Professional Experience

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1. Lead Mechanical Engineer

   Nov 2022 - Oct 2023

   Essentium

   Essentium HSE 180 & 280

   3D Printing Mechanics Essentium

   Was lead mechanical engineer for continuous improvement projects on HSE 180 and HSE 280 industrial 3D printers, including development of new hotends, nozzle cleaning and purge system, filament feed system, and safety improvements.

   
   

   • Led implementation of rigorous engineering development workflows and processes for quality improvement, including root cause analysis, design reviews, and Design Failure Mode & Effect Analysis (DFMEA).
   • Research & development of filament dry storage system upgrade which improved humidity from ~5% RH to less than 1% RH.
   • Developed humidity sensors and data loggers for testing and research. Used ESP32 MCU and I2C sensors. Firmware written from scratch in CircuitPython. Data logged to cloud service via HTTP API. Used Python Pandas for scientific data analysis.

2. Mechanical Engineer III

   Jul 2021 - Nov 2022

   Essentium

   Essentium HSE 240

   3D Printing Mechanics Essentium

   Design engineer for several subsystems on HSE 240, a next generation high temperature industrial Fused Filament Fabrication 3D printer. Subsystems include dry filament storage, nozzle purging and cleaning, electrical systems cooling, frame & structure, cosmetic skins.

   
   

   • Design for Manufacturing (DFM) of sheet metal and CNC milled parts.
   • Coordinated with overseas contract manufacturers for new product introduction.
   • Experience with Solidworks 2018, PDM, and simulation (FEA)

3. Product Engineering Manager

   Mar 2020 - Jul 2021

   MatterHackers

   MatterHackers Pulse

   3D Printing Manufacturing MatterHackers

   Project lead for the Pulse E-Series, the 5th major iteration of the product line. Successfully launched in September 2020. Scheduled tasks and planned milestones. Coordinated research & development effort, testing, and training production staff.

   
   

   • Managed 3D printer production line and team of 7 technicians on a day-to-day basis. Maintained uninterrupted production through global pandemic despite challenges such as a complete supply chain breakdown, and 5x increase in sales due to demand for printing PPE. Increased production from 1.5 units/day to 7 units/day. Ensured health and safety of the team during this time.
   • Developed in-house ERP-like system in Google Apps Script (Javascript) for inventory tracking of components and automatic forecasting of supply needs. Automated workflows for planning production and tracking status of the assembly line.
   • Performed statistical analysis using Python/Pandas to predict orders and maximize output of print farm.
   • Handled recruiting, hiring, and training of new employees.

4. Product Engineer

   2017 - Mar 2020

   MatterHackers

   Pulse Filament Flow Sensor

   3D Printing Electronics MatterHackers

   Developed filament flow sensor addon for 3D printers allowing for closed loop control of extrusion. Minimized part count by using a compliant mechanism. Maximized reliability and lifespan by using solid state hall effect sensor. Wrote I2C interface drivers for 3D printer firmwares Marlin (Arduino architecture) and Smoothieware (ARM architecture). CAD in Onshape, schematic and PCB layout in KiCAD.

   
   

   MatterControl Connect WiFi Module

   WiFi Serial ESP8266 KiCAD GCode 3D Printing

   Developed 3D printer addon allowing wireless connectivity, based on ESP8266 MCU. Did component sourcing, PCB design in KiCAD, case design in Solidworks, and wrote user facing documentation.

   
   

   MatterControl T7X

   Android KiCAD Injection Molding 3D Printing

   Contributed to development of the MatterControl T7X, a tablet-like 3D printer control device powered by Android. Did mechanical design of the body for injection molding. Automated flashing of Android ROM. Design of I/O breakout board in KiCAD.

   
   

   Pulse 32 bit Firmware

   ARM C++ SPI I2C

   Added features and customization to an open source 3D printer firmware (Smoothieware) for use on the MatterHackers Pulse line of 3D printers. Added support for filament flow sensors, color LCD display, custom graphics, and tighter integration with host software.

   
   

   • Performed benchmark testing and wrote articles reviewing new products sold, including hardware and materials.
   • Training of all new employees. Taught classes in 3D printing, CNC milling, and laser cutting.

5. 3D Printing Technician

   Sep 2014 - 2017

   MatterHackers

   MatterControl (contributor)

   C# Linux Git GCode Agile 3D Printing

   Contributed to development of MatterControl (3D printer control software written in C#). Ported application to Linux, made numerous bug fixes, UI improvements, and new features. Wrote user-facing documentation. Performed beta testing and bug reporting (408 Github issues).

   
   

   • Mechanical and electrical hacker for products and publicity projects. Wrote dozens of blog posts and articles such as how-to guides, troubleshooting guides, and product reviews. Content increased traffic to the website and still ranks high in Google searches. List of articles
   • Technical support and customer service for consumer 3D printers (phone and email). Received 90% positive customer feedback.
   • Contract mechanical design work for customers, including DFM for 3D printing and injection molding.

6. B.S. Mechanical Engineering

   2009 - 2013

   California State University Long Beach

   Theta Printer ↗ ↖

   3D Printing

   A 3D printer with 4 extruders that can move independently and simultaneously. Senior design project. Semifinalist for The Hackaday Prize 2014.