Student to Master - Machine Design Engineering

Student to Master - Machine Design Engineering

So this month for students master, it's all about design engineering. For this month's Student to Master, I've got Rock Desillets telling his story. Now Rock just retired out of machine design engineering out of the aerospace industry and that lasted three months. But I'll let him tell his story because it's a good one. Are you ready?

Hi is the Rock? It sure is. Hey, it's Canaan Manley. How are you? Pretty Good.

How about yourself? I'm pretty well. Basically start by telling me your background. Well I was a one of the gear heads high school. We were kind of looked down upon by the rest of the school because we all had grease under our fingernails.

We were car guys. But I've been interested in machinery since I was a little kid my father was an aircraft mechanic. Anyway, natural machinery guy. So I got that from him. So then I went to college at the University of New Hampshire.

I started as a music education major if you can believe that. That lasted one semester. I said this is BS. I had to do something different. I switched to what I really wanted, Mechanical Engineering.

And got my degree from UNH. I squeaked through. I was grateful they didn't put the grade point average on the diploma. I went in the Air Force. I'd been in the ROTC, Air Force ROTC, and I got commissioned to second lieutenant when graduated.

So I went active duty in the Air Force. I was a diesel maintenance officer working on these inter-continental minute-man missiles. They have buried silos out in the Midwest. I used to do maintenance on those. And then I left the active service, but stayed in the Reserves.

I went to work for a company in Connecticut making solenoid valves. Little electrically operated valves. I was in for about four years and it was a good job.

A good entry-level job. I wanted to, I wanted to know more about the whole system that was being designed instead of just components in it.

So I went to work for Caterpillar Tractor up in Illinois. They had me working on the hydraulic systems of excavators. You can see those on the side of the road. They're on two tracks and the half rotates around 360? I was working on the hydraulic system for that.

It was a great education and I tell people that I got to play with the world's biggest Tonka toys and they paid me to do it. I didn't care for the Midwest. All my friends and family were back here in the East, so I went to work for Hamilton Standard in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

As it turned out, it was a good thing I left Caterpillar when I did because they had some major layoffs after I left and I would have been laid-off anyway. But I went to work for Hamilton.

I worked on aircraft propellers and then later aircraft air conditioning systems. I was there for 13 years and then I was laid-off from that job and then bounced around. I got recalled for active duty in the Air Force for a while. You remember when hurricane Andrew hit Homestead, Florida? In the late 90's?

Two years after that I was set down. I was in charge of construction at Homestead Air Force Base. I was down there for about 4-5 months and then I came back and I went to work for another company in Connecticut. I was there for several years.

I left that. Then I went to work for a consulting engineering firm. Here in Connecticut. That was a pretty good job, but it was kind of depending on contracts.

If you didn't get the contract, you're suddenly out of work.

I wound up going to work for Pratte & Witney. A jet engine manufacturer. And I spent 12 years here before Iretired. It was a terrific job because I was working on the mechanical systems of the commercial jet engines. Basically mechanical systems, anything touched by oil.

Bearings, gearboxes, seals, that sort of stuff. And we had the whole engine front to back because our components were throughout the engine. And I'd have to work on a wide variety of engines which was great experience. Never doing the same thing twice in a row. Every day it was new.

It was great job. So I retired from that last May and retirement lasted about three months.

I went back to school. I started taking machine shop operation and manufacturing at the local community college. And I probably went there just for the fun of operating the machines and getting my hands dirty.

But I'm also taking as part of my courses this programing for CNC milling machines and lathes. What I'd like to do now, after I complete this program, is to do consultant work for some of the companies in this area who make components for Prate & Whitney, GE, Sikorsky, for Boeing. While the buyer, the customer owns the design of the part, the company that makes the part owns the design of process of the tooling. And I figure I can help them out when they're short-staffed and get a surge. I'd like to go in there and help them out with the tool design, fixturing design, and CNC programming.

I don't want to work full time, but I'd like to keep my hand in the business. So thinking back to when you were let's say 15 to 18, kind of our target area of our our focus on this, what did you want to do from that point? Really what I wanted to do was Design Engineering. And actually that is really what I did. So what kind of technology was available when you started?

What do you mean, like computer technology? No, we had slide rules and pencils.

Triangles. I graduated college in 1972. High school in '67. So there were no personal computers back then. We didn't have pocket calculators, slide rulers.

I still know how to use mine by the way. I actually just got my briefcase from my grandfather who passed away. My grandmother kept it. I'm the only engineer in my family, so they passed it down to me and he has a lot of that same stuff.

Liike a slide rule and a bunch of, I mean, stuff that today I think people would look at and just think I don't know what this stuff is. It's stuff for a museum. Well I've got a drafting board that my former father-in-law and I built. You know the old-fashion drafting arm with the two scales at 90-degree angles that swing through arcs? Yeah, I've got one of those. Yeah, old but reliable. So throughout your, I guess you've been in business 40ish years and that I mean what would you change? Looking back now would there be anything you would change?

 

Ahh, not really. There were jobs that I didn't like. But I really can't say I would have changed anything. I did pretty much what I wanted to do. I did design engineering and some project engineering.

Like when I was at Caterpiller the two were combined. So not only did you design the component, and the machines, you have to take it through manufacture and development testing and everything else. So it was a combination of design and project which was a great experience.

You know in hindsight, I don't think I'd change much of anything. So what advice would you give to students right now that are kind of in their late teens, in the late high school stages, or even starting college? First get some practical experience. Get your hands dirty. Like I said in my email, if you have an old Ford or Chevy up on blocks in the backyard, that's a great training aid. And... Also there aren't working gas station where they repair cars anymore, but...They... No they're working in auto parts store or if they were working one of these are part-time job in these manufacturing companies that you can just washing part or just sweep the floor in a machine shop. Just get some experience.

Talk to people. Talk to people working there. Ask questions. And the bit about getting one has one's hands dirty and getting experience is important.

We had a kid come to work with us while I was at Pratte & Whitney.

He was a graduate of MIT. Massachusetts Institute of Technology which is supposed to be good engineering school. And I had to explain to the kid what was meant by major diameter, minor diameter, pitch diameter, and pitch of a screw thread. Now that's Machine Design 101. He should have had that and he didn't have that.

That's scary that they're not getting that training. That's also a lack of experience. Now had he worked in the shop somewhere, or worked in a garage, it would it...

He'd have a better feel for what the real world is like. The guy was a good computer jockey, but he didn't have any practical experience. So outside of that what kind of outlook do you think you have, or do you see for the next 20 years in your industry?

I mean if we're talking just aerospace. Aerospace is booming right now. Especially on the commercial side. Military side is a little spotty. That changes setting with the political administration and such thing.

The commercial airline business is booming and there are a lot of 737's and Airbus 320's getting old and have to be replaced. And replaced with newer designs with more efficient aerodynamics, better engines, and that's gonna be a big thing for a long time. That's my view on it. The work is, the work is there and it's... I think it's gonna be there for a long time. So I guess do you have any additional advice.

Anything not related to engineering or that's just for students in general.

Our Millennials or our Gen-Z which are late teens right now. A couple things. One.. If they have the opportunity to go into the military service, don't underestimate the value of that.

Especially if they can get some technical training. To go in there and become a light infantry man, I don't think you can use that much in the outside world. There's technical positions available. Jet engine mechanic and electronics also that's they can get some good practical experience. Plus for the discipline of military life.

It prepares you for the real world. And the other thing that I would tell the millennials and Generation-Z, don't be so dependent on the computers. You see the kids taking their smart phones out for everything. To check everything. They don't have that bank of general knowledge.

They just feel they can just look it up on the computer.

And also it just just dependent on the computer. Pre...

What's the word I'm looking for? Packaged. Prepackaged formulas and everything. And that's not good. They should understand what they're doing... When they set up problems and what they can anticipate for an answer before they plug into the computer and then let the computer run. Computers are probably as good as the information put into them. I don't think these kids realize that.

They're too depending on the computers. So outside of the technical area and education what kind of, I mean, what skills would they have, what kind of soft skills, what would really make someone successful outside of knowing how to use a computer or like a technical education? I'm not sure I know what you mean. Can you elaborate a little bit? Yeah, so... Do you think someone could use presentation skills or the ability to carry on it like a non-technical conversation? Yeah that would be definitely helpful to be able... I've heard it said that we need more English majors in Engineering because you have to be able to present your case. Say you're doing a design review or something like that, you have to be able to present what you're doing and be articulate.

Which I'm not always unfortunately. Be able communicate with people and also communicate on paper to write clearly.

The other thing I'll say is don't squander that opportunity. You're getting an opp... They're in school right now.

Learn. Work at it. Give it their hundred percent. Now don't forget I'm still looking for interviewees this year. So if you've been in an industry for 15 to 20 or more years I'd love to hear your story and what feedback you'd give back to your 15 and 25 year-old coming up in the next generations.

Contact me we can do it by messenger, we can do it by phone, or perhaps in person if we're close enough to each other. We'll see you next time....

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