Welcome to Apple City Engineering and Design!

 

Engineering was the compromise for me. I would have preferred to have been a successful race car driver or an accomplished musician, but engineering has paid the bills. If you are reading this and looking for an engineer for factory automation, or if you have a house that needs some structural analysis, you have come to the right place. My resume can be found on page 2. This is also the place for a little entertainment. In the next paragraph or two you might learn something about me or even about engineering.

I am a degreed, licensed professional mechanical design engineer. I feel that the young engineer should have experience in design, but also in test and fabrication. You might think that a college degree gives you the right of passage. Do not be so confident.  Awareness of how a product is fabricated and assembled should influence the design. Awareness of how a product is to be used and misused should also influence the design.

I started my engineering career programming an NC press. The guy that I was replacing was a PhD mathematician, but it was a side job for him. Any job might seem difficult at first, but when that job becomes commonplace, then it is time to move on.  The NC press was a tape machine. The assignment was to accurately punch holes in plate for the side plates of screening equipment for the aggregate industry. There were some holes on angles, so there was some use of geometry and math skills. Repetition is good, but when the job becomes commonplace, it is time to move on.

I went over to the engineering department when I heard that someone was leaving. I told them who I was and what I could do for them. I was placed in charge of screening equipment. No surprise. I also redesigned a VFC. The aggregate industry manufactures screens but also rock crushing equipment. There was a time when huge castings were common. By the late seventies it was far cheaper to build fabrications as opposed to castings, especially on limited numbers. One of the tasks was to redesign a swing jaw from a casting into a fabrication. One sidebar, this was before computers. The solid modeling software programs available today make design a great deal more entertaining. Drawing details on six foot tables was interesting, but solid modeling on the computer is just marvelous!

Okay, I left out some details. VFC stands for Very Fine Crusher. This manufacturer called their product the Gyrosphere. The crushing element was on an angle.  As the member rotated the crushing envelope became smaller and then larger creating the crushing action. The Swing Jaw used a different motion than the Gyrosphere. The Swing Jaw also used a rotation, but only to cause the jaw to close against the body to create the pinch or the crushing action. Screens, my first assignment, were used to classify stone (separate according to size). All of this equipment is used to create the stone that you might find in roads or driveways.

Well, that is only the beginning!

If you have an engineering story to tell, send the story to engineering@applecityengineering.com. Perhaps, I will print it here.

 

Russell T. Seaman, P.E.