Ace's Job History
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Renewable Energy Systems
Broomfield, Colorado
February '08 to June '10
CAD Technician / Drafter
Renewable Energy Systems is an international designer and builder of wind turbine farms, as well as emerging renewables such as solar and tidal.
My full-time duties were drafting and detailing reinforced concrete foundations for the turbine towers, as well as assisting other departments in turbine locations, underground cabling and high-voltage on-line diagrams.
I was part of the safety committee with certified first aid training. I also created emergency evacuation maps based on my experience with previous employers.
A typical wind farm
A typical tower foundation. Click on the photo to see a larger version.
Rentech, Inc
Commerce City, Colorado
August '07 to February '08
Contract Drafter
Rentech is a designer / builder of a prototype coal gasification project, located on-site at the Suncor refinery.
My contractor duties included isometric piping layouts, electrical instrument drawings and occasional 3D modeling. This was a short-term, 60+ hours per week job.
At right is a photo of a similar refinery. The Rentech project was pretty interesting but the site itself was stinky, as can be imagined.
A reinforced concrete foundation drawing. Click on it to see a larger version
Range Fuels
Broomfield, Colorado
Jan '07 to July '07
Contract Drafter
Range Fuels is a designer and inventor of a biomass to synthetic fuels conversion process. They built a small pilot project in Commerce City to demonstrate their concept.
My contractor duties included isometric piping layouts, process flow diagrams, instrument detailing and occasional 3D modeling. This was a short-term job which ended abruptly due to zoning problems.
I'm sorry, but no photo is available due to the proprietary process used to create their project.
Self Employed
May '05 to Jan '07
Mechanical Designer, Website Developer and Screenwriter
During that period I designed a two-wheeled vehicle intended as a safe, comfortable and fuel-efficient alternative to cars and motorcycles. The top photo at right is a 1/12th scale model. Below that is the full-size prototype as it exists today. More information and research can be found at ProjectVF.com.
The vehicle is powered by a Honda motorcycle engine and features a one-of-a-kind front suspension with inboard shocks similar to that used on Formula One racecars. This entailed a great deal of research into the physics of steering geometry and suspension reactions. I used AutoCAD 2D layouts and 3D modeling for the design, then fabricated a rough test mule which led to the actual prototype. A link to that project can be found on the home page of this site.
I also began work as a website designer and developer, creating five websites, one of which you're visiting right now.
In addition to that, I wrote several screenplays, one of which placed in the top ten percent of an international competition with over 2,500 entrants.
Tyco / Simplex-Grinnell
Denver, Colorado
Jan '02 to May '05
Drafter / Designer
Tyco is a major manufacturer of fire detection and life safety systems. They merged with Simplex-Grinnell, a designer and fabricator of building sprinkler systems. The resulting company consists of offices throughout the US.
During that period I learned how to design fire detection systems to meet national code standards. I would typically be given a building floor plan which was used for the detection system itself, then used again for evacuation maps located at various places within in the building.
Smaller system designs were used for new buildings and tenant improvements. Larger projects included Invesco Field and the Wellington Webb municipal building located in downtown Denver. A typical evacuation map is shown at right.
KDC Architects-Engineers
Aurora, Colorado
Feb '99 to April '00
Drafter / Designer
KDC was a small engineering house that focused mainly on cellular communications. They contracted with companies such as Sprint, Qwest and AT&T, and designed antenna mounting and electrical interfaces around the Denver area. At right you can see a typical cell installation. The antennas are bolted directly to the building, with a central telecommunication power box located on the roof.
I started in a design position, but soon moved into project management. My daily duties included site walks atop buildings, followed by the creation of drawings for permitting and construction. I oversaw the development of several sites at a time, communicated with contractors and ensured all details were completed at the end of the project. For several months I worked inside a Qwest office as an on-site manager.
Once the build-out of the various carrier networks was complete, this type of work all-but disappeared which is a shame because I really enjoyed it.
Roos-Szynskie & Associates
Aurora, Colorado
Sept '98 to Feb '99
Drafter
Roos-Szynskie is a power distribution and lighting design house, working with projects as small as tenant finishes and all the way up to massive projects like Denver International Airport. At right is a typical layout showing the location of electrical receptacles and overhead lighting. Drawings like these were used for bidding, permitting and construction.
My contractor duties including working with the engineers using office floor plans to create drawings used for permitting and construction. Even though this was a short-term job, I learned new skills that I have applied to many other projects, including my own house remodeling.
Melco Embroidery Systems
Broomfield, Colorado
Jan '94 to Sept '98
Technical writer, illustrator and trade show manager.
Melco is a major player in the international embroidery machine market. Embroidery used to be done by hand but for the last few decades has been taken over by computer controlled machines using digitized artwork. Melco makes machines ranging from a small, tabletop model all the way up to a 12-head machine capable of sewing such things shirts, jackets and hats at a speed up to 1,000 stitches per minute. They also sell their own proprietary software for turning artwork into computer files.
I began working as a technical writer for operation & maintenance manuals, as well as end-use manuals. As part of that, I created exploded-view drawings of the machines for repair and assembly purposes. I also created online, text-sensitive help files for software users.
After two years of that, I was transferred to the sales and marketing department where I served as their trade show manager, traveling to 13 shows each year and managing a million-dollar budget. This was a demanding position which required a great deal of flexibility, self-sufficiency and discipline. Once I arrived at a convention center, I oversaw a 3-day assembly of our booth, machines, computers and sample garments, then spent the next three days operating and maintaining a variety of embroidery equipment as support for the local salespeople. I interfaced extensively with union labor, local tradesmen, and of course, the customers themselves. At the end of each show the equipment was crated for shipment to the next city.
Jetstream Systems
Denver, Colorado
Nov '91 to January '94
Aluminum can conveyance products and filling lines
My daily duties were very similar to that of Goldco, as well as designing interfaces for bottle and can filling lines, as well as palletizers. I also created illustrations and text for O&M manuals.
Wiebe
Hollister, California and Sidney, Ohio
April 1987 to August 1990
Aluminum can conveyance products
Wiebe was another conveyance designer, similar to Jetstream, but they pioneered several methods which were licensed to other companies. In 1989 they were purchased by Alcoa and the manufacturing equipment, as well as some managers and designers, were moved to a small town in Ohio. I followed for a short-term contract to train local drafters and designers
Goldco Industries
Loveland, Colorado
January '94 to July '94
Aluminum can conveyance products.
The process for making and transporting aluminum beverage cans is something most people never know. Cans begin as a 5-foot wide sheet of aluminum fed into a stamping press, then transported to a variety machines that draw the can into a narrow, tall cylinder, add a domed bottom, a ringed neck, then a flange to (later) attach the top. Along the way the cans are cleaned, sprayed inside with a sealing agent and the exterior is printed with the beverage-maker's design. The cans make their way thru the factory at a variety of heights, as well as facing up or down depending on the process involved. At above right you can see cans being lifted from one level to another. At below right you can see the cans being upended. The conveyor belt is perforated and a large blower pulls the air from inside the plenum, creating a vacuum than hold the can tightly against the belt.
At Goldco, I designed a variety of machines to transport cans using vacuum, mechanic, air-power and magnetic technology. I also worked with can-maker employees to optimize designs for easier operation and minimized down time.
Designing this type of equipment was a great job.
Disc Instruments
Newport Beach, California
July 1983 to October 1986
Optical encoders and computer trackballs
Disc Instruments was a division of Honeywell and manufactured a variety of sensors and equipment used by computer controlled machinery, as well as early peripheral devices such as trackballs for the first generation of personal computers.
I worked with the electrical engineers to create printed circuit boards, such as the one show at right. The engineers would create schematics and a list of parts, and I would design the circuit board itself within the physical constraints of the final device, then send print-ready artwork for companies that manufactured the blank boards. In addition, I brought the company's print artwork in-house, where I created text and photo layouts for a variety of brochures and magazine advertisements.
