Earlier this month we sat down with the newest Applications Engineer on the Davenport Hybrid Solutions Team, Andrew Gallagher.
Andrew, a 2023 graduate from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), started with Davenport in the fall of last year. As he comes up on his 1-year anniversary with the company we thought it would be a great time to talk about his background and recap what his first year at Davenport has been like.
Can you talk a little bit about your journey from engineering student to Davenport Manufacturing Engineer?
I graduated from RIT in May of 2023 with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering in mechanical engineering with a focus in Mechanics – Design/Materials. My introduction to hands-on machining came my freshman year of college in the machine fabrication shop. This class focused on teaching the fundamentals of vertical mills and lathes.
My next encounter with the machining world was not until my first co-op in the fall of 2020. I worked as a quality engineering co-op for 16 weeks. My work was focused on testing and measuring the produced parts to ensure they were acceptable for our customers. If the parts were not up to the specifications, I worked with the machinists on the floor to make the appropriate changes to their setup to move back to making acceptable parts. This involved some experience with multi-spindle lathes and CNC machines.
I started training and assisted with machine setups right when I started working at Davenport in September.
What does your role at Davenport entail?
My primary responsibility at Davenport is the development, installation, and implementation of customer turnkeys for new and in the field Hybrid machines. This includes tasks like layout development, tooling design, CNC programming, machine layout setup, customer training, creating customer documentation packets, and customer support for continuous successful operation.
I work on creating new, and improving upon existing products to make the Hybrid Machine even more versatile. I am responsible for documentation in terms of part drawings, tooling sheets, and inventory maintenance to ensure we have what we need when we need it.
What would you say to someone who has little to no manufacturing experience, who needs to train on the Hybrid Machine?
When first seeing the Hybrid, some people can become overwhelmed with the fact that they will be responsible for this machine running without issue. Knowing how to run the machine will take some time, but our Hybrid Solutions team is there to assist every step of the way…
To start the process, find what is most familiar to you with the machine and understand that aspect. The people we train typically have either CNC and mechanical machine experience. The Hybrid has both of these so focus on getting familiar with what you already know. From there you can move onto the big picture items that are most important.
Understanding everything about the machine can take time, our team is constantly learning too. Running the machine can be done very well knowing the big picture stuff. Big picture CNC topics include knowing what the different modes are and understanding the concepts of continuous jog and CNC jog. The big picture physical aspects of the machine include understanding how cams, collets, and feed fingers work.
How long did it take you to start setting up customer jobs and servicing machines in the field?
I started assisting with machine setups right away when I started working at Davenport last September. I took the lead on my first customer machine setup in December. That setup required a lot of modification to the machine because the customer part was more than 3 inches long. I learned a lot about the physical aspects of the machine, the limits, and how to reach the limits. This setup led to my first time hosting the customers here in Rochester and my first work trip which happened in early March.
Since then, I have worked on almost every machine turnkey we have done and have done 2 more work trips. One of these, included a solo trip to help a customer learn about the machine, setup a new part, and troubleshoot some other problems they were experiencing with their 2 machines.
The Hybrid Solutions Team
Andrew has quickly become a very valuable member of the Hybrid Solutions Team, servicing our customers to the highest standard. At Davenport, we pride ourselves on providing world class customer service.
The Hybrid Solutions Team provides full scale services for every customer including; training, turnkey setups, part layout assistance, tooling design and production, and phone assistance nearly all hours of the work day.
When you purchase a Hybrid, you aren’t just purchasing a machine tool, you are purchasing an extension of your manufacturing floor.
Contact us today to learn more about our Hybrid Solutions services!