Engineer Manufacturing

JAMES TONGES

***** ******** **** **********, ** 47006 812-***-**** ********@***.***

Engineer

Manufacturing / Tooling / Quality / Process / Design

Experienced engineering professional skilled in the management and execution of manufacturing projects.

Exceptional technical knowledge applied during process planning and operation sequencing, process sheet design and documentation, custom part holding fixtures, perishable tooling design, and proper standard tooling selection for maximum cost reduction while delivering the most efficient and repeatable processes.

Extensive understanding of how specific failure modes of manufacturing process capability and equipment limitations together impact part quality and throughput, the experience to design and execute permanent solutions, and the resolve to specify and gather data that examine the effectiveness of applied solutions.

Cross-functional departmental collaboration for effectively investigating and solving quality issues by utilizing root-cause analysis techniques and teaming up with and drawing on the experience of seasoned employees both salaried and hourly so that people actually desire to be part of the solution.

Broad knowledge and experience of new product tool-up procedures including best-fit equipment selection and justification, manufacturing process design & layout, tooling and product holding fixture concepts, cost analysis for overall project implementation, and formal documentation creation and presentation.

Professional Qualifications

PFEP – Plan For Every Part

Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing

Project Management

Scrap Reduction & Waste Elimination

Manufacturing Process Improvement

Microsoft Office XP

VSM – Value Stream Mapping

Pro-E, SolidWorks, Catia, Autocad

Lean Manufacturing

CNC Programming, G-code, M-code

Machining Process Problem Solving

New Product PPAP

Tooling, Fixture, Gauge Design

Manufacturing Operation Sequencing

Continuous Improvement

Work Experience

Mesco Manufacturing, LLC, Greensburg Indiana January, 2017 - Present

Process Improvement Engineer

Designed hydraulic work-holding fixtures for machining extruded aluminum seat brackets for Tesla Motors Corporation on HMC’s with four-sided tombstones allowing 100% machining of all visible part surfaces.

Researched and secured quotes for bench-top equipment for two assembly operations of Tesla seat brackets:

oDrilling two holes, installing a steel bracket, and shooting two self-tapping screws automatically.

oInstalling two press-fit pins 90 degrees to each other automatically with force requirement feedback.

Conceptualized and designed hydraulic work-holding and product loading/unloading equipment on SolidWorks Solid Modeling Software for machining extruded aluminum seat mounting blocks for Tesla, holding 30 parts per 16” square plate. Two fixture plates fitted to each older VMC, increased part count from 12 to 60. Normally locked tooling allowed older equipment without hydraulics or indexing tables to benefit from hydraulic work-holding technology. Machine utilization, throughput, and overall efficiency were significantly improved due to loading/unloading outside the work-center, and a five-fold increase in part-count per machine. The product loading/unloading equipment was designed for use with all present and future 16” square fixture plates, for machining any product, regardless of holding device positions within the fixture plate footprint.

Batesville Casket, Batesville, Indiana January, 2014 – November, 2016

Process Improvement Engineer

Responsible for all welding jigs and part fit-up related to parts received from local stamping plant.

Responsible for all daily-layered audits covering all sensitive equipment checks within Fabrication department.

Tracked & charted seam welder performance daily to ensure process control and properly sealed bottoms.

Tracked & charted pull-down-stud to hole-alignment ensuring early detection of equipment drift in Fabrication.

Managed cost and quality improvement projects for increased throughput and defect rate decrease.

Maintained glass wall documentation for Fabrication dept. activities related to cost & quality improvement.

Implemented Proposal For Change (PFC) requests and managed all related trial runs within fabrication dept.

Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, Greensburg, Indiana November, 2011 – January, 2014

Quality, Cost, Delivery, Man-Power, and Safety Engineer

Continuous improvement activities related to Work Balancing, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and Safety.

Root cause identification and engineering countermeasures for complex problem solving through 5P process.

Provided process training & support for engine and chassis line production associates on both 1st and 2nd shifts.

Supported new model main line process implementation through process improvement & development activity.

Managed projects, safety, quality of work, and cost requirements for existing and new model implementation.

Identified production issues by tracking defect rates and developing themes to improve process repeatability.

Daily communication within and outside Engine and Chassis lines to support resolution of complex problems.

Delta Faucet Company, Greensburg, Indiana April, 2005 – July, 2010

Sr. Tool Engineer, New Product Group

Directed all initiatives related to CNC department and overhauled the entire CNC part manufacturing process.

Diagnosed and solved core problems detected in manufacturing processes and convinced upper management of the urgency to develop enhanced documentation which promoted exceptional set-up times and incomparable part quality resulting from error-proofing, repeatability, and animation of supporting process documentation.

Engineered improved metal removal processes by solving fundamental machining and tooling issues, which established more repeatable manufacturing processes and strengthened the reliability of the equipment.

Specified, attained, and applied standard tooling to all similar machining processes which resulted in the reduction of tooling costs and change-over times, while increasing equipment capacity and tooling life.

Instituted manufacturing processes for specified new product utilizing new-found equipment capacity by designing processes and tooling requirements that coincided with existing manufacturing processes.

Supervised CNC area and educated set-up personnel for proper application of new manufacturing process sheets and furnished associates with in-depth understanding of proper machine set-up of tooling and holding fixtures.

The eventual payoff for the manufacturing process, associates, and the company overall, was complete associate commitment to proper machine set-up as defined by process sheets, which resulted in a streamlined formulation for consistently obtaining the same repeatable quality excellence regardless of set-up/operator personnel. The payoff also included further equipment utilization by capacity increase from five to forty parts per machine.

Delta Faucet Company, Greensburg, Indiana April, 1999 – April, 2005

Manufacturing Engineer, New Product Group

Shared manufacturing process research during PFMEA events and suggested product design changes driven by Design For Manufacturing theories and waste elimination, while yielding superior overall product quality related not only to manufactured parts, but also to improved product installation and removal for plumbers.

Managed, planned, coordinated, executed, and reported on team progress of new manufacturing process development & tooling design requirements internally manufactured products ensuring time deadlines are met.

Invented new machining practices and techniques for Acme screw machines that generated processes specific to part requirements, which improved cycle times and part finishes, and eliminated secondary operations.

Composed process sheets and tooling and fixture design and procurement requirements for departmental manufacturing operations including machining, robot buffing, brazing, finishing, and final assembly.

Examined the need for, and designed & procured part feature position gauges for purchased product inspection.

Consulted with quality department associates for the formulation of CMM programs that properly executed part feature selection for datums and targets expressly specified by GD&T requirements on product prints.

Delta Faucet Company, Greensburg, Indiana November, 1993 – April, 1999

Manufacturing Engineer, Existing Product Group

Diagnosed mechanical functional problems associated with high-speed automated assembly equipment, which typically resulted in the proper identification and replacement of worn mechanical parts or assemblies.

Investigated and solved product quality issues due to plating build-up and associated with automated drilling and threading equipment used for high-volume production of faucet handle bases, blades, and other parts.

Designed straight-line buffing product holding fixtures using Pro-Engineer solid modeling CAD software for faucet spout buffing operations which auto-locked and unlocked for easy loading and unloading of parts.

Conceived, submitted for approval, and engineered buffing part-holding tooling which allowed any buffing fixture to be utilized on any of the three different types of buffing equipment. This design concept granted Operations the flexibility to match product volume with best-fit equipment type for each individual part.

Designed all buffing tooling utilizing Pro-E 3-D modeling CAD software for new plant start-up in Jackson, TN.

Education

Purdue University; West Lafayette, IN - Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering Technology

BMT – Principles of Lean Manufacturing

R.G. Frank & Associates – Interpreting Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerances

Jackson Lea – Metals Finishing School

Parametric Technology Corporation – Pro-Engineer

Dassault Systemes – Catia, SolidWorks

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