David Gilbert has over 29 years of experience in mechanical product design, specializing in CAD design using ProEngineer, Creo, and other software. He has experience designing electronic enclosures, garden machinery, and other products. Most recently, he worked at Cambium Networks designing and building test equipment using skills developed during his mechanical engineering apprenticeship.

1. David Gilbert
149 Old Ferry Road, SALTASH, Cornwall PL12 6BN UK
Phone 01752 294369 E-mail acaciaway@hotmail.co.uk
D.O.B. 10/3/61
SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE
29 years in mechanical product design
26 years ProEngineer - Wildfire – Creo
24 years designing electronic enclosures
5 years Designing garden machinery
14 years in a shipyard including mechanical apprenticeship, machine tools, diesel,
castings and design
Mechanical design lead for a set of award winning electronic drives featured in
Eureka Magazine.
Instrumental in building a mechanical design team

2. My engineering experience can be best split into 2 parts.
PART 2
The most recent, and therefore most relevant, part of my career spanning the last
30 years, has been related to product design using CAD where I have generally
been design lead.
Products have included garden machinery, various electronic enclosures such as
telephones, fibre optic enclosures, electronic drives (rectifiers and inverters),
modems and IT server racks and also bespoke test equipment.
This work has involved all stages of the design process from design brief, industrial
design, concept creation and reviews, EMC design, thermal and structural model
evaluation, prototypes, testing, photo realistic rendering & motion simulation.
Manufacturing techniques include Thermo and thermoset plastic mouldings, large
SMC and DMC moulding, vacuum moulding, high pressure aluminium castings
(with and without deep cooling fins), extrusions, sheet metal, PCB import/export
and placement, LED and LCD, elastomers, copper busbars, electronic choke
design.
During this period, and especially most recently, I have been required to design
and manufacture complex bespoke product testing equipment for many of the
products I have also designed.
PART 1
The first part of my career was in a shipyard where, after completing a Mechanical
Engineering Apprenticeship followed by rapid promotion, I became responsible for
large Diesel repairs, sand castings and wood patterns design in their foundry, sea
and harbour trials on surface ships and submarines. I also worked closely with their
main manufacturing area where I gained more experience with lathes (including
ship propeller shaft resurfacing lathes, grinders, borers, shaping machines etc.

3. DETAIL OF EXPERIENCE IN EACH COMPANY
Companies worked for:-
2018 – 2019
Cambium Networks who design and manufacture Telecommunications equipment.
I was specifically required to design and manufacture bespoke test equipment. I
particularly enjoyed this opportunity to design, and then actually build, these complex
pieces of test equipment where I was able to apply many of the practical skills that I
became familiar with during my apprenticeship.
2016 – 2018
Rittal CSM based in Plymouth. Rittal is the world's leading systems provider for
enclosures.
Working as part of a large team of Engineers and Designers in a very time conscious
environment to design new and maintain existing IT server rack designs and network
enclosures for well-known major OEM clients such as Microsoft, Facebook, HP, Cisco &
Amazon to name just a few.
The majority of this time has been spent on sheet metal design. Over the years I have had
a large involvement in sheet metal. However, Rittal is devoted to this manufacturing
process and therefore I have become much more familiar with the finer points. Because
Rittal is a manufacturer I have developed a better appreciation of the pro’s and con’s of
each specific process. IE the benefits/limitations of bending as opposed to welding or
screws and inserts. It has been really helpful to gain a manufacturers requirements when
designing components as opposed to simply designing a part and passing it to a
manufacturer. The majority of doors on these enclosures are required to allow air cooling
of the internals. Therefore I have had to develop a much better understanding of the
requirements and limitations involved in perforating sheet metal. In relation to doors I have
also designed a new EMI reducing door which has a lot of more complex requirements.
Rittal has an extensive paint plant and the vast majority of parts are painted. Consequently
I have developed a much better understanding of this process as applied to drawings.
Due to my extensive experience with plastic mouldings I was given any moulded parts on
the few occasions they have been required at Rittal.
Rittal also has very specific ECN and MRP system which is linked to their worldwide
manufacturing network.
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1999 – 2008 & 2010 – 2016 (Note I had 2 periods with Control Techniques)
Control Techniques, a UK based electronic drives manufacturer.
When I first arrived at CT they were attempting to change the way that they produced new
product designs. Previous designs were produced off site by established design houses.
This caused problems regarding the interface with the rest of CT’s R&D team. Also it
prevented them from evolving their product design spec’s. based upon findings during
product development.

4. This encouraged CT to set up their own mechanical design team with all the
interdisciplinaryinterfaces, thermal analysis, Stress analysis, PCB imports, understanding
of EMC, UL and IP requirements and most importantly interfaces with the existing power
and control disciplines. CT also needed to source all new tool makers for all plastics
injection moldings’, SMC/DMC moldings’, Vacuum and pressure moldings’ and high
pressure aluminium castings and aluminium extrusions. At the same time they needed to
set up systems to manage all their own new data & tooling.

5. Within a year I became CT’s Senior mechanical resource involved in new product design
with added responsibilities of setting up the new mechanical design department involving:-
- interviewing and training new mechanical staff
- creating a whole suite of company procedures to help new staff and standardize
the process for an increasing design team
- Setting up and running the virtual design reviews to an audience of up to 50
principal customers, marketing staff and other engineers. Some of these reviews
were in person while others were on live links with several off site teams.
- Prior to adopting a proper data management system I set up my own design data
management system, based upon folders with read/write privileges, to allow the
larger team and control the revision level etc. of all CAD data. This was a little time
consuming but did protect files until we introduced Intralink.
- Set up a PCB import export system from scratch based solely upon my own
experience.
- Source and liaise withtoolmakers, molders and prototype resources (plastic, sheet
steel and aluminium castings) including extensive site visits both in the UK and
abroad.
At the end of this process we had completed all the above tasks and had also completed
the design of the new range of 6 award winning drives. Report published in the Eureka
magazine “Driving to the future” & “Better process, better product” copy attached.
At this stage, with the larger mechanical team now in place, I was able to spend a larger
proportion of my time working from my home office.
I successfully completed several further projects in this capacity which included a smaller
drive, a set of high IP drives, HVAC drives and most importantly a modular cubicle deign
which allowed CT to supply complete drive solutions for the first time. This included any
number of our primary drives installed to any particular customer requirement. This was of
huge importance because it represented a whole new business sector.
I have also set up CAD systems and completed records/checks for all creepage and
clearance checks for UL approval, images for installationguides, build manuals describing
how the factory should build the products etc, etc.
My 2nd spell with CT was to develop another series of electronic drives that replaced the
first award winning series mentioned above.
CT expanded over these years and became part of the Emerson group. Part of this
expansionopened up more of Emersons design resources to CT. During this spell I found
myself centrally involved in coordinating aninternational team based in Mid Wales but with
large resource centers in India, China and America.

6. 2008 – 2010 Motorola.
Motorola Solutions, Inc. is an American data communications and telecommunications
equipment provider
Responsible for the mechanical design of a new transmitter. This involved all the same
type of work as I had been doing with CT. Being the only mechanical design resource in
this particular branchof Motorola at the time I was therefore responsible for all mechanical
activities including liaison with many of Motorola’s international departments & suppliers.
During this period Motorola asked me to complete the mechanical designs of 2 modems
with one of their partners a Company called Moortec. This involved sheet metal and PCB
import/export etc.
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1999 – 2008
Control Techniques. This was my first period with Control Techniques.
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1996 – 1999 Nortel, an international telecoms supplier.
Part of a 3 man team to develop a new range of business telephones.
I designed many of the maincosmetic moldings, PCB’s, flexible circuit boards, elastomeric
buttons, springs, LCD’s and LED’s.
During this time I considered myself the more junior of the 3 man team but eventually
became Nortels main mechanical resource at this site liaising with tool makers, molders,
prototype manufacturers, Industrial Designers etc.
Ultimately I was the only Mechanical Engineer to be kept on to finish and maintain the
project.
I then took a year out to travel around the world with my future wife before Nortel
contacted me in Minneapolis and asked if I would like to return rejoin Nortel which I did.
This period saw more of the same type of work based around the development of a new
patch panel and general product maintenance.
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1999 – 1999 Through a contact at Nortel I became involved with a small mechanical
design consultancy called Talopa and produced the design of a new fibre optic patch
panel for Krone.
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7. 1991 - 1996 Ransomes Consumer Ltd Plymouth
Senior Design Engineer
 Designing lawn mowers, garden tractors and other garden products. Responsible for
project management, styling, design, production of prototype working models,
development, costing, productiondrawings and overseeing introduction into production.
Design for all aspects of the product both mechanical and electrical including sheet
metal, rubber and plastic injection mouldings and aluminium castings.
 CAD manager for three work stations running Pro. Engineer and two work stations
running Unigraphics.
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1982 - 1991 H.M. Dockyard Devonport
Senior Engineering Designer
 Responsible for several Engineering Designers and many commercial and Ministry
projects. Involved preparation of mechanical design proposals, conceptual designs,
estimating material costs & technical department expenditure.
 Main commercial projects:-
 Author of the "Repair Manual" used for the refit of the BritishRail high-speed trainpower
units at Devonport. It was British Rail requirement that any prospective client should
produce their own repair manual so that BR could evaluate a client partly based on this
manual before awarding any contracts.
 Design and set to work of several tools used for the refit of CEGB heat exchangers at
Devonport.
 Various preliminarydesigns required for tender purposes such as a river barrage, an off
road vehicle for the military and a wind tunnel heat exchanger etc.
 Various contracts for the production of non-ferrous castings for non-ministry projects.
 MOD responsibilities:-
 Foundry method’s technician supplying the foundry with casting methods for nickel
aluminium bronze, gunmetal and copper nickel chromium castings. This task involved
calculations for running and gating design; producing moulding, pattern, machining, and
radiographic drawings also making decisions on concession applications and liaison
with Foundry, Pattern-makers, Main factory, Radiography, Welding and the appropriate
Design Authority at Bath.
 Assistance in the conduct of harbour & sea acceptance trials on main & auxiliary
machinery, including setting up steam boiler water level pneumatic control systems.
Also analysis of readings & production of defect reports. Assisting the Machinery Trials
Unit with harbour & sea acceptance trials on new construction and refitted ships at
Devonport and contractors shipyard.
 Production of Devonport Engineering Procedures including the Paxman Ventura diesel
engine refit procedure. A requirement at that time for BS 5750 and AQAP
 Maintaining Ministry "Standard" drawings.
 Maintaining Ministry "DIRS" Dimensional Inspection Record Sheets.
 Working with DefStans (Defence Standards) and many other standards specific to
military/naval systems.

8.  System manager and section trainer for four PC’s running AutoCAD, word processors,
data-base, spreadsheets, etc.
1981 - 1982 H.M.Dockyard Devonport
 Machine operator
 Diesel fitter
 Quality Control Dimensional Inspector. Inspecting size, surface finish, general condition,
crack detection by various methods, crankshaft deflections, crankcase alignment &
various other N.D.E. procedures.
1977 - 1981 H.M. Dockyard Devonport
Apprentice Fitter and Turner.
 Included training on a full range of machine tools such as Lathes, Grinders, Borers,
Millers, Planers, NC tools, welding, metrology, hand fitting, drawing office training to BS
308, refitting marine diesel engines, steam and gas turbines, hydraulics etc.

9.  Education
Open University B.Sc. Consisting of:-
 T101 Living with technology: a foundation course Level 1 Grade Pass
 MS284 An introduction to calculus Level 2 Grade 2 Pass
 T204 Design: principles and practice Level 2 Grade 2 Pass
 T302 Innovation: design, environment and strategy Level 3 Distinction
 S250 Science in context.
Diploma in Design and Innovation
City and Guilds Part 3, T6 (Similar to HNC/D)
 Control Systems Technology Grades 1 pass (Highest grade available for this
section) 1 credit and 1 Distinction.
City and Guilds Part 2, T4 (Similar to ONC/D)
 Mechanical Engineering. 3 Distinctions
City and Guilds Part 1
 Mechanical Engineering. 1 credit and 2 Distinctions
Craft Apprenticeship.
 Fully indentured Fitter and Turner Apprentice.
Royal Yachting Association.
 Day Skipper, Yacht Master and Ocean Master including Astro. Navigation.
 Level 1 football coach including first aid.
 Computer systems
Pro. Engineer (20 years intensive use up to Creo 4) Surfacing, Solids, Assembly,
Drawing, ECAD, Sheet Metal, etc.
PC. Microsoft Project, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Internet, Outlook, Lotus, Acrobat,
Distiller, Paint shop Pro etc.
Intralink
Windchill
Teamcenter
Previous CAD systems Unigraphics, Autocad and DOGS.

10. Hobbies
 . Music, Sailing, Running, Football, Squash, Reading, DIY, Travel
Licence
 Full & clean car and motorcycle driving licence.
 VHF radio operator.
Marital status
 . Married with 3 children