Complete Resume Richard Paul Spens 28515 Seven Mile Rd 48152
phone# (248) 474 -2799 E-Mail me richspens@aol.com & see what I can do for your Co.
Objective: Product Engineer Apply a Degree and 12 yrs hands-on design & project organizational experience of concept
through production of mechanical & electrical devices, I will apply to projects my past successful use of experience and an innate
mechanical ability to design, build, test, explore and learn how all things work. I hope to continue to apply all new methods I learn
toward improving product quality and success.
Some Highlights of Successes
*Inventor patent # 5,588,257which was put into production enabling a new product reintroduction with Taiwan production.
*UL test certified to do in house UL test to verify compliance with UL requirements.
*Formulated spur Gear design and manufacturing program that calculates 35 interrelated solutions using 3 input variables.
*Implemented electromechanical interlocks, calculated timing with tolerance. Eliminated destruction of $110 microprocessor.
* Resolved disputes with machine shop by adding a specific process to transfer and resolve drawing changes to manufacturing.
*Correctly redefined drawing and QC specifications, vendor process requirements, and built identical gauges for both our QC and
. . the vendor for plastic timing gear system
*Completed value added plastic gear case assembly, improved design, eliminated processing problems, part failures
improved quality perception
*Built prototype and tooling for preproduction showroom model of octagon pool from verbal description,
*Solved & implemented resonance transformer induced noise reduction program. Vibration and EMI cut 60%
*Worked overnight, three nights a row to complete assembly prototype computer for functional and customer test review by .
. Corporate.
*Designed, created all required drawings and site plans, built myself, then managed inspectors for 20x30 1-1/2 story addition.
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Summary of Qualifications
12 years experience in design, 10 years in testing, and 7 years designing and fabricating my own parts, assemblies and test fixtures.
Direct experience with design and development of mechanical and electrical devices, power transmission, testing & development,
fabrication, project tracking, and preliminary and production cost analysis of competing designs. UL and CSA requirements and
methods knowledge. Product development schedules maintained through critical point reviews in a team environment. Testing
performed in simulated and real-life environments prior to market introduction. Experience in packaging printed circuit boards,
solving production problems, and interacting with marketing and customers to specify new project requirements or resolve problems.
Self employed started R.P.S Enterprises Part Time
* I maintain and kept up with the latest engineering trends by continuously reviewing and preparing to apply the latest concepts from
. the 11 trade magazines I continue to receive. I attend many engineering trade shows ie. Advanced productivity & Gear expo.
* Consulted Electro-mechanical, & Chemical design development & fabrication of Spectroscopic automated environmental water .
analyzer
* Consulted and built prototype prosthetic limbs with silicone rubber skin and unique actuators.
* Fabricated and machined and $old (using only photos in a trade magazine) College classroom interactive display set of geometric ..
models. Calculated angles and scaled size. Improved student visualization & comprehension 100%.
Consultant and Educator and Guidance Counselor Part Time 4/1996 - present
* I Designed, created all required drawings and site plans, managed inspectors for 20 x 30 1-1/2 story addition with basement to my
house I built and finished myself; Saved $ and much time by consulting expert contractors to avoid pit falls before each phase of
construction.
*Formulated spur Gear design and manufacturing program that calculates 35 interrelated solutions using 3 input variables.
Accelerated the design machining & inspection of manufactured gears and gear sets.
.*Devised, Constructed and posted my own dot com. web page that helps me to network with other collectors of my antique machinery
hobby, that can be viewed at Antiquemachinery.com.
*I designed and built educational kits to develop hand-eye, fine, and gross motor skills. I set up fixtures and line to produce these
projects. Kits use nails, screws, bolts and glue plus a little art. (most schools have sadly scrapped all vocational machine tools and
teach no practice ) I've Taught classes using these and custom projects at Livonia Recreation Center and built 100 kits with inner city
youth and their parents as a means to develop family togetherness and interest in developing life skills. I do so every year.
*Dedicated a Leave of absence to raise my young children developing in them my infatuation with the mechanical arts and sciences.
Worked in my home with my three children. I Educated and guided my children toward proper behavior, organization. Hands-on
experiences were used to develop their problem solving and fine motor skills.
Project/Design Engineer (6/1986-4/1996)
Stanley Home Automation, A division of the Stanley Works Mfg. of Automatic Garage Door Openers. (Stock symbol SWK), 41700
Gardenbrook Dr., Novi, MI Reported to the Product Line Manager and Engineering Manager.
- Responsible for all mechanical research, design, and production support of the residential garage door opener product line.
Requirements included UL & CSA approval and validation, manufacturing engineering, product testing, production cost
analysis, and evaluation of cost reduction/avoidance proposals.
- Completed value added plastic gear case assembly, improved design, eliminated previous processing problems and
resultant part failures through an improved structure and material selection. Reduced assembly time by 20% and QC rejects
by 80%.
- Designed and implemented use of inspection gauges for output shaft that resolved disputes between vendors and
engineering.
- Redesigned garage door opener using 3D CAD which reduced size, improved lighting, increased ease of customer
installation, and reduced cost ($108.78 to $96.67).
- Extensively test and Developed a steel tube alternative to a molded plastic structural component that was more cost
competitive. The more robust appearance improved quality perception of product to the dealers. Reduced the total of all return
goods by 8 %
- Transformed a hand worked low volume dealer garage door opener into a modern medium volume consumer product. New
design contained the strength and robustness of the old design with a 50% price reduction.
- Eliminated grease separation in gear case after performing a complete temperature and lubrication performance analysis of
existing and purposed materials. Saved 3 to 4 yearly $5000 lawsuits tormenting my Engineering manger.
- Correctly redefined drawing and QC specifications, vendor process requirements, and built identical gauges for both our QC
and the vendor for plastic timing gear system (molded plastic gears in use) instead of a machined gear set previously
specified. Prevented breaking and skipping of teeth on gears. Avoided an additional product recall.
- Applied noise abatement test and development to reduce resonant noise by to two thirds to a new design by others, not by
expensive isolators or sound deadening material, but by isolating noise by design. Saved a costly motor redesign and vastly
improve customer perceived quality.
Mechanical Designer / Mechanical Technician (12/1983 - 4/1986)
Bell Northern Research a Division of NORTEL) Northern Telecommunication’s Research & Development division, a fortune 500
company, 100 Phoenix Dr., Ann Arbor, MI Reported to Mechanical Group Leader.
Worked with mechanical and electrical engineers on designing, fabricating, and assembling parts and mechanisms using worst
case thermodynamic functional analysis for enclosure of Modular Integrated Voice Data System. Developed and maintained to latest
revision prototypes and documentation of computer modules. Performed product verification through functionality, noise, vibration,
and thermal tests. Assignments involved improving design, testing vibration and noise of main power supply, EMF shielding of
transformer, developing electromechanical interlocks, and overcoming power supply bus insertion problems. Designed and built
production fixtures for factory floor use.
· Considered and resolved constraints of UL standards on manufacturing cost and development schedule. Saved one
month in UL regulatory review time loss.
· Mocked up, tested, and machined custom connector, built mold, and cast 80 plastic assemblies saving six to eight
weeks of prototype tooling time quoted by supplier.
· Persevered with project engineers and engineering manager overnight, three nights in a row by applying my model
making skills to complete assembly and "polish" prototype computer system for functional and customer test review by corporate.
Saved potential cancellation of $80M project due to failure at a critical junction.
· Transformed theoretical connector pin lubricant into reality, located all required chemicals, developed mixing procedure
and an application method to successfully coat 100-pin connector assembly. Reduced connector force and its resulting breakage
insertion 70%.
· Implemented electromechanical interlocks, calculated necessary timing with tolerance. Eliminated hot switching of
modules resulting in destruction of $110 microprocessor.
· Solved & implemented resonance transformer induced noise reduction program. Vibration and EMI cut 60% by
development and application of high silicon steel shielding. Application to and resealing of assemblies applied in house. Saved six to
eight weeks of development cycle. Dramatically improved quality perception of product.
Engineering Assistant (Full time 9/1983 - 12/1983)
LINK Engineering, (Mfg. of tire test, motor winding mach.) 3840-70 Elmira, Detroit,MI Reported to Engineering Manager.
Completed checker changes, updated drawings to as-built, researched and assembled drawings into complete package for shop
use.
· Resolved disputes with machine shop by adding a specific process to transfer and resolve drawing changes to
manufacturing and the machine shop. Saved 1 to 3 days process time and a lot of finger pointing in each cycle.
· Filled in for electrical engineer when he left company, saved 3 weeks in potential lost design time.
General Machinist (1982, through summer 1983)
Zimmerman Engineering, (design and job shop), 2460 Telegraph Rd, Southfield, MI Reported to owner/operator.
Maintained part tolerance and changed inserts, load and unload. Watched and maintained tolerances on Swiss automatic screw
machines and CNC vertical mill. General machining, short runs, teardown and some simple set-ups. I Improved and repaired
machinery and production facilities.
· Calculated optimum operating conditions program offsets and tooling of CNC. Increased production 10-20%.
Shop Foreman (part of 1979, summer 1980, 81)
Aqua Star Pools, Ann Arbor Trail Rd. Westland, MI Reported to company owner, kept supervisor informed
of my assignments.
Set up woodworking and metalworking machinery, repaired and modified steel processing equipment. Designed and developed new
"Apollo" octagon pool, performed on site troubleshooting and repair, delivered and set up product.
· Built prototype and tooling for preproduction showroom model of octagon pool from verbal description. Design assured
proper installation. Improved and completed product concept displaying feasibility.
· Developed and built from observations of production problems new steel processing line and racks for stock storage. Put
equipment for production and stock in logical orderly sequence. Saved 20% on processing steel.
Stock Room Controller (Summer job 1979)
Flair Line, (mfg. of air and hydraulic cylinders) 130424 Flairline drive, Livonia, MI Reported to plant supervisor.
Assembled cylinders and tested for leaks and operation according to specifications. I pulled and organized parts per design and put
into kits for completion by assemblers.
· Within 2 weeks promoted to stockroom from assembler. If parts were not in stock, I placed an order for their manufacture,
or tried to locate them in the machine shop room. Saved 2 weeks time compared to simply waiting for stock.
· Organized stock of major product into a linear sequence according to order pulled, saved 30% of the time necessary to
pull parts for assembly kits.
Lathe Hand, Piecework (summer 1978)
H.R. Krueger Machine Tool Co., Inc. (Designer and mfg. of assembly line machining centers) 31506 Grand River Road, Farmington,
MI Reported to shop Foreman.
Selected stock and blueprint to produce 1 to 10 parts on worn out W&S #4 Turret Lathe.
· Developed method to produce long shafting correctly for rush jobs given me, normally beyond the capability of my (way out
of tolerance) machine. Produced rush jobs as given to me. Enabled machine tools to be assembled on schedule.
ADVANCED EDUCATION:
· Lawrence Technological University, 1983, BSMET in Engineering, cum laude.
· Electronic Engineering Technology, degree two-thirds complete.
· Two year, High School 1000 hr. vocational certificate in machine trades 3.0 GPA.
CONTINUING EDUCATION:
Computer skills: Custom built my own system from scratch. (hardware and software), Word and Excell trained Walsh college, CAD
experience on 3-D autocad,2-D Cadkey, Applicon, Gerber, and Grafteck Systems
Engineering training courses: Boothroyd-Dewherst's design for manufacture and assembly (3 day course), ANSI Geometric
Tolerance and Dimensioning (3 day course), AGMA Gear Design Tolerance and Manufacture (1 week course), Underwriters
Laboratory's Selecting & Applying Recognized Materials and Components (2 day course), General Electric Plastic's Design for
Manufacture (5 day course), CAD/CAM 3 dimensional design for CAD-KEY (3 day course)
I have maintained and kept up with the latest engineering trends by continuously reviewing and preparing to apply the latest concepts
from the many trade magazines I continue to receive. I attend many engineering trade shows such as advanced productivity & Gear
expo.
AWARDS:
Dean's List - two years, Lawrence Institute of Technology (now called Lawrence Technological University)
· Dean's List - one year, Schoolcraft College
· Top 12% nationally on academic comprehension test
REFERENCES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST from General Motors, staff also former managers ect.
Home page Cover letter & Resumes 1 page Resume
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