John Turner
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Mechanical Engineer, Product Designer, Problem Solver
I have participated in all stages of the product development process from researching market opportunities and prototyping, to field testing, to detailed drawing preparation and refinement for manufacturing.
I am excited by mechanical design where I can use my creativity and experience to produce innovative products. I am constantly learning as I rapidly adapt to new challenges, and I enjoy collaborating with mentors and team members to create better results.
Skills
List of software and tools I have used in a personal, academic, or professional capacity.
CAD
- SolidWorks
- SolidWorks PDM
- DriveWorks
- DraftSight
- OnShape
- OpenSCAD
- See list of certifications below
Mechanical Prototyping Tools
- Laser cutting
- Vacuum forming
- 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing
- Formlabs Form 1+: Stereolithography / SLA
- Stratasys Fortus: Fused Deposition Modeling / Fused Filament Fabrication
- Stratasys Objet: PolyJet / Polymer Jetting
Software (ERP, Programming, Documentation, and more)
- SAP
- Microsoft AX
- MATLAB
- Octave
- Excel VBA
- Git
- LaTeX
- Inkscape
- Linux (Ubuntu)
- Standard Windows / Microsoft Office products
Certifications
Experience
Engineer
Developed custom fall protection systems
Improved product and client compliance with safety standards (ASC A14, ANSI Z535, OSHA §1910)
Engineer
Designed and fabricated prototypes for proof-of-concept testing; operated three types of 3D printers
Prepared timing charts and did preliminary machine design for new equipment system
Accelerated custom order production and expanded innovation by automating some routine mechanical design tasks with DriveWorks
Redesigned equipment guarding to meet European safety requirements, enabling entry into new market
Reviewed emerging research and patents; reported on competition in meal kit packaging market
Managed facility 3D printing scheduling, inventory, maintenance, and reporting
Engineering Summer Internships
Focused on improving equipment reliability and documentation for safety-critical systems
Eliminated premature relay replacements saving $250K and, by reducing infantile failures, improved reliability
Prepared documentation that formed basis for new breaker preventative maintenance program
Professional Projects
Collaboratively and independently, I have worked on an array of projects for various companies, some of which are highlighted below.
Automated Bag Loader Commercialization
Improved equipment performance, manufacturability, and assembly through design changes (after joining the project during field testing). This automated system was commercialized in approximately half the usual product development timeline and in time for the IPPE tradeshow.
Personal Projects
My creativity, learning, and problem solving continue when I leave work each day. Below is a collection of some of these personal projects.
Designing an Orrery
I built a mechanical model of the solar system with laser-cut, 3D printed, and soldered parts. I designed it and documented it primarily with open source software. I compared the accuracy with other orreries, using heatmaps as a visualization tool.
Class Projects
During college, I worked on a variety of individual and team technical projects. Some of these include a PLC-based vending machine, combining finite element analysis and optimization, a vehicle suspension redesign, and control of an inverted pendulum.
Open Hardware Makerspace (OHM)
Founded and led Open Hardware Makerspace (OHM), a student group that encouraged and empowered makers’ interests in technical, collaborative, and creative projects. We welcomed all technical interests and sought to provide access to the knowledge, tools, and community to students on campus. Through exposing the local community to creative projects and new technologies, we brought an excitement for learning into local schools.
Education
Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering
- Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Department Lab Committee Member: Evaluates requests and allocates funding to undergraduate teaching labs in the department
- Focused primarily on design-oriented courses like:
- Product Design Management
- Electromechanical Systems Design
- Design Optimization
- Modern Manufacturing
- Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
- Automated Systems Engineering
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering
- Senior Design Project: Suspension redesign compensating for a hybrid car’s new weight distribution
- Engineering Senior Citizenship & Service Award
- Park Scholar: merit-based, full-ride scholarship
- Founded Open Hardware Makerspace (OHM)
- Honor Societies:
- Tau Beta Pi (Engineering)
- Pi Tau Sigma (Mechanical Engineering)
- Phi Kappa Phi
- University Honors Program