BrianJohnsonPortfolio2013Q2

Brian B Johnson

Designer, Engineer

Brian B. Johnson

Designer, Engineer

202 N ST #3
Boston, MA. 02127
617.834.5045
[email protected]

I am a passionate designer and mechanical engineer looking for a
challenging, creative career opportunity. With a broad background that
includes extensive experience in military, medical, industrial and consum-
er product design, I add a unique skill set to the product development
cycle. I have continued to expand my knowledge base by educating my-
self in the use of new materials, processes and human-centered design
thinking through the pursuit of creative personal projects. I have also
actively sought out technical and creative surroundings by joining the
Artisan’s Asylum in Somerville, MA. I am seeking a position that will
challenge me technically and creatively in a collaborative work environ-
ment surrounded with like-minded coworkers who enjoy what they do.

01 PROFESSIONAL

Mechanical Engineer U.S. Army/Department of Defense
10.2004 - 08.2007 Weapons’ Effects Modeling and Analysis
Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD

My first experience outside the academic world was with the U.S. DoD Army Materiel Systems Analysis
Activity. As a Mechanical Engineer for the Army, I developed physics-based models to perform statistical
analyses of complex indirect fire combat situations. Weapons interactions in modern urban environments
include many variables previously not encountered in open terrain combat arenas. With improved computing
capabilities, more detailed models can process much larger amounts of data providing levels of resolution
previously not possible. Providing these models with intelligence data, building construction information, and
target vulnerabilities yields a very important tool for the military in planning operations in urban battlefields.

• Developed and used statistical models for calculation of delivery error, aiming, and effectiveness of
artillery munitions, based on physics, meteorology, and material properties.

• Project lead for design and development of innovative methodologies to predict effects of weapons
against targets in urban environments, involving fragment degradation due to air drag and penetration
through materials.

• U.S. technical lead for NATO software design modeling the effectiveness of weapons against targets
based on various factors, including multiple guns and munitions as well as meteorological and other
natural effects

• Obtained and currently have government security clearance at level Top Secret/SCI, Secret, and NATO
Restricted clearance.

• Performed work with contractors as needed and trained to be a Contracting Officer Technical
Representative for projects involving outside defense contractors.

• After less than two years, was reviewed to be one of the top two analysts in the Branch consisting of
30 to 40 coworkers.

1

Mechanical Engineer, Anholt Technologies, Inc.
Product Manager Composite Medical Products
08.2007 - 08.2009 Avondale, PA

During this time I transitioned into the medical product design community. Having a strong desire to be
more involved with design, I moved into a mechanical design engineer position with Anholt Technologies/
Q-Fix Systems. Anholt Technologies is a medical products company that designs and manufactures com-
posite material products used in the medical field in radiology, radiation oncology, and patient position-
ing. Medical products designed and manufactured by Anholt Technologies include foam core carbon fiber
composite structures, composite panels, molded parts, injection molded parts, and machined parts. All
products must meet specific structural and functional requirements, regulated by the FDA and must follow
ISO standards.

• With Anholt, I led design efforts of carbon fiber composite medical products for Radiation and Oncology
treatment. This included all initial product design work, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing efforts
for a large number of products.

• As a design engineer my main responsibilities were new product development, however in the small
business environment I was also involved with process engineering, manufacturing engineer, research
and development, and general business improvement responsibilities.

• I was tasked with continuous research and development of new products, new processes, and the use
of new materials.

• Managed new product development, including personnel, vendors, and production processes to deliver
projects on time with high quality and proper documentation.

• Undertook Improvement of production processes and equipment to bring business into larger
production quantities, following lean manufacturing ideology while maintaining stringent ISO and
FDA compliance.

2

01 PROFESSIONAL

Mechanical Engineer, Globe Composite Solutions
Project/Program Manager Military and Medical Composite Products
08.2009 - today Rockland, MA

I have since continued my design endeavors with Globe Composite Solutions in Rockland, MA. By moving to
another small company, I was able to stay involved with all aspects of the design process from sales and dis-
covery work, prototyping and design, to project management and manufacturing. As the lead design engineer
and project manager for all military and medical products, I have had designed over 50 products in three years,
including next generation sound-absorbing panels for submarine sonar array systems, carbon fiber supports
for onboard missile battery enclosures, and lead replacement components for baggage x-ray systems. I work
to develop new materials and processes focusing on the use of liquid cast polyurethane materials which make
up the majority of Globe’s products.

• Led the engineering development of high performance seals using high-strength polyurethanes
bonded to titanium for long life submersible applications. This project included the development and
manufacture of ten different deliverable seals to meet prime contractors’ project deadlines.

• Medical projects include developing castable composite with x-ray blocking properties to replace lead
in current imaging products.

• Other projects involve the use of carbon fiber composites for aerospace applications, urethane based
components for application in mechanical systems of wind turbines, and high-strength carbon fiber
based hardware for medical imaging products.

• For all projects, I am responsible for product design, tool design, prototyping, managing tooling
fabrication, testing, transfer to production, and improvement of processes during production.

• Responsible for research and development of new products, new processes, materials, and use of new
materials.

• Technical lead for SBIR proposals. I have submitted four proposals between 2009 and 2013.
• Project management responsibilities include coordination of personnel, vendors, and production

processes to deliver projects on time with high quality and proper documentation.

3

Founder, Owner, and theUncommonGreen
Lead Designer Furniture, Home Accessories, and Custom Art
11.2007 - today Boston, MA

In 2007 I began my own private design company, theUncommonGreen.
Searching for a way to express myself beyond the products I was creating
at work, I began designing and creating functional products that I could not
find on the market to sell through my own business. As the founder and lead
designer of theUncommonGreen, I have researched and applied new skills,
including package design, business strategy, marketing techniques and a mul-
titude of other facets and details of design. In 2011, I introduced eight new
products to my website, and in a nine-month span, I sold nearly 1,000 units of
my math-inspired Pi Bottle Opener. 2012 brought the release of over a dozen
new products and twice the revenue of 2011, largely spurred by the release of
my new Street Maps Glassware product line. I have had widespread press in-
cluding in the Washington Post and will be featured in the print artists catalog
UncommonGoods this Fall and Winter, 2013. The Pi Bottle Opener and Street
Maps Glassware exemplify the many projects I have been working on, all of
which have brought me great excitement and the confidence to become more
deeply involved with design, as I have learned that it is a part of who I am and
what I want to do each day.

4

02 MEDICAL PRODUUCTS

Patient Treatment Systems

Engineering/Project Management

Anholt Technologies/Q-Fix Systems
With Anholt/Q-Fix I was the lead design engineer and
project manager for radiation oncology and patient
positioning medical system products.
Part of my product experience is shown; a family of medical
devices allowing for interchangeable treatment platforms
in use for various types of cancer treatment.

Product Improvements 5

Optimizing construction to improve performance
was critical to minimize “ghosting”, which was the
projection of the product in x-ray images.

Mechanism Design

Latch mechanisms were designed to allow for the use
of modular inserts. This provided a standard base with
attachments which could be quickly changed for different
treatments allowing for flexibility based on patient needs.

6

03 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Industrial Gearbox Redesign

Engineering/Project Management

Globe Composite Solutions
I have been project manager and lead design engineer for medical,
military, and industrial products for Globe. This example illustrates
the design efforts involved in the redesign of an existing aluminum
gearbox housing assembly.

Project Scope

Initial project research stages included site visits to plants
using the existing products and investigating other product
lines of the customer and competitors in the field.
Once I had a strong understanding of the product, I
determined specific performance requirements that were
needed. All of these inputs were used in the initial design of
the new gearbox assembly.

7

Concept Development

I sketched initial concepts to begin exploration the form of
potential new designs.

Material Compatibility

I performed chemical exposure testing based on a typical in-service
environment to determine degredation of material properties.
I also performed initial analysis of thermal compatability to ensure
the materials selected would perform adequately based on the
design requirements.

8

03 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Finite Element Analysis

Finite element analysis was then performed to determine
design viability and compare factor of safety to industry
standards including material degredation extrapolations
over the lifetime of the product.

Thermal Simulation/Analysis

A thermal analysis was performed to compare the existing
design to the new composite design. This was used as a
prediction of performance for lifetime of internal housing
lubricants and helped in explaining fundamental design
differences to the customer.

9

Mold Flow Analysis

Mold flow analysis provided feedback to allow for
design optimization prior to approval of the final
part design. This analysis resulted in modification
of wall thicknesses in different areas of the part.
Final optimization of the part will be performed
during first shots of the first article molded
components.

Deliverables/Next Phases

The final design delivered to the customer included
initial product files of the new housing assembly,
finite element analysis results, and a thermal analysis
comparison of the new composite design compared to
the existing aluminum parts.
In addition, a second phase of the project was outlined
including intial mold design, final production costs
and schedules, and preliminary molding partners in
various world markets based on customer supply chain
requirements.

10

04 MECHAMNIESMCSHANISMS DMeasincrteipntaionnceofInSfyosrmteamtisonEquipment
10. COVER BETWEEN TRAYS
Composite Sortation System
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Product Development and Mechanism Design
Fig. 10-1 Sorter with cover between trays
Globe Composite Solutions 1. Tray
A large Asia-based airport logistics solutions company
contracted Globe to develop a next generation baggage 2. Rear cover 4. Spring
sortation system for their airport baggage handling offerings. 3. Rear support 5. Front cover
The sortation system maximized the use of composite 6. Front support
materials and advanced engineering polymers to reduce © FKI Logistex A/S 2007 1gmTr0eumseTho-nitad2eheavdre)eaein.pnfomlrrpaesfoeeirsnnattonhs.trftpeasficlosanttoerucdcaveeroeyfldcrnrosobtorpnuyconrtanlimlnnctetehogedrevstsaueb.unrsrynTnssukhapoaaepsfcsrcouoffrwrorruetovuenwnewrldltdshca.ceotasTronuahvtncghetethkueereriridesanseuatnurtpradnhppickensioonfusrvortcpoesfprpnrelcaaotawarcrcnertseotds.damvBsreeaeuorond,pnttfehweaprsohtosshtrifpecteaprnhainlnerastdegduussrtpefintacpoxasssoirtt.taesrehtTrn.eoapheulTeadtcnrhcuasdteeorypvdarettifnhnuroooegr(nnFntshrititnegeahbga.rreyer
assembly components and minimize costs. The final deisgn
offered a lightweight, low-noise solution.

24 Jan 2007

Sorter System

Sorter(L:\DOKUMENT\ATS\MC\6904CHT3\_OM_MANUALS\M2\M02_2_05.DOC) components M2.2.5 - 26/109

Research/Benchmarking

Extensive research was done on existing competition sortation
systems. My previous experience with composite sortation system
design for the USPS gave a strong base platform for this research.
Existing systems drive systems, control requirements, and tilting
mechanisms were investigated through documentation research
and physical product inspection when possible.

11

Ideation and Mechanism Design 12

Component design included mechanism design to accomodate for electronic
motor tilting operation and interaction with induction power supply and
system control interaction.
Concepts were developed in this stage to accomodate all requirements.

Design for Manufacture

Following development of concepts the best concept based on cost, performance,
and customer inputs was selected and fine tuned.
Multiple manufacturing/processing techniques were leveraged to optimize
design costs and minimize assembly components. The following processes outline
production methods to be used for full system production.

• RIM molding
• Inection Molding
• Centrifugal Casting
• Open Casting
• Conventional machining
• Diecasting
• Thermoforming

05 CONSUMER PRODUCTS Concrete Exploration

created products with concrete for grooming and
home use

Modern Home Goods

Branding, Engineering, Product Development

theUncommonGreen
I started theUncommonGreen as an exploration into consumer goods using novel
materials and processes. This has been an exploration into areas typcially not
encountered in my other engineering career experiences and has exposed me to
many different aspects of consumer product development.
Shown are a number of products that I developed, marketed, and am currently selling
in numerous locations throughout the country. I have had success in continued sales
and increased volumes as well as press in many media including the Washington
Post, the Huffington Post, and Uncommon Goods.

Pi Opener Custom Furniture 13

laser cut steel and stainless steel base with reclaimed barnwood top
steel, tumble media finishing

Street Maps Glassware

rotary laser etched from hand made vector maps

theSwizzleStik

Development of a manufactured cocktail tool

14



Thank You