct wire gauge to be used for the inverter we must
know the current that will pass through the coil and use an approved chart to get the appropriate
wire gauge to use.
3.2.2.2 THE REGULATOR CIRCUIT
The regulator gives the oscillator its reference voltage and determines the amount of power that
drives the system. The amplitude of the oscillator or timer is determined by the voltage output of
the oscillator and the current of the regulator determines the stability of the oscillator. The zener
diode D1 determines the regulating voltage ranging from zero to the maximum applied voltage
since to clips and clamps the base voltage of the transistor Q1.
The transistor Q1 determines the regulator output current and the maximum applicable voltage
the regulator can regulate whiles the resistor R1 gives a feedback between the input and
regulating reference voltage.

23

Fig 3.4: The regulator circuit

3.2.2.3 The Oscillator circuit

During my industrial training we used the SG3524 integrated circuit (IC). This was used to
generate a modified sine wave. The figure below shows the IC pin-out

Fig 3.5: The pin out of SG3524

24

Fig 3.6: A schematic diagram of the oscillator using SG3524

3.2.2.4 The signal amplification circuit

The signal from the oscillator is fed to a dual input class AB push pull amplifier to produce an
alternating output with the same waveform but with higher power, powerful enough to drive the
switching circuit.
3.2.2.5 The switching circuit

25

After the amplification is done this signal is then fed into the switching circuit. This circuit is
made up of MOSFETs of which the gates are all connected together and the signal from the
oscillator is fed in.
Also the drain of all the MOSFETs are all connected together and then connected to the
transformer, while the source are also connected together and then connected to ground.
The frequency of the oscillation produced by the oscillator switches, these transistors on and off
at that same frequency thereby generating the AC signal which then fed to the transformer, the
transformer steps up this AC signal to the required voltage which can now be fed to the load.

Fig 3.7: A schematic diagram for a MOSFET switching circuit.

26

3.2.2.5

Change over circuit

In order to avoid the frustration caused by power outages, which make some equipment to restart.
An automatic changeover has been designed to tackle the issue.
By a proper configuration of D.C relays the load, the inverter and the mains is being designed to
direct all loads to the mains and redirect the load automatically to the power inverter when the
mains fail.

While operating in this mode, the switching system also turns the inverter circuit on
automatically. The selection of relay for this system is carefully selected based on the stability
and the reliability when it is putted under unfavorable conditions like low voltage and unstable
power supply.

Fig. 3.8: A schematic diagram for the change over circuit.

27

3.2.2.6 Operation and Description

When grid power is on, the transformer T1 is energized which triggers all the switches to ON
mode. At this mode the loads automatically connects to the grid power and DC supply to the
regulator is cut off to stop the inverters from operating.
When the grid power goes OFF the switches are released and the load automatically connects
itself to the inverter and at the same time power is released to the regulator circuit which causes
the inverter circuit to start operation. No capacitor is used to filter or smoothing the rectified
power from the bridge diode because the introduction of a capacitor to a relays power supply
increases the tendency for a delay in switching the relays to either ON or OFF mode.

3.2.2.7 Charging System

The charging system for this system is in a hybrid mode (internal and external) meaning that at
time the mains or the grid power is available the internal charging system would partially
recharge the battery when its voltage is below 12.5. An external source like the Solar Cells or the
Wind turbine can also be connected to replace the internal charger when the system is being used
at a place where grid power is not available. The internal charging circuit uses a transformer less
battery charging system instead of the normal transformer type because the transformers
produces great amount of heat when the batteries are highly discharged which sometimes
eventually causes it to burn.
3.2.2.7 Battery Charger
When 220 volts AC is connected in series to a capacitor making the AC tire which passes
through the capacitor to make behave like a pulse which created when the capacitor charges and
28

discharge. Since power cannot pass through the charger but only store electrical power. The
output from the capacitor is series to the rectifier, changes the power to D.C ripples near zero
hertz making it conductive for battery charging. The diode only used power stored in the
capacitor. This procedure continues until capacitor charges to full charge or the mains are
disconnected.

Fig 3.9: A schematic diagram of the battery charger

3.2.2.8 Charge Controller

The charge controller is a circuit tuned to either close or open circuit for charging the battery
when it is low and cut charging when the battery is fully charged.
The minimum voltage is set to 9V and the maximum is left to the digression of the installer since
ever battery has a different charging voltage.

29

Fig 3.10: A schematic diagram of a charge controller

3.2.3 Maintenance & Troubleshooting

During the course of my industrial training we did not only produce the power inverters we also
did some maintenance and some trouble shooting. Also due to the fact that we are core
manufacturers, customers always come to us in order to repair the faulty components.
One of the major problems we faced in the workshop was the overheating of transformers. To
tackle that issue we always had to trace the fault by recoiling the power transformer, sometimes
the transformer had a bridge inside it or the transformer gets burnt when any of these happened
we recoiled the transformer.
Another problem we faced also was when the MOSFETs started to overheat once the inverter
was turned on so we just had to trace the fault to the connection of these MOSFETs to their drain,
source and gates that were connected once the wrong connection was rectified it would work
perfectly.

30

Lastly, when the other circuits involved in the inverter circuit seems to be faulty, problems may
come from damaged transistors, damaged relay, and any other damaged circuit. The needed
action to take was simply the replacement of such component and then test for its functionality.
3.2.4 Precautionary measures
During my industrial training I was made to understand some precautions that were needed to be
taken. They are
1. Do not overload the inverter system so as to avoid blowing up the inverter system.
2. Ensure that the polarity of the inverter system is not reversed or bridged or else a hazard
may occur.
3. Make sure that the battery being used is an original so that it can serve you for longer
hours.

31

CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Basic Electronics

4.1

a.

Delay Circuit using Operational Amplifiers

b.

Power Supply Circuit.

c.

Crossover circuit for Audio Speaker

Construction of a delay circuit using operational amplifiers

Fig 4.1: A delay circuit with the use of an OP-Amp.

The circuit uses RC circuit in combination with an Op-Amp Comparator to accomplish the delay
characteristic of a timer. In the above diagram a voltage is applied across the R3-C1 combination.
The input for the Op-Amp is tapped at the point where R3 and C1 meet. This is the point where
the positive terminal of the capacitor gradually charges to the value of the power supply. As the
capacitor C1 reaches the Op-Amp's reference voltage, the Op-Amp's output pin turns from High
to Low, allowing current to flow through the transistor, Q1, current enters the base of the
transistor and flows to the collector which acts as a switch to turn the relay on. When the relay is
on, current then passes through the LED (causing the LED to glow). The time delay can be
32

controlled by changing the values or R3 or C1 or by adjusting the value of the R1 and R2. For a
new timer cycle to occur, you must discharge capacitor, C1.

4.2

Regulated Power Supply Circuit

During my industrial training I also learnt how to build a power supply circuit.
First I had to understand the basics using a block diagram

AC Mains

Transformer

Rectifier

Filter

Regulated
DC output

Fig 4.2: A detailed block diagram of a power supply circuit

From the diagram we can infer that the AC voltage is fed into a transformer which steps it
down to a value defined by the voltage specifications of the transformer. The output of the
transformer is then fed into a rectifier.
The rectifier converts the AC to DC. There are three kinds of rectification which are the half
wave reactivation, full wave rectification (with the use of two diodes) and also the full wave
rectification with use of four diodes. The one that I constructed was full rectification with four
diodes. The output from the rectifier is then being fed to the filter circuit in order to reduce the
ripple effect.
The filter circuit is of 3 types we can just connect the capacitor in parallel to the rectifier or use
the pi and T method but this time we use an inductor.

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Finally the output from the filter circuit is then fed into the regulator which can be an IC or
through the use of a zener diode. It should also be noted that we can also provide a variable

Fig 4.3: A schematic diagram of a dual rail regulated power supply circuit

regulated power supply or a constant regulated power supply.

Also the power supply can be a single rail power supply (can only give an output of one polarity)
or a dual rail power supply (can give an output of both polarities).
It is important to note that in constructing a dual power rail we must use a center tapped
transformer.

Fig 4.4: A schematic diagram of a single rail regulated power supply circuit

4.3 Crossover circuit

For certain loudspeakers that has both a woofer (bass) and a tweeter a crossover circuit is being
used because the balance that the speaker gives depends on the amount of frequency the sound
produces.
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Fig 4.5: Picture of a crossover circuit

Fig 4.6: Schematic diagram of a crossover circuit with a tweeter and to bass speakers

The tweeter speaker is used for higher sound frequencies so it will be connected to a high pass
filter circuit, while the bass speaker is connected to the low pass filter in order for the correct
amount of frequency to pass through. Figure 3.16 shows a picture of a crossover circuit, while
figure 3.17 shows the schematic diagram of a crossover circuit.

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CHAPTER FIVE
5.0
5.1

SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERD DURING THE PROGRAM

I enjoyed my industrial training at M & M Electrical/Electronics And Telecommunications

Company but I was not left without challenges.
1. No allowance
During my training I was not given any allowance to help with the expenses that I had to
take during the course of my training like the transportation, feeding and then the purchase
of some needed equipment for work.
2. Distractions
During the course of training the colleague of my industrial supervisor had many friends
who came around. Sometimes they would chat for a long time and this distracted us the
trainees. They would even ask us to go get something for them in the midst of our
learning. This did not help us to learn very well.
3. Inefficient transfer of knowledge
I did learn a few things but I believe I would have learnt more if we did not just only rely
on on the job training because we were not even given much jobs to do. Sometimes the
industrial based supervisor did not have enough time to teach us some things. So there was
transfer of knowledge but it was not so satisfactory.
4. Lack of seriousness

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Some of my colleagues were not even so serious. Some would come in late and then some
would not even come at all. So whenever they were not around I was told to do things that
were not even related to my field of study.
5.2

Recommendations

SIWES is a very important programme in the life of any student especially for those who would
want to practice engineering. SIWES has gone a long way to bridge the gap between what is
done in the university and what is done in the industry.
5.2.1

For the Industrial Task Fund and SIWES

I strongly recommend that ITF should keep visiting the students on a regular basis i.e. at least 3
times in the space of the 6 months of the training so that these who are not serious will be more
dedicated to their place of work.
I also want to recommend that ITF should always liaise with many companies to ensure that IT
students do not have a hard time finding a place of attachment.
I also want to recommend that in order for ITF to fulfill its objectives in the career of students
they should always ensure that companies with the facilities to train engineering students should
be willing to accept a larger number of students than they are doing now. This will go a long way
to minimize the search many students undergo before they find a place for attachment.

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5.2.2

FOR THE COMPANY

I actually learned some useful things during my stay in M & M Electronics. During my stay I
observed a few things and I want to recommend the following.
1.

One of the things the company lack is a good marketer. There are lot of
persons in Anambra State and probably other states who may need the services you
provide but they need someone to encourage or push them to buy it. A good marketer with
good skills can make you get more jobs and more money so that you can even pay the
trainees that come to the company to work. One of the challenges I faced during my
training was lack of allowances during my stay there. So doing this can be of good help in
future.

2.

The environment where the company is hidden. You provide good

services yet you are not well known in Awka. I will advise that you either get another
place or you make banners or posters that will advertise your products and attract much
more customers. One of the challenges I also faced as regards the venue was the fact that
it was not conducive enough for learning because of the level of noise and some other
distractions.

3.

The customer relationship was not so wonderful, I am actually trying to

say that the way some customers get disappointed because of a delayed job or a job not
well done that causes them to come back again over a short period of time can continue to
degenerate customer relationship. So I recommend that they treat customers well so that in
the long run they would not lose many other customers.

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4.

In the world of business collecting loans to improve ones business is not

that bad. I know you have a lot of things in mind but then you need more packaging and
packaging is going to cost money. You have the capacity to become one of the leading
electronic schools in Awka but you have not provided room for that. So I recommend that
you get loans or apply for programs that can fetch such loans in order to get more money.
One of the challenges I faced was that most of the learning I did was always on the job
training. It was only a few times we sat down and learnt a few things. This did not cause
efficient transfer of knowledge. So I recommend that a training school be set up so that the
trainees can benefit well and even be willing to pay.

5.3

Conclusion

In conclusion this industrial training has afforded me the basic practical and theoretical
knowledge that I may not have gotten from the lecture room. It also gave me the opportunity to
have a feel of what it would be like after graduation when I start working. It has also helped me
to have knowledge of the electronics industry.

5.3.1

Benefits I got after the SIWES program

More Confidence
During my training I developed confidence in constructing any electronic circuit, because I was
told to do that a lot. I can even solder better than I used to.
With that to I can be able to analyse most electronic circuits.

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Knowledge
During my SIWES program I was used to seeing many things on electronics especially the
components used in making a circuit. I have an in depth knowledge of audio systems and how
they operate and also the inverter system.
Working Ethics
During this program I was learnt how to handle customers, and also involved myself into many
jobs that had to do with teamwork.

Exposure
I was exposed to many things like how to solder in a special way, how to respond to faulty
equipment and also how to respond to customers anytime.
Networking
During my industrial attachment I made new friends in my field of study, people I can be able to
look up to and also seek their help any time I have challenges whether it is during ny stay here or
beyond.

5.4

Suggestions to the improvement of Scheme

In order to make this scheme more interesting awareness needs to be made corporate bodies on
how industrial attachment students should be treated. Any company that can train students that
has not yet started accepting students can collaborate with ITF and see the best way they can start
taking industrial attachment students.

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SIWES supervisors should be visiting us more often than they are doing so that we can be
encouraged to be very serious with this programme.
SIWES should increase the pay and also pay the first half at the beginning of the training and
then pay the remaining at the end of the training so that those who may encounter financial
problems can be able to cope.

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