I seem to have gotten the cart before the horse by jumping right in, at PTSideshow’s invitation, to comment on my entry in the Machinist’s Challenge. That was the cart, so by way of introduction, here is the horse:
I am most notorious for my column “The Mechatronist” in Digital Machinist magazine, and a few articles in The Home Shop Machinist magazine. In my day job I pose as a Manufacturing Engineer for a company that makes solenoids, coils and electromechanical devices, although I have no degrees in engineering or anything else.
My formal education came courtesy of the U. S. Navy, a short Avionics A School, back in the early ‘70s when they were still teaching tube theory. My checkered past includes TV, stereo, electronic organ and medical equipment repair. I was self-employed for 18 years building machine tool and automation control systems, panels, hydraulics and pneumatics. Past distractions in my life include a pilot’s license, amateur radio, stained glass, a little blacksmith work, building two houses, and building a small boat.
As previously noted, my primary interest is designing, building, and writing up projects for the column in Digital Machinist. If this sounds like shameless self-promotion, it is. I want the magazine to prosper, and that requires reader interest. I have spent much of my career creating new devices on demand. Article content is not much different. As time goes on, tell me what you would like to see in the magazine, and I will see what I can do.
Weston