DANA — Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

World leader in the research, design, development & production of specialized batteries & power systems for the aerospace (NASA & Boeing), Dept. of Defense, medical & commercial industries On a two-man team who designed a very heavy-duty 3 axis servo-controlled gantry lift & transport system to hoist elaborate & massive 1-ton batteries from a staging area to a distant testing tank. Completed design & detailing of a large stainless steel tank for battery testing & containment with electrical connection interface, conditioned air ventilation system, and deluge system. Designed stainless steel fixture & pallet stand to ship the large batteries by truck, as well as move the batteries via forklift, while protecting them from vibration and shock. Presented proposed new designs, changes, and performance enhancements at peer reviews for management approval. Detailed all components of designs and helped with fabricator & vendor selection. Documented designs and changes with updated CAD models & drawings for PDM vault archive. All design work done using SolidWorks 2019 & PDM 2019. Much of this work was done remotely due to pandemic restrictions.

Manufacturer of State-of-the-Art Sub-Sea Communication, Control, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems used in Military, Naval, and Homeland Security Applications. Sr. Mech. Design Engineer (Contract Assignment) Designed compact fiber-optic and electrical systems with elaborate bulkhead seals for use in extremely harsh & high pressure sub-sea applications. Modified four existing conduit designs with electrical, mechanical & fiber-optic upgrades to accommodate enhanced communication traffic & completed schematics in Visio. Redesigned circuit card assembly & laser/receiver component mounting. Upgraded electronic component clearances for a more compact, robust package to survive severe shock, vibration, and acute sub-sea duty. Performed tolerance stack-up analysis to optimize design and correct any interference. Designed fixture for ease in fiber winding and assembly of bulkheads. Helped with Ansys stress & vibration analysis of proposed changes. Designed test fixtures & procedures to verify the successful performance & reliability of new designs. Presented changes and new designs at peer reviews for approved performance improvements. Documented changes with updated CAD models & drawings for archive. All design work done using SolidWorks 2018 & Visio 2018

Supplier of High-End Electronic Communication, Navigation, Avionic, Control, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems used in Military, Aerospace, Homeland Security & Commercial Applications. (Contract Assignment)  Designed extremely compact & robust housing enclosure, chassis, and circuit board spacer webs for an IR Imager used in a confidential new spacecraft.  Worked with Electronics Design Engineers for circuit board component layout compatibility with spacer placement to eliminate interference within the very compact enclosure.  Designed precision stepper motor controlled mechanisms for both a selectable filter & a shutter system.  Conducted a CG analysis of both mechanisms to counterbalance and stabilize cantilevered arms.  Specified all materials, finishing, tight GD&T tolerancing, and military standard fasteners.  Designed fastening method for external lenses & filters, as well as thermal attachment to spacecraft.  Designed electrical connection interfaces for external power, control, and data I/O cables of IR Imager.  Created detailed prints of all parts, assemblies, circuit boards, spacers, housing/chassis, I/O, etc.  Assisted with assembly model simplification and intensive FEA structural, shock, & thermal analysis to test for extreme G-forces & harsh space environment.  All design, detail, and analysis work done using SolidWorks 2017.

Integration of Robotic Automation Systems & Custom Automated Machinery Design Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Designed robotic Toyota automotive steering system assembly cell for Bosch using a mid-sized ABB robot to drive screws in steering servo motor housings.  Designed end-of-arm tooling for the robot with Bosch driver spindle and blow-feed screw presentation.  Designed an additional Bosch screw drive spindle on a pneumatically actuated two-stage slide to drive a bottom housing screw.  Designed screw entrapment & pneumatic rotary flipper mechanism for the bottom screw driver spindle.  Integrated vibratory feeder bowl to feed screws with air-tubing screw delivery system.  Designed a counter-balanced floating 4-ton C-frame press to hydraulically press intricate rack & pinion/ball screw shafts into bearing housings.  Performed stress analysis on 4-ton press C-frame design using SolidWorks 2016 FEA mesh simulation.  Integrated Bosch palletized conveyor with RFID pallet identification system.  Designed pneumatic pallet lift & locate mechanism.  Designed extensive guarding, sensors, and entry lockout systems for this cell.  Detailed drawings of all solid model parts and assemblies for fabrication, and specified commercial & vendor components.  All fabricated and purchased component models entered into DDM data base.  All design & detail work done using SolidWorks 2014 & 2016.

June 6, 2016 – March 3, 2017 Integration of Robotic Automation Systems & Custom Automated Machinery Design Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Designed a robotic automotive engine block handling cell using a large Fanuc robot to buffer and palletize the output from an automated die cast line for Honda Motor Corporation.  Designed a second robotic handling system to move bad engine block parts off line to a die-cast repair station, and place repaired blocks back on line.  Designed a third "final stocker" palletizing station for this engine block line to place all good blocks into a WIP accumulation storage area for engine assembly.  Designed the robot end-of-arm tooling to gently grasp the engine blocks, as well as to also grasp the large dunnage trays and pallets used in palletizing.  Designed an automated oil-leak-test station to test Honda engine heads.  Designed all conveyor systems, extensive guarding, light curtains, sensors, and entry lockout systems for these lines.  Detailed drawings of all solid model parts and assemblies for fabrication, and specified commercial & vendor components.  All design & detail work done using SolidWorks 16

Custom Machinery Design & Manufacturer and Integration of Robotic & Conveyance Systems Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Designed high speed Lane Divider Station for dividing plastic bottle through-put from a single conveyor into two conveyors leading to the two bottle fill stations. This station had high speed pneumatic swing arm actuation, adjustable guide rails for various size bottle diameters, bottle position sensors, and an air bladder bottle stop mechanism.  Designed intricate machine guard for this Lane Divider Station with "gull-wing" access door, safety sensors, gas spring assists, and rear access door.  Designed a pneumatic dispenser mechanism with magazine chute dispensing of instruction pamphlets for an automated packaging line.  Designed a yarn coating and oven Dryer Station for a pharmaceutical customer. 2  Detailed drawings of all solid models for fabrication, and specified commercial & vendor components.  All design & detail work done using SolidWorks 16.

World leading manufacturer of lithography systems for the semiconductor industry. Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  On a large team of Optical, Electrical, & Mechanical Engineers responsible for designing a complete new state of the art Twinscan NXT Immersion Lithography System with improved volume production of high performance semiconductors.  Designed precision ball spline servo mechanism for new lens focusing cell that could significantly improve focusing performance, stability, and accuracy.  Designed mechanical layout of optical focusing mirror system & testing cells.  Modified frame and supports to accommodate new focusing system.  All design work done using NX 3D CAD (Received extensive formal NX training at ASML)

Manufacturer of precision high speed aluminum beverage can forming & process machinery. Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  On a four-man team who designed a complete new state of the art production line with high speed turrets and complex cam actuated tooling to achieve a new production level of 3600 alum. cans/min.  This line consisted of can "Necker" stations, Flanger stations, Reformer stations, Light Tester stations, and High Speed Sorters.  Designed ball wrist mechanism that significantly improved ram performance while lowering cost.  Redesigned cams, shafts, carriages, framework, weldments, air delivery systems, etc.  Specified THK rails, bearings, cam followers, pneumatic springs & cylinders, valves, hydraulic dampers, shafts, HMI interfaces, seals, auto-lubrication system, fittings, and all hardware.  Designed can conveyor & sheet metal air booster system to evacuate reject cans.  Designed elaborate articulated tri-fold guards with spring assist mechanisms for new line.  Redesigned extruded aluminum bi-fold guards for existing 2500 cans/min. line.  Designed aluminum castings for the ram bodies & bases and created all welded bracket assemblies.  All solid-modeling design work done using Inventor 2013 & Meridian 2014 (database).

Intraocular lens manufacturer of surgical ophthalmic lens implants for cataract-related vision restoration. Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Designed & built complex pneumatic lens removal fixture to allow rapid removal of molded ACRYSOF lenses after milling operation, eliminating damaged reject lenses associated with manual removal.  Wrote new CNC code to add an additional lathe cutting procedure to the Aerotech Lathe-Drill machines and completed extensive validation protocol to implement production changes.  Completed validation protocol for the addition of Vision Inspection Systems to existing Milling machines.  Redesigned five Chilled De-Ionized Water Stations to contain all condensation drippings, allow rapid pump disconnect & replacement, and occupy half of the original floor space.  Designed elaborate cable & hose management trellis system for all milling machines in Mill Room to eliminate tangled clutter, trip & shock hazards & condensation spillage on floor. 3  All solid-modeling design work done using SolidWorks & PDM Works 2009.

Start-up company completing R & D work into the third phase of FDA clinical trials for revolutionary insulin powder pulmonary delivery devices in diabetes care. Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Designed new miniature dual-auger insulin powder dispenser unit consisting of micro-miniature bearings and seals, as well as very small stepper motors,.25 module gear trains, 1mm shafts, sapphire bushings, and linear actuator with rack & pinion driven 6mm butterfly valve.  Redesigned all housings, enclosure, and frame of a previous design attempt to work with new design.  Worked with Electrical Engineers to integrate stepper motor control PC board, hall-effect sensor PC board, and flush main connector board into dispenser prototypes.  Conducted Design Reviews with Management, Electrical & Software Engineering Depts.  Converted 3D models to 2D detailed prints for fabrication.  Worked with several machine shops to get all fabricated & modified purchased parts machined to print.  Assembled & helped with testing of the dual auger powder dispenser prototypes with successful results.  All 3D solid modeling design work done using SolidWorks 2008 CAD software.

R & D division of Phillip-Morris USA developing aerosol generation devices for pulmonary drug delivery. Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Designed new state-of-the-art Alpha II 3000 PSI syringe pump unit consisting of precision lead screws, axial load bearings, custom gear reduction drive system, stepper motor & driver/controller, load cell, custom designed rotary encoder, limit switches, aluminum frame & enclosure.  Designed drug condensation recovery & containment system.  Made necessary modifications to existing Alpha I R & D model to accept the new recovery system.  Conducted Design Review with Management, Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Depts.  Converted 3D models to 2D detailed prints for fabrication.  Worked with local machine shop to get all fabricated and modified purchased parts machined to print.  Assembled & conducted lab testing of the new high-pressure syringe pump with successful results.  All 3D solid modeling design work done using SolidWorks 2007 CAD software.

Manufacturer of analytical probe stations and manipulators for semiconductor wafer probing Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Designed high precision wafer loader slide mechanism for 9000 Series automatic probe station.  Designed fabricated sheet metal (stainless steel) wafer loader tray to replace original high-cost machined aluminum loader tray.  Conducted stress analysis on cantilevered slide mechanism and components to optimize component selection for high strength and stiffness.  Selected precision ball slide blocks and rails to meet maximum design load requirement.  Incorporated precision switches for loader tray position sensing.  Made necessary modifications to existing 9000 Series Probe Station product enclosure to accept the new wafer loader design. 4  Conducted Design Review with Electrical & Mechanical Engineering, as well as Marketing Depts.  All 3D solid modeling design work done using SolidWorks 2007 CAD software.  Converted 3D models to 2D detailed prints (including flat patterns for sheet metal parts) for fabrication.

(This contract ended when there was a hostile takeover of McKesson APS by Parata Systems.) Manufacturer of robotic pharmaceutical prescription drug (Rx) dispensing machines for pharmacy automation. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Designed & built cooling system to control operating temperature of AccuMed robot controller.  Tested cooling system thoroughly and worked with UL Engineers for UL approval.  Redesigned AccuMed cabinet & various sheet metal parts to accept cooling system.  Designed cable management system for AccuMed product line.  Designed computer tray clamp and turntable for securing computer and allowing easy access.  All 3D solid modeling design work done using SolidWorks 2006 CAD software.  Converted 3D models to 2D detailed prints (including flat patterns for sheet metal parts) for fabrication.  Created bill of materials & worked with sheet metal shop to get fabricated components made to print.  Created kits for implementation of the new designs into production.

Manufacturer of robotic pharmaceutical prescription drug (Rx) dispensing machines for pharmacy automation. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Designed & built complex five-axis assembly system with automatic screw feed screwdrivers that tripled production of the RDS (robotic dispensing system) units.  Worked with Parker Seal Division engineers to design & implement new Poron seals & O-rings for the tubular manifolds & blower assembly, which greatly improved the RDS vacuum system performance.  Implemented a new low-profile cable carrier assembly for the RDS robot's x-axis, which reduced machine height, as well as robot motion errors and noise.  Wrote and implemented the motion control program to cycle the robot's x-axis for testing.  Designed a proprietary spool and spindle for the Sato label printer of the RDS units to accept Parata's label rolls.  Worked with Sato salesmen & engineers to optimize the Sato printer design & packaging configuration for Parata's RDS units.  All 3D solid modeling design work done using SolidWorks 2004 & 2005 CAD software.  Converted 3D models to 2D detailed prints for parts fabrication modifications of purchased parts.  Created bill of materials & worked with local machine shop to get fabricated components made to print  Helped with production problems & assembly line floor support.

Manufacturer of 3D optical tooth digitizers & precision milling machines for dental labs & dentist offices. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Assisted with the design of a desktop 3 dimensional 5-axis servo-controlled milling machine for both precious metal & ceramic tooth blanks.  Designed coolant delivery & recovery system for the tooth mill. 5  Worked with Optical Engineers to optimize the design of a desktop 3D optical scanning machine to digitize tooth profiles to be replicated on the 3D tooth-milling machine.  All 3D solid modeling design work done using SolidWorks 2004 CAD software.

Diagnostic Medical Products Manufacturer for Diabetes Care. Mechanical Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Designed pneumatic end effector for large Fanuc robot to allow vacuum pickup of tandem 4 (total of 8) Bayer DCA-2 Diagnostic Cartridges off clamped pucks on two parallel conveyors. The design utilized custom linkages, which allowed 90 rotation and proportional pitch expansion/contraction of all 8 positions with only one pneumatic cylinder.  Designed liquid dispense shuttle mechanisms with multiple dispense heads on two parallel DCA-2 cartridge assembly lines.  Designed & built 2 servo-controlled starwheel indexer units with cam-actuated clamp plungers to index & precisely clamp pucks carrying DCA-2 cartridges on a FlexLink conveyor under the tamp head of Weber Label/Applicator units.  Designed & built FlexLink carousel conveyor system with PLC controller, servo module, AC motor frequency controller and puck & product sensors to thoroughly test & debug the starwheel indexers before installation in the production environment.  Designed & built twin precision 4-position puck clamp mechanisms with pneumatically actuated slide carriages on common THK rails to accurately locate and clamp tandem 4 FlexLink conveyor pucks at a Fanuc robot DCA-2 cartridge lid-place station.  All 3D solid modeling design work done using SolidWorks 2001+ & 2003 CAD software (2200+ Hrs.).  Converted 3D models to 2D detailed prints for parts fabrication modifications of purchased parts.  Worked with local machine shop to get fabricated components made to print.  Assembled and tested the various design projects.  Worked with Controls Engineers to integrate the various projects into DCA-2 production.

Structural, Mechanical, Civil, & Machine Design Engineering Consulting Firm. Mechanical Machine Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Designed a confidential automated powdered-metal fill station of a large high-compression mold machine for a corporate metal industry client.  Conceived and designed a very heavy four station servo index table with four automatic fill valve hoppers, heavy-duty servo & ball screw drives, THK linear bearing blocks & slide rails, pneumatic valve actuators, and sensors, as well as all Alum. & Steel structural support framework.  All Mechanical Design work done using AutoCAD 2000 & Inventor 4 - 3D solid modeling software.  This very confidential project had the very lucrative potential of significantly increasing the client company's metal production yields, and ultimately their profitability.  Designed prototype 61,000 lb. 6-station mobile high temperature oven, with 6 "aircraft-style" heavy-duty dual pneumatic caster wheels, ceramic high temperature heater modules, firebrick & wool insulation, and elaborate structural steel frame.  Designed an overhead console trolley system to allow the machine control console to be rotated or moved approx. 20 feet.  Redesigned an existing assembly stand and all support components. 6  Specified all linear & rotary actuators, pneumatic components, DC Servo drive motors, timing belts & pulleys, gears, shafts, fasteners, position sensors, etc., and wrote "Sequence of Events" document for control programming.  Converted the 3D models to 2D detailed prints for parts fabrication & modifications of purchased parts.  Worked with local machine shop to get fabricated components made to print

Patient Care Division, Manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and diabetes care diagnostic equipment & "Advantage" sensor strips. Mechanical Project Leader/Automation Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Appointed as Project Manager over the SPX Machine Development Program for the initial 4-month period. ("SPX" was an acronym meaning "Sensor Punch Extra" machine - modified for extremely high production.)  Conceived and designed new "SPAM" unit (Sensor-Punch-Asynchronous-Mechanism) prototype for asynchronously feeding &loading "Advantage" sensor strips into vials on high speed packaging machine  All Mechanical Design work done using SolidWorks '99, 3D solid modeling software, in which I received formal training.  This asynchronous concept had the potential of saving Roche Diagnostics Corp. over $40M. On each packaging machine, this asynchronous concept could de-couple the punch press upstream operation from the downstream vial loading operation through these 12 "accumulator buffer SPAM units". This eliminated the loss of production due to downtime associated with downstream machine faults, such as vial-feed or stopper-feed jams, etc., since the press could continue to run and accumulate sensor strips while the faults were cleared. This theoretically could result in a net production yield gain of almost 100%. With the potential of doubling production yield using the existing packaging machines, this meant that projected demand could be met by modifying existing machines with this technology instead of building 10 new machines as well as a new facility to house them, a savings of over $40M.  Redesigned entire packaging machine as a 3D model to accommodate the modified "SPAM" units.  Designed & built prototype 2-station test bed & frame to test the SPAM units and prove the validity of the asynchronous concept to upper management before committing all production machines to the modifications.  Specified & purchased all linear & rotary actuators, cylinders, dc drive motor, timing belts & pulleys, gears, shafts, fasteners, position sensors, etc., and wrote "Sequence of Events" document for control programming.  Converted the 3D models to 2D detailed prints for parts fabrication & modifications of purchased parts.  Worked with in-house & local machine shops to get all fabricated components made to print.  Assembled and debugged the prototype SPAM unit using purchased and designed components.

Manufacturer of cotton fiber testing & grading equipment for use in government textile testing facilities. Mechanical Project Leader/Machine Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Mechanical product design of entire transport system, actuators, and framework of new totally automated high volume cotton fiber testing machine using new Mechanical Desktop 2.0 (3D solid modeling) software from Autodesk (received formal training), and AutoCAD R14.  Designed automated cleated conveyor transport & indexing system with stepper motor drive to precisely position plastic cassettes containing cotton samples in front of six different testing station windows for automatic cotton fiber length/strength, color/trash content, and density measurement tests.  Designed two-axis pneumatic gantry pick & place unit using rodless cylinders & a gripper to move cassettes from final test position to initial test position for retesting. 7  Designed a pneumatic actuator system to compress the cotton samples in each cassette against the various test windows.  Specified & purchased all actuators, cylinders, solenoid valves, position sensors, stepper motor drive, etc., and wrote "Sequence of Events" document for control programming.  Worked with local machine shops to get all fabricated components made to print.

Manufacturer of brushless DC motors sold & used exclusively in Xerox Copy Machines. Mechanical Project/Manufacturing Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Design and layout of new manufacturing assembly line for 7 different models of high-torque brushless DC motors using AutoCAD (Ver. 14)  Optimized manufacturing process through reconfiguration of the layout of all assembly & subassembly stations, conveyor system, and fixtures, increasing production and reducing rejects & rework.  Development and programming of new automated field magnet gluing station.  Design of semiautomatic pneumatic slide fixture on final electrical test station for rapid testing of each completed brushless DC motor.  Specified and purchased automatic screw driving stations doubling production throughput.  Investigative analysis (cost vs. payback) of automatic electronic component insertion machines for small circuit boards (SMT machines), and automatic wire harness assembly machines.

Manufacturer of Nickel-Metal-Hydride, Potassium Hydroxide, and Lithium-Ion rechargeable batteries. Senior Project/Machine Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Managed entire rebuild project of four final assembly lines of sub-C size (Cs) rechargeable batteries.  Worked "hands on" replacing, rebuilding, and redesigning drive systems, cams, bearings, Camco indexers, mechanisms, slides, shuttles, feeder bowls, conveyors, pneumatic pick and place units, resistance weld heads, control valves, proximity and optical sensors, control panels, servo systems, PLC programs, etc.  Designed new substations and automated electromechanical subassemblies using AutoCAD (Ver. 12), including a new "cover pull cell tester" substation, fallen-cell detection and ejection system, index table rotary nest actuator mechanism, etc.  Supervised 2 line mechanics and electronic technician.  Coordinated parts fabrication, ordering of mechanical and electrical components, rewiring and replumbing of all assembly stations.  Worked with outside vendors & machine shops to supply parts & fabricate mechanical subassemblies.

October 1993 to May 1996 & June 1992 to September 1992 Manufacturer of commercial aircraft and military missile components Mechanical Project Engineer/Facilities Department (31 Month & 3 ½ Month Contract Assignments) 8  Project management of new capital equipment and production machinery, averaging 12 projects concurrently.  Extensive interaction and coordination with customers, maintenance department, machine and weld shops, vendors & subcontractors to determine the most cost-effective solutions to machinery, equipment, and process requirements.  Hands-on fabrication, implementation, installation & maintenance support on new & existing machinery.  Design of pneumatic & electromechanical systems, integrated controls, piping, ducting, fixturing, guarding, etc., on AutoCAD (Ver. 12) Workstation (10-years. experience).  Assist in training of operators and maintenance personnel in machine function and repair.  Purchased and installed CNC machining centers, CNC tool grinder, process controls, palletized tooling and conveyance system, chiller, cranes, central dust & mist collection systems, document disintegration system, machine guarding, etc.

Manufacturer of commercial and residential door locks and exit devices Automation Design Engineer (Contract Assignment)  Design automated workcells for machining, assembly, and testing of lock sets & exit devices on AutoCAD (Ver. 12) Workstation.  Redesign and retrofitting of existing equipment with computer controls, pick & place parts feeders, conveyors, palletized handling, pneumatic actuators, etc. to increase production & product quality, while reducing cost & downtime.  Designed an automatic broach machine, a lever lock & exit device test station, and an automatic lockbody riveted cell with palletized conveyance that significantly reduced reject rate and rework costs, while doubling production.