Résumé

(425) 377-1450 ~ http://www.lewmerrick-pe.info/ ~ tangent@olympus.net

Professional Development

  • Formally trained machinist/tool & die maker.
  • Licensed in Washington State as a Professional Engineer (mechanical, certificate #23198).
  • Experienced in aerospace, automotive, consumer product, military, medical, and scientific product and process design, development, and engineering.
  • Experienced in design, analysis, and manufacture using metals, plastics, composites, and ceramics.
  • Significant experience in the design of tools/tooling, machines, and production automation/augmentation equipment.
  • Participated in numerous cross-functional development teams across many trades and industries.
  • Works to ANSI, ASME, ISO, DIN, DFR/FAA, EIA/IEEE, AWS, AMS, MIL-STD, DoE, FDA, and UL/CSA standards and specifications.
  • Is well experienced with MIL-Q-9858 and ISO-9000 process documentation systems.
  • Is a generalist of no mean range of study and experience.

 

Primary Professional Achievements

  • Team member for development of numerous consumer product devices (1967-current).
  • Development of testing devices for product qualification for the Canadian Healthcare Ministry.
  • Development of numerous automated product assembly systems (1971-current).
  • Team member for development of hypergolic fuel delivery & metering pump for Mars Lander (2006-7).
  • Product and process development of numerous pyrotechnic actuator mechanisms for military, aerospace, and commercial use (1972-current).
  • Lead mechanical engineer for the development of COVRES resupply system (2001-06).
  • Lead mechanical engineer for the development of a new drug agglomorization, particulate sizing, and drying system (1996-2002).
  • Packaging design and development of safe & arm, inertial guidance, RADAR guidance, and other discrete sensor systems for munitions, rockets and missiles, and aircraft (1979-current).
  • Design, development, and qualification testing of advanced fire suppression system for the F-22 aircraft (1997-98).
  • Design, manufacture, and qualification of a new machine to manufacture the Hasbro/Playskool ABC wooden block toy at a rate of 2500 units/hour (1994-96).
  • Design, development, and qualification of the vacuum control system used to reduce or prevent jackknife accidents in tractor-trailer commercial vehicles (1994-95).
  • Weld system control and procedure qualification for medical guidewire device (1994).
  • Mechanical design and system integrator of the DoE US Windpower project that created the 562 inch radius wind turbine system that is today the primary product in this market (1990-92).
  • Chief mechanical engineer on the DoT program that developed automotive airbag restraint systems (1988-92)
  • Design, development, and qualification of high-speed air turbine for a medical guidewire device (1986-90).
  • Design, development, and qualification of: modern CNC machine tool controllers, adaptive control feedrate management systems, in-line touch-probe inspection systems, and cellular manufacturing technology under the USAF/NASA Factory of the Future program (1984-86).
  • Design, development, and qualification of LASER-augmented computer aided theodolite systems for the National Bureau of Standards (1983-84).
  • Team member for the development of in-line ultrasonic weld inspection system for STS External Tank gore dome welding processes (1982-83).
  • Team member for the development of Automatic Floorpanel Drilling Equipment for Boeing (1979-82).

 

Specific Skills and Experience

  • Journeyman’s rating as a tool & die machinist through the German Machinist’s Guild.
  • Formally trained and experienced in machining, hand & die forming, casting, molding, and lay-up of metals, plastics, ceramics, and composites.
  • Formally trained in sketching, drafting, and engineering drawing creation and maintenance.
  • Formally trained in tolerance and allowance application to mechanical design.
  • Well experienced in location and selection of Commercial Off The Shelf hardware components.
  • Formally trained in the properties of materials such as: metals, plastics, composites, and ceramics and application of those properties to mechanical design.
  • Formally trained in hand and computer aided analysis of: stresses, strains, dynamic responses, and fatigue of structures and components.
  • Experience with: Catia (III through V), ProEngineer/Wildfire (3 through 5), SolidWorks (through 2013), SolidEdge (through V19), and Alibre (through V15) 3D Solids CAD software.
  • Experience with: Algor, Cosmos, NASTRAN, and Z88 FEA modeling systems.
  • Experience with: SmartCAM, SolidWorks, Cimmetry, MasterCAM, and Virtual Gibbs CAM systems.
  • Experience with Labview and Test Stand systems.
  • Development and application of Process Instruction Controllers as well as several commercial controller systems and their application to custom machine and process applications.
  • Application of: Allen Bradley, Swinc, Fanuc, and Delta Tau controllers.
  • Sensor and actuator design, development, and application.
  • Design and development process management and reporting systems.
  • Gage dimensional control and measurement into the millionth’s of an inch (sub-micron) level of precision.
  • Design of hydraulic and pneumatic sequence actuation controls.
  • Application of induction, step, and servo motors and standard controls thereof.
  • Design, development, and application of tooling ranging from assembly jigs to machine fixtures to form and mold dies of all types.
  • Design of experiments.
  • Design for manufacturability.
  • Design for reliability.
  • Human factors application to mechanical design.
  • ASME/ANSI standards such as: Y14.2-2008 Line Conventions and Lettering, Y14.5-2009 Dimensioning and Tolerancing, Y14.6-1978 Screw Thread Representation in Engineering Drawings, Y14.8-2009 Casting, Forging, and Molded Part Engineering Drawing Specification, Y14.41-2003(R2008) Digital Product Definition Practices, Y14.43-2003 Dimensioning and Tolerancing Principles for Gages, Y14.100-2004 (R2009) Engineering Drawing Practices (etc.).
  • Development and application of in-house engineering design documentation standards.
  • Coordination of remote engineering, design, and manufacturing operations.
  • Mentoring and training engineering, technical, and manufacturing staff.

 

Educational Background

  • Undergraduate studies at Western Washington State College (1975-77; Physics, Mathematics, and Industrial Technology) and at Seattle University (1979-81; BSME degree track through senior year).
  • Personalized Counseling for Industry, Seattle, WA (1974) a school in advanced manufacturing and process technologies. Courses included LASER mensuration and machining, electro-chemical and electrical machining, and advanced optical measurement and alignment.
  • Journeyman’s Rating: German Machinist’s Guild (1976).
  • Apprenticeship: Everett Tool & Die, Everett, WA (1967-71).

 

Employment History

July 2008 to Present ― TCAA Enterprises
Principal and Senior Design and Development Mechanical Engineer. Oversaw design, development, analysis, manufacturing, and test/qualification of product installations, assemblies, component parts, purchased parts, and test requirements.

September 2007 to June 2008 ― Senior Mechanical Design Engineer ― On contract to Microsoft Corporation ― Redmond, WA
Responsible for the design, development, analysis, and integration of mechanical and electromechanical parts, components, and assemblies as well as resolution of manufacturing and maintenance issues for the Surface Computing project. Special emphasis was placed on design for manufacturability and development of tests and equipment to characterize mechanical and thermal properties of new materials used in various systems.

January 2007 to September 2007 ― Principal and Senior Design and Development Mechanical Engineer ― TCAA Enterprises ― Lake Stevens, WA
Oversaw design, development, analysis, manufacturing, and test/qualification of product installations, assemblies, component parts, purchased parts, and test requirements.

August 2004 to January 2007 ― Senior Mechanical Design Engineer ― Systima Technologies ― Bothell, WA
Design of products and systems for military and aerospace use, development testing, and manufacturing through acceptance testing and pilot production.
Programs worked on include: COVRES (Covert Resupply Delivery System), high-energy ejection systems, missile and rocket stage separation systems, and a self-regulating hypergolic fuels pumping system.

April 1987 to June 2004 ― Principal and Senior Design and Development Mechanical Engineer ― Tangent Engineering ― Lake Stevens, WA
Duties included: product and process design, cost analysis and estimation, manufacturing and tool engineering, instrumentation and test implementation, machine design, structural design and analysis, failure analysis/simulation, and new product development. Major projects at Tangent Engineering included:

  • Chief mechanical engineer on the DoT program that developed automotive airbag restraint systems (subcontract to Rocket Research Company).
  • Design, development, and qualification of high-speed air turbine for a medical guidewire device (UW College of Medicine).
  • Mechanical design and system integrator of the DoE US Windpower project that created the 562-inch radius wind turbine system that is today the primary product in this market (now sold by Siemens).
  • Weld system control and procedure qualification for medical guidewire device (Heart Technology)
  • Design and development of the vacuum control system used to reduce or prevent jack-knife accidents in tractor-trailer commercial vehicles (DoT at GT Development).
  • Design and manufacture of the machine that manufactures and packages ABC wooden blocks for Hasbro/ Playskool.
  • Design and development of improved aircraft seat for airbag restraint systems (Boeing/FAA/NTSB).
  • Design and manufacture of an improved agglomerator system for drug manufacture (UW College of Pharmacy).
  • Design, development, and manufacture of the machine that fills military heater/stove component canisters with alcohol/glycol fuel (US Army).

Manufacturing systems used for projects at Tangent Engineering included: machining; welding; sand, investment, and die casting; powder metallurgy; forging; injection molding; wet and dry lay-up of composites; conventional sheetmetal processes and explosive forming and bonding; ceramic processes; and heat-treat processing. We worked with shops around the country to provide these manufacturing services in addition to our own internal capabilities.