Coatings, Adhesives, and Laminates Expert

Expertise

• Products and processes for continuous coating and laminating.
• Metal-to-metal and film-to-metal laminates and processes.
• Product and process failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA).
• Applications development and testing.
• Product and process analysis for variability reduction.
• Validation of alternate materials and processes.
• Materials and process specifications and control plans.
• Materials for viscoelastic damping.
• Noise and vibration testing experience.
• Material and process engineering.
• Metal pre-treatment for corrosion resistance.
• Adhesive bonding of dissimilar materials.
• Adhesive bonding in miniature devices.
• Corrosion resistant coatings.
• Process technology transfer and scale-up.
• Engineering laboratory management.
• Hands-on experience with chemicals, coatings, adhesives, surface treatments, films, and laminates.
• Extensive experience in materials and process engineering, product research and development, validation testing, failure analysis, and laboratory management.

Expert Witness Experience

Cases

• Wrongful deaths in bus fire during emergency evacuation.
• Architectural product failures resulting in major construction losses.
• Personal injuries resulting from: Off-the-shelf cosmetic product and from, works transferring molten material from rail car.

Experience

Independent Consultant, Chicago, IL, 2006 - Present

• A professional chemist with over 40 years' experience in academics, commercial, aerospace, electronics, and automotive-related industries.
• Hands-on experience with various aspects of chemicals, coatings, adhesives, surface treatments, films, and laminates.
• Extensive experience in materials and process engineering, product research and development, validation testing, failure analysis and laboratory management.

Eaglepicher - Wolverine Gasket Division, Blacksburg, VA, 2004 - 2005

Process Engineering Manager - Process and Product Improvements

• Led materials-approach to optimizing processes to yield more robust metal-based composites, metal-to-metal laminates, and special coated products.
• Directed group of five engineers and chemists involved in various aspects of process engineering, along with QC, (Quality Control) laboratory and its five technicians.
• Established thermal profiling of oven conditions as method of choice for understanding and controlling parameters for continuous processes and their relationships with material properties.
• Led initiative to improve quality of manufactured products.
• Championed several continuous improvement projects.
• Managed development of documentation, including process FMEA.
• Served as manufacturing representative on material and process issues in discussions with customers.

Material Sciences Corporation, Elk Grove Village, IL, 1994 - 2004

Director of Product Development and Director of Materials Engineering

• Oversaw product development, including consumer and industrial, electrical and electronic, and automotive applications.
• Held responsibility for new product development, product improvements, qualification of alternative raw materials, transitioning new materials from laboratory to production.
• Supported sales and marketing.
• Oversaw application engineers, chemists and technicians.

Product and Process Development

• Demonstrated leadership in development, formulation, testing, and manufacturing scale-up of film-to-metal, metal-to-metal, and special coated products including:
• Championed project with engineering and operations staffs to discover causes of appearance defects in recently developed decorative laminate. Resulted in fully qualified product going into production and expected to generate over $8,000,000 in annual revenues.
• Led project to identify alternate NBR (Nitrile Rubber) raw material component for vehicle brake noise control product.
• Arranged for custom mixing and scaled up in production for aftermarket. Saved up to $300,000 annually.
• Held responsibility for first product that opened electronics market for constrained layer materials designed for noise and vibration control. Drove sales in this market to $22,500,000.
• Developed winter and summer concept for tuning viscoelastic formulations for maximum efficiency in automobile body panels exposed to average outside temperatures.
• Completed full-scale production demonstrations with initial sales forecast of $2,700,000.
• Developed polysiloxane-based pressure sensitive adhesive for brake shim applications.
• Continually optimized liner release coating.

Process Improvement and Management

• Served on cross-functional teams to create ways to modernize and evolve manufacturing and process capabilities to open new markets, increase product quality and reduce costs.
• Acted in transfer of materials and process technology to division with no prior experience in manufacturing metal-to-metal laminates.
• Opened market for wide-width laminates for automobile body panel applications.
• Organized project team to evaluate commercially-available chromium-free pretreatments for metal surfaces, leading to full-scale production trials and application-specific testing of products. Resulted in the only chromium-free coil coating line in the U.S.
• Led laboratory and production trial study to determine causes of variations in mechanical properties of laminate developed for computer applications. Identified solution and adopted in production in Asia.
• Championed three and a half-year project to change major raw material that impacted four of the company's primary products for OEM customers. Secured $12,000,000 in sales.
• Conducted evaluations of water-based adhesives, UV (Ultraviolet) curable adhesives, 100% solids viscoelastic formulations, and transfer tapes.

Organizational Support

• Served as key focal point and provided direction to staff for technical support and administrative support to sales, marketing, purchasing, operations, application engineering, product development staff, and upper management.
• Appointed management representative to lead company's initiative to become QS-9000 certified. Resulted in successful completion of qualifying audit.
• Acted in transferring materials and process technology for manufacturing five of the company's products at a joint venture in Brazil. Provided periodic technical support.
• Provided technical advice and direction to division that suddenly achieved unacceptable mechanical properties in laminated product. Identified that vendor had changed pretreatment.
• Coordinated studies of contents of weld fumes generated during resistance spot welding of some products. Toxicology groups at the Big Three have used these studies as part of their qualification procedures.
• Created and maintained material safety data sheets for products.

LTV Aerospace and Defense Company, Dallas, TX, 1983 - 1993

Engineering Laboratory Manager, Senior Staff Engineer, Senior Engineering Specialist

• Led multidisciplinary staff of over 50 scientists, engineers, and technicians.
• Held accountability for professional development of staff members, managing department budget, capital equipment purchases, and maintenance of 21,000 square foot facility.
• Involved in materials science group specializing in the development of materials for very high temperature applications and fabrication and testing of prototype components.