Chris Counts Email & Phone Number

Waconia, Mn, Us

Driving distillation technology advancement to improve current processes, and to open new markets--to thrill customers.

Waconia, Mn, Us

TMC Industries provides contract distillation services using molecular distillation as an intermediate or final step in the processing of natural oils, waxes, and specialty chemicals. Equipment includes short-path, thin-film, molecular distillation and multi-plate fractionation on pilot and production scales. Accomplishments:*Doubled processed material volume year over year. Managed to the best monthly & yearly revenue in company history. *Conceived calculus driven analytical approach to visualize and optimize distillation process conditions--having a MONSTROUS impact. Technique opened higher value markets--increasing average billing rate 50% per unit processed.*Implemented closed-loop vacuum pressure control, for more precise distillation/separation, enabling an improved process technique, better quality, and lower power consumption.*Key role in winning several new $1M accounts, leading novel process developments, exceeding customer requirements.*Coordination of: production schedule; 12 employees including engineering, maintenance, & production personnel; and building & facilities upgrades.

Minnetonka, Mn, Us

Lead process development, supporting material properties improvements, of game-changing electrophotographic additive manufacturing product. Success driven by development of fundamental theory, test techniques, and analysis.*Drove step-change to four key program metrics, transforming fragile parts into strong, tough, and elastic parts with near injection molded properties; adding MONSTROUS value to the product and the company's IP portfolio. Four aspects of this work are patented, or patent pending:--460% improvement in elongation, exceeding injection molding specifications--51% improvement in yield strength--150% improvement in impact strength*Developed: closed-loop process controls, materials testing program, unique heating/cooling hardware.*Knowledge based approach cultivating new understanding to power progress by continuous: analysis, theory development, testing, and learning cycles

Plainview, Ny, Us

•Mechanical lead, with four direct reports, of a $2 million/yr. development project, reporting to Director of Engineering•Led team in development of novel Organic LED (OLED) deposition source allowing rapid change-out of deposition materials for low capital cost, short run, flexible production.•Strategic approach: identify performance drivers; create methodology to assure performance via accelerated testing•Prototype delivered, provisional patent filed•Significant roles developing other thin film deposition sources including: MOCVD, aluminum, CIGS, and selenium

Rehovot, Il

•Served as the Mechanical Engineering Lead of a group, working for the Director of Technology & Systems, for the development of Stratasys' latest FORTUS rapid prototyping system. •Conducting requirements analyses to span the gap between marketing requirements and optimized technical designs. •Developed tools, not previously used at Stratasys, to guide product development including: multi degree of freedom lumped mass real-time model; gantry frequency loading analysis model; COSMOS frequency mode analysis of entire system, including spring elements; SolidWorks Simulation analysis of system, with loading conditions ported from control software, yielding time and frequency based deflection results. •Further duties involved applying results of my requirements analysis to specify components for an advanced XY Gantry comprised of servomotors, bearings, belts, sheetmetal frame and gear reduction.•Strategic approach: Developed tools, not previously used at Stratasys, to guide product development including: multiple degree of freedom lumped mass real-time model, SolidWorks Simulation analysis of system, with loading conditions ported from control software, yielding time and frequency based deflection results

•Extended process capabilities of the multi million dollar ZETA wafer cleaning and etching system at the 45 nm node to meet evolving customer needs •Improved systems to comply with safety requirements as regulated by Semi S2•Troubleshooting field failures at customer sites to ensure product quality•Strategic approach: achieve intimate understanding of interrelationships of system factors—e.g. mechanical, electrical, fluid, pneumatic, i/o, sensors, distributed control and software--as actually used by the customer; then design experience-based solutions •Used Pro/E extensively to document designs

Houston, Texas, Us

•Design, analysis and testing of thermal management equipment including heat exchangers, air conditioners and air moving devices •Key role developing APW's very successful, first of its kind, DC telecom air-conditioner•Innovated and initiated quality process querying production check-out database, and performing statistical analysis of the data with Excel Macros (VBA) to create KPI variables and process control limits•Contribution: analyzing, designing, testing and troubleshooting thermal systems and apparatus including: the air-conditioning cycle, sensors, controllers, firmware and motors. Testing to ensure reliability and UL/cUL & CE compliance

Fremont, California, Us

•Responsible for research and development of systems supporting CMP (Chemical Mechanical Planarization) at SFI's (Speedfam-IPEC) Advanced Technology Design Center•Resolved issue of sporadic non-uniformity in silicon wafers that plagued SFI's technology by creating a unique kinematic model to reveal source of the non-uniformity. MONSTEROUS impact on the key success metric for the process, and product.•Presented analysis in co-authored paper at SEMICON West 2000

•Led interdisciplinary product development group for automation equipment•Duties ranged from interviewing customers to conceiving system designs; generating and presenting sales proposals; supervising design/drafting; conducting engineering analysis; and supporting production