Digant Dave

Responsible for New Product Development and Sustaining Engineering for Endoscopes, sheaths and related products
• Introduce new product improvements and engineering changes to drive down cost, improve product performance, and allow easier assembly and manufacturability
• Responsible for developing testing and validation protocols to meet internal performance and regulatory requirements
• Work with manufacturing engineering to improve production processes, and prepare new products for production
• Manage development projects, track costs and schedule and manage drafting and document control staff

Used Solidworks to design electronic tablets and power/data infrastructure, to deliver interactive messaging to customers in the retail environment, for an innovative startup company. Interacted with industrial designer and marketing team to bring concept ideas to life. Support transition of design to internal production team, or contract manufacturer by selecting processes and preparing drawings or directing draftsperson. Supported testing efforts for UL and FCC compliance.
• Developed patent pending power takeoff system to bring power from the store to shelves
• Led development of multiple product lines of “shelf edge” interactive displays, consisting of injection molded plastics, sheet metal, and electronic components, and transferred the design to manufacturing
• Transitioned designs to production and performed manufacturing and sustaining engineering duties

Used ProE Wildfire to design cost-effective, electronic packaging solutions, which met marketing and engineering specifications and followed internal industrial and graphic design standards. Ensured regulatory compliance (FCC, UL) through testing (thermal, shock and vibration) and analysis. Prepared new products for production launch, by assembling prototypes, supporting pilot builds, and creating documentation for manufacturing and production.
• Led the mechanical design and development of a critical-to-launch product accessory by meeting tight launch deadlines to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
• Created “keep-out” documents for PCB layout, and established critical dimensions and component requirements for Electrical Engineering team based on mechanical constraints.
• Designed fixtures to aid in soldering and assembly of probes and test equipment, which improved reliability, fit and finish, and reduced field failures and assembly time.

Designed and modeled high-end, architectural grade, track lighting and fixture products using SolidWorks, created marketing specification and sales approval drawings using AutoCAD, and supported Sustaining Engineering and Manufacturing activities, including Bill of Materials (BOMs), Routings, Engineering Changes using Visual Manufacturing software, and sourcing components and sub-assemblies from domestic and overseas Asian suppliers.
• Led design, manufacturing, product launch, and customer support efforts for high profile lighting projects at the New Museum of Contemporary Art and Art Institute of Chicago, while meeting aggressive cost targets and product launch deadlines, and ensuring compliance with UL guidelines.
• Used DFA/DFM principles and feedback from operators to streamline and improve assembly and manufacturing processes, reduce labor time, and reduce cost.
• Analyzed needs, schedules, pricing, and vendors to source sheet metal, cast, injection molded, machined parts, spinnings, and sub-assemblies to meet high quality standards.
Championed continuous improvement, cost reduction, and quality improvement initiatives.

Participated in mechanical design and analysis of wireless asset management devices, implementation of engineering changes using Agile PLM software, sustaining engineering projects.
• Developed qualification and test plan to evaluate adhesives and recloseable fasteners as an alternative to mechanical fasteners for installing product onto vehicle surfaces, which led to cost savings and ease of serviceability.
• Designed a test and used tolerance analysis to determine if existing housing design provided adequate electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding to meet FCC requirements.
• Analyzed injection molded plastic housing components using stress, fastener torque, and force-deflection analyses to determine if design changes were necessary.

Identified and championed R&D projects that had commercial potential to turn into viable business opportunities, researched and developed automation mechanism design proposals to secure funding through research grants, supported senior management with the development and implementation of strategic business goals and partnerships with aerospace, industry, academia, government, and research organizations.
• Led conceptual design and proposal effort for “Rapid Soil Characterization System”, which was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 grant by the Department of Defense (DoD) /Army Corps of Engineers.

Determined root cause and corrective actions for component failures, performed risk analysis and evaluated their impact on installed hardware on spacecraft, project schedules, cost, and inventory, implemented changes with vendors, modified part specifications and developed qualification testing plans for new parts, and built strong relationships with clients and vendors.
• Implemented a process change that prevented a manufacturing defect from delaying the launch of several satellites projects, due to potential for RF signal leakage.
• Worked with Safety, Reliability, Survivability, and Materials and Processes, and other departments in the Systems Engineering group, while gaining familiarity with Military Specifications (Mil-Spec) and Aerospace Industry standards.

Collected and analyzed data from hip and knee simulator wear testing to meet FDA requirements for new product releases, and to compare alternative materials, coatings, and geometries for design verifcation and validation.
• Devised a solution to replace failing springs on simulators with elastic bands saving $1200 per year.
• Developed concepts for the application of 3D scanning technology to wear analysis.
• Initiated an effort with IT Department to create a searchable database for wear testing data.

Documented processes, updated specifications, repaired and improved tools, which supported the Chip Carrier Lamination manufacturing process.
• Analyzed and tested existing wash tool, redesigned spray manifold, and specified new nozzles to improve impingement and panel coverage.
• Trained operators on new tools and procedures.
• Explored ways to improve ergonomics, material handling, and efficiency through research and testing.

Characterized metal thin films to identify viable materials and processes for consideration in future semiconductor processing and manufacturing schemes.
• Helped design and conduct experiments to understand how copper oxidation kinetics (rate) is affected by the presence of different barrier over layers.
• Evaluated electronic material properties using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), four-point probe resistance measurements, optical and SEM microscopy, and contact angle measurements.