Darren Walde

Darren Walde Email and Phone Number

Automation Engineering Manager at District Photo, Inc. @ District Photo Inc.
Darren Walde's Location
Beltsville, Maryland, United States, United States
Darren Walde's Contact Details
About Darren Walde

Darren Walde is proficient at the development & integration of robust imaging systems, sensors, actuators, & clever control s/w to create efficient, safe, autonomous, electro-mechanical solutions. He's a driven leader, adept at project planning, & excels at collaborating with team members, vendors & customers to deliver cutting-edge, custom products on time to specification. He's skilled at realizing the maximum potential of a system through persistence, problem-solving & hands-on dedication.QUALIFICATIONSDarren has over 25 yrs. experience in the design, optimization & integration of machine vision systems, s/w & motion control h/w into precision, industrial automated solutions for moving webs. He is presently the Automation Engineering Manager @ District Photo, where he collaborates with production, technicians, mgmt., operators & vendors to add/extend automation & efficiency solutions for their industrial printing, binding, cutting, packaging & sorting systems. From 2001-2014, he led a team @ Walde, Inc. to deliver automated film scanning solutions, with emphasis on precision motion control & high-speed 2D Color imaging. Walde's film scanning technology archived billions of 35mm images & was used to digitize precious 16mm movie footage associated with NASA's Apollo space missions.And before starting Walde, Inc., Darren served as a Director of Engineering @ PictureVision (sold to Kodak) where he helped them pioneer the first online photo sharing and printing service by managing a team to develop & globally deploy the industry’s fastest wholesale film scanning systems.Darren's combined skills in engineering, business, & customer satisfaction have resulted in reliable, fast & efficient production automation solutions for the imaging fulfillment, archival, printing, binding, cutting, packaging, and sorting industries.AREAS OF EXPERTISE / KNOWLEDGEMachine Vision / Sensors / Photoeyes / IOT Devices ~ Vendor Collab. ~ C++/C#/Python/Java/BashMotion Control (Servos / Steppers / Encoders / PID / VFD) ~ Team Building ~ Vision System DesignCycle Time Redux ~ PLC/HMI/IPCs ~ CAD (Solidworks/Autocad) ~ Prototypes/Integ./DeploymentBarcode Symbologies ~ Power Subsystems / Schematics / Safety Conformity ~ ROI Analysis / SOPsRaspberry Pi/Arduino ~ Serial 232/485/TCP ~ Linux / Node.js /SQL/MQTT/Dashboards ~ 3D Printing

Darren Walde's Current Company Details
District Photo Inc.

District Photo Inc.

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Automation Engineering Manager at District Photo, Inc.
Darren Walde Work Experience Details
  • District Photo Inc.
    Automation Engineering Manager
    District Photo Inc. Feb 2016 - Present
    Beltsville, Maryland, Us
    District Photo, Inc. – Provides imaging fulfillment services (Snapfish, Shutterfly, etc.) for photo books, prints, greeting cards, & photo gifts. I’m responsible for designing & implementing automation/efficiency solutions while managing the project timelines for our production systems (across 4 US facilities) with emphasis on:• Cross-Departmental Collaboration (Senior Mgrs./Shift Mgrs./Maint./IT/API Team/Operators) to Attain Goals • AI Sensors, Machine Vision/Optics, Motion Control, Improving End User System Reliability • Industrial Imaging Systems Design/Config (120+ Scanners) for QA Automation & Increased Efficiencies• Mech. Eng. / 3D CAD (Solidworks), & 3D Printing/Prototypes for System Upgrades/Enhancements• IOT/Raspberry Pi embedded systems that process in-situ Sensor & Camera inputs to Cloud Dashboards• Cycle & Labor Reduction for 20+ Automatic Packaging, Label Application, & Sorting Systems• Vendor Collaboration to Optimize Systems/Efficiency via PLC, Host S/W & Electro-Mech. changes• Linear Actuators, PLC Updates, Conveyor Systems, Pneumatic Assemblies (Design & Control)• 2D CAD (Autocad) of equipment/building layouts to support new/upgraded systems & Improve Workflows• Vendor Selection & System Upgrades/Installs for New Automation from ROI Analysis (~$4M ROI to date)
  • Lasergraphics, Inc.
    Imaging Systems Engineer
    Lasergraphics, Inc. Apr 2014 - Jan 2016
    • Develop, enhance, and support imaging systems for Lasergraphics' Director and Scan Station Motion Picture Film Scanning Products• Direct and conduct production engineering, mechanical design and Solidworks CAD engineering of the imaging systems and other key assemblies in the scanners• Improved the sound quality of Lasergraphic's Audio Scanning System by designing a smoother motion control system based on the Servo motor drive and tensioning system previously developed by Walde• Work with various 3D Printers to Design & Print 3D Printable parts to create engineering prototypes and to reduce the cost stack of scanner products for increased product margins• Assist in Sales / Marketing / Bus. Dev. via Competitor analysis, BOM cost reductions, creation of marketing videos, new product initiatives, and attendance/exhibition at industry trade showsIn summary, Darren brought 17 years of experience in manufacturing film scanners at Walde, Inc. and Kodak to assist Lasergraphics in providing the industry with the highest quality motion picture film preservation and transfer systems. After Darren joined Lasergraphics, he helped develop and release two new ScanStation products: ScanStation 5K and ScanStation Personal (The fastest and most affordable multi-format 5K motion picture film scanners available today). He was also pivotal in the testing and imaging systems development of the Director 10K product, which is the industry leader for its superior image quality.
  • Walde, Inc.
    Founder, Ceo, Vp Of Engineering
    Walde, Inc. Jun 2001 - Apr 2014
    Walde designed and manufactured film preservation scanners and color grading software for consumer, government, television and motion picture archives from 2001-2013. Darren continued to support & provide custom solutions to Walde's existing customers while working for the leading competitor, Lasergraphics, Inc.• Developed (2010-13) the FilmStar 4K UHD Motion Picture Film Scanner for 35mm/16mm Archives– Completed systems eng., sensor/mech. design, s/w dev., & packaging of a precision, autonomous film transport with 2 high performance imaging systems: one for HD capture of optical audio tracks & sprocket perforations; the other for color 4K UHD frame digitization.– Created custom, real-time color grading software for 16Bit RAW scanner output at up to .5GB/sec.• Facilitated the engineering, testing, production, bus. development, sales ($4M), marketing, installation, logistics and support of 20+ industrial 35mm FilmStar Scanning Systems in 3 continents (2002-09)• Invented & released the FilmStar 20K Pro (2003-04) as the industry's fastest HD 35mm Color Film Scanner – Novel advancements in PLC motion control & imaging system designs (h/w patents, s/w proc. & algorithms)• Founded Walde, Inc. in 2001 to lead a clever team of PictureVision/Kodak engineers in the design and completion of the FilmStar 15K Scanner (2002) for digital products creation from 35mm consumer film – Developed proprietary electro-mech. h/w & s/w (C/C++) for sensor input, film spooling and motor control
  • Picturevision, Inc. - A Kodak Company
    Director, Wholesale Digital Products
    Picturevision, Inc. - A Kodak Company Feb 1997 - Jun 2001
    PictureVision Created Online Sharing and Digital Products from scanned consumer film and was sold to Kodak for $200M in 2000.• As Director, lead a team of PV, Kodak, & 3rd Party engineers to build, test, deploy, and support the worlds fastest 4 Megapixel 35mm Film Scanner (installed globally in 30+ wholesale photofinishing labs) – Creation of a faster, more flexible system than Kodak contributed to their $200M PictureVision purchase• As Principal Engineer, facilitated a system re-design for UL/FCC/CE safety certifications as required by Kodak – Integrated a faster, higher resolution imaging system and added APS/24mm film format support• As Sr. Software Engineer (C/C++/C#), made NT app., color, quality, speed & system enhancements on a high speed 35mm film scanner – Extensive international travels to install hardware & software upgrades
  • Sunrise Imaging (Nextscan, Inc.)
    Senior Software Engineer
    Sunrise Imaging (Nextscan, Inc.) Sep 1994 - Jan 1997
    SunRise Manufactures microfilm and microfiche scanners for the document imaging industry and was sold to Motorola in 2000. The principal later founded the industry's leader nextScan, Inc.• WinNT application software (C/C++) and algorithm development for microfilm & microfiche scanners including: image processing/compression, frame/skew detection, speed optimization, & output formats• Programmed, optimized and tuned motion control film transport hardware (PID), software and firmware• Integrated line array CCD cameras and digitizing h/w to NT PCs via kernel device driver development• Overseas travels to 10+ countries to complete installs, upgrades, and training with new h/w & s/w
  • Lockheed Martin
    Image Processing Engineer
    Lockheed Martin Jan 1991 - Aug 1994
    Bethesda, Md, Us
    • Target masking, Spectral capture (Visible/Radar/IR) & Motion Control of Remotely Operated Vehicles• Coded C/C++/UNIX s/w for ASW (at-sea), OCR, RADAR & Ultrasonic imaging, analysis, and field tests• Developed extensive frame/skew detection s/w to scan Scotland Yard's criminal records on Microfiche• Extensive use of Matlab to visualize and model data collected from lab experiments and field tests

Darren Walde Skills

Film Production Television Video Feature Films Film Camera Hd Video Post Production Digital Imaging Image Processing Music Industry Digital Video Digital Photography Color Correction Software Development Sound Photography Dvd Audio Post Production Producing Broadcast Motion Graphics Multimedia Video Production Web Video Integration Streaming Media Product Management Hardware Sensors Software Design System Architecture Software Engineering Systems Engineering Testing Engineering Video Editing Computer Hardware Management

Darren Walde Education Details

  • Uc San Diego
    Uc San Diego
    Scripps Institute Of Oceanography (Sio)

Frequently Asked Questions about Darren Walde

What company does Darren Walde work for?

Darren Walde works for District Photo Inc.

What is Darren Walde's role at the current company?

Darren Walde's current role is Automation Engineering Manager at District Photo, Inc..

What is Darren Walde's email address?

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What is Darren Walde's direct phone number?

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What schools did Darren Walde attend?

Darren Walde attended Uc San Diego.

What skills is Darren Walde known for?

Darren Walde has skills like Film Production, Television, Video, Feature Films, Film, Camera, Hd Video, Post Production, Digital Imaging, Image Processing, Music Industry, Digital Video.

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