Darl Dufendach Email & Phone Number

Connersville, In

• Developing coolant-control valves for battery & hybrid vehicle thermal management.• Developed capped & capless, fuel-filler-pipe assemblies.

Saint Joseph, Mi

• Assisted with final development and production launch of electronic / electromechanical consoles for the 2013 'Fusion Classic' line of top-load washing machines.

Indianapolis, Indiana Area

• Developed high-efficiency motors and generators for military, commercial-mobile, and auxiliary power applications.

Indianapolis, Indiana

• Assisted with development of General Motors’ next-generation hybrid (mechanical/electric) automatic transmission for light trucks and rear-wheel-drive cars.• Provided engineering warranty support for heavy-duty, light-truck, automatic transmissions.

Kokomo, Indiana Area

DELPHI ELECTRONICS & SAFETY, 1996 – 2009Mechanical Engineer, Backlighting Development (2008 – 2009)• Optimized performance and cost of backlit, human-machine-interface (HMI) controls via LightTools (optical simulation) and SolidWorks (MCAD) computer modeling.• Minimized or eliminated need for light-guide prototype tooling.• Supported engineers at local, off-site, and international locations. Finishing Engineer, Plastic Molding & Decorating (2002 – 2008)• Routinely met with OEM customers to review product samples and negotiate appearance approvals required to start production.• Recommended to product development engineers appropriate molding resins, decorating processes, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to meet customer requirements.• Collaborated with suppliers to develop new materials and select cost effective LEDs.Mechanical Engineer, Product Development (1997 – 2002)• Successfully developed reliable, cost effective climate controllers for passenger vehicles and supported them during production.• Designed backlit HMI components for climate controllers, including three-shot rotary knobs and pushbuttons and trim plates with laser-etched or insert-molded-appliqué graphics.• Designed transparent light-guides to uniformly distribute backlighting from point sources.• Developed innovative design solutions to solve manufacturing and application problems. See page 2 awarded patents (linked).Mechanical Engineer, Shop Supervision & Tool Design (1996 – 1997)• Supervised model-shop skilled tradesmen. Assigned and managed projects requiring fabrication of design concept and prototype components.• Designed tooling for molding high-temperature plastic pallets used to fixture circuit boards during electronic component placement and soldering.• Originated design for molded fixtures used to pre-align soldered lamps and LEDs, resulting in simplified operator handling, reduced cycle time, and lower cost.

Kokomo, Indiana Area

TIME & BELCAN TECHNICAL SERVICES 1989 – 1992, 1993 – 1996Contract Mechanical Engineer, Product Development • Developed reliable, high-volume powertrain and climate controllers for passenger cars and light trucks.• Proposed and implemented design solutions during production to minimize or eliminate manufacturing quality problems.

Fort Wayne, Indiana Area

• Developed ancillary and improved mechanical components for current-production and prototype military communications equipment.• Installed demonstrator, multi-band radio system in “Hummer” vehicles and “Blackhawk” helicopter at military bases (Forts Ord, Lewis, Hood, & Bragg).

Bachelor'S Degree, Bsmet

Education record