CHRISTOPHER J. FOLEY

www.titaniumcranium.net Burbank, CA 323-***-**** ac8dr4@r.postjobfree.com

Highlights: Working Aerospace Hardware on Mars and more on the way • Intraocular Lens Inspection System now in use by major IOL manufacturers • Runway Hardness Tester used in an active war zone by USAF Special Ops • Working Animatronic Hardware at Walt Disney World • U.S. Patent 6,474,711

• Aerospace Mechanism Design • Manufacturing Engineering • Advanced Solidworks

• Optomechanical Design • Vendor Management • FEA, CFD and PDM

• Robotics Design • Documentation and Procedures • Machine Shop

• Military Hardware Design • Geometric Tolerancing • Fabrication

• Purpose Built Excel Sheets • Visual Communication • Injection Molding Senior Mechanical Design Engineer 9/01 11/02 5/07 9/08 2/10 5/11 10/16 Present SSL Robotics / MDA / Alliance Spacesystems Pasadena, CA

• Project Engineer on runway hardness tester program for U.S.A.F. Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field. Designed the machine to meet MIL-810 specifications and several Combat Controllers' requirements and performed systems-level energy analysis.

• Launch Locks on the internal sample handling SHA robot arm for JPL’s Mars 2020 rover which will collect samples for later retrieval. Created new concepts rapidly in response to changing loads and requirements. Met JPL’s margins on loads, performance and stress for mission critical mechanisms.

• Detailed design of launch restraint for robotic arm turret on JPL's 2012 Mars Science Lab (Curiosity). Conceptualized and analyzed (FEA and traditional) a cable cutting and routing scheme that released MDA's arm from the MSL rover in Mars’ Gale Crater in August 2012 after the rough trip and landing

• Full design and development of ground support hardware for the IDD (Instrument Deployment Device) used successfully on the 2004 Mars MER missions.

• Authored procedures, proposals, test plans and associated documentation. Senior Mechanical Engineer 5/12 10/16

Disney Imagineering R&D Glendale, CA

• Designed animatronic components for the animatronic figure on the Na'vi River Ride at Disney's Avatar Land in Animal Kingdom in Orlando. CAD modelled complex organic surfaces into 3D printed tooling and creature prototypes.

• Found root causes for and solved commutation drift and load cell problems on custom actuator for a mobile robotics research platform using force control.

• Designed rugged fall and crash protection for the same platform, preventing possible Li-Po battery fires.

• Built a custom actuator around a commercial gearset and hobby motor for large gains in performance vs. mass and envelope.

Project Engineer 4/04 3/07 10/08 7/09 5/11 10/11

The Pilot Group Monrovia, CA

• Mechanically designed, built, and tested a projector zoom lens with 3 moving groups and 19 elements. Mounting and motion precision was in the 10 to 60 micron range and group motion was via stepper motors, allowing for temperature compensation and other effects. On-board electronics provided a web interface for lens control.

• Designed, built, tested, and installed an intra-ocular lens inspection facility. Generated full documentation including procedures, drawings, and electrical schematics. The unit was used to make MTF measurements on all lenses manufactured. The Pilot Group has re-purposed the oringinal design for more recent customers.

• Designed, built, tested, and installed full-sky telescope enclosures used to house RAPTOR robotic telescopes used for observation of transient phenomena from Fenton Hill, Los Alamos National Labs. Analyzed roof motor torque near a singularity with wind CFD, managed fabrication and lead on-site assembly.

•Responsible for assembly and documentation of two super-plastic titanium argon gas forming systems used for manufacturing aircraft parts.

CHRISTOPHER FOLEY titaniumcranium.net

Product Development Engineer 8/03 2/04

W.E.T. Design Universal City, CA

• Designed underwater electromechanical hardware for a water feature installation in Hakata, Japan.

• Improved design of high maintenance servo output link for easier installation by underwater technicians. Project Engineer (Contract) 3/03 8/03

Rain Bird Azusa, CA

• Optimized performance and reliability for a high volume production release of an agricultural sprinkler using several injection molded plastic parts including FEA analysis of a strength / failure issue.

• Handled user interface concerns with several prototypes and developed new test methods to quantify market requirements for performance.

Research Engineer 12/96 4/01

Microdisplay Corp. San Pablo, CA

• Designed, fabricated, and fully documented an LCOS display filling machine on an assembly line.

• Developed prototype process for glue printing stage of display assembly.

• Industrial design and fabrication of projector housings, product demos, and evaluation kits.

• Maintained and modified machinery in a class 100 cleanroom and built up a prototyping and maintenance machine shop from scratch.

Mechanical Engineer 2/96 12/96

SensAble Tech. Cambridge, MA

• Designed a better position sensing gimbal for the PHANToM force feedback virtual touch device that was lighter, stiffer, eliminated backlash, and doubled the resolution.

• Optimized PHANToM parts for manufacturability and robustness. Gave a full product and assembly procedure release to manufacturing. Created documented QA procedures for product line.

• Responsible for start-up of internal prototyping/maintenance machine shop Mechanical Engineer 10/92 1/96

Iris Graphics Bedford, MA

• Lead Engineer on advanced prototype continuous inkjet silicon nozzle printhead with a 40% cost reduction, 800% delivery increase of conductive ink, 1500 volt drop charging grid, and servo controlled head storage and washing. Designed a drop-in inkjet alignment mechanism with tactile feedback adjustment for a high speed greyscale medical imagery printer.

Researcher / Research Associate 1988 1991

MIT A.I. Lab Mobile Robotics Group Cambridge, MA

• Designed and built a simple, functional, self-contained 8 pound autonomous wall climbing robot featured in the June 1991 Smithsonian magazine. Designed and interfaced analog sensors.

• Designed hardware for many other robotics projects in the lab. Developed small piezoelectric actuators for insight on a microscopic ultrasonic motor project.

• Maintained a machine shop and taught shop use and safety classes. EDUCATION

The University of California at Berkeley 2001

M.S., Mechanical Engineering

Management of Technology Certificate, Haas School of Business. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1992

B.S., Mechanical Engineering

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