Les has 57 years of experience in Hydraulics and Transmissions Design. He was head of the advanced 4-Wheel Drive Cab Group for a large agricultural manufacturer. Les has designed large harvester equipment, ground support equipment and military equipment.

Background

Les worked as a design engineer for John Deere for many years. He specialized in drivetrain and hydraulic design for various combines. Later, he worked at Beech Aircraft Corp as a project engineer to satisfy transportation needs on military equipment. When he returned to John Deere, Les was the leader of the advanced 4-Wheel Drive Cab group, responsible for the complete cab including structure, air conditioning, controls, instruments, seat, etc.

Over his career, Les has worked on a number of projects and technical investigations. The following list illustrates the wide variety of projects that he has worked on:

Designer for large harvester equipment manufacturer

• Design engineer on self-propelled combines and windrowers
• Detail and assembly drawings
• Design and stress analysis of gears, castings, forgings, belt and chain drives as well as    other combine components
• Designed engine governor, drive and leveling mechanism for self-propelled self-leveling    hillside combine, transmission gears and tractor for self-propelled windrower
• Field trips to evaluate performance of experimental machines

Senior Design Engineer, ground support equipment

• Attach and release system, B-70 alert pod- Lead Engineer
   - Established design goals, planned schedules, directed engineers in the design of the      system
   - Wrote procurement specifications for cable hoists and attachment components
   - Monthly progress reports and budget control reports

• Hydraulic propulsion system, model 322 generator- Lead engineer
   - Directed design of a hydraulic propulsion means for a 3000 pound, 4-wheel unit
   - System included a pump, valves, motors, gearbox and chain drive

• Oil cooled generator gearbox- Lead Engineer
   - Design of engine driven gearbox for driving four oil cooled generators at 12,000 RPM
   - Design of oil cooling system

• Design study for the Minute-man ICBM transporter
   - Prepared suspension and running gear section of a design study for USAF ballistic      missile division and Space Technology Laboratories
   - Established design parameters for the Minute-man ICBM transporter

• Aircraft Hydraulics System Analysis
   - F-106 hydraulics system analysis, writing component specifications and test procedures
   - Traveling to prime and subcontractor facilities, military agencies and supplier facilities
   - Proposals to the military for ground support units for missiles and aircraft

Senior Engineer for an agricultural equipment manufacturer

• Supervise detailing of parts and release specifications for tractor build programs
• Approve and release experimental designs for production and coordinate with product    engineering groups
• Follow development tests to assure requirements of function and durability are satisfied

• Transmissions Design
   - Originate and layout farm and industrial tractor transmissions
   - Make detail analysis of gears, splines, deflections, bearing life and hydraulic systems

• Advanced Tractor Cab- Group Leader
   - Oversee structure, air conditioning, controls, instruments seat, etc.
   - Design of controls for the transmission, clutch, PTO, hitch, remote valves and console

• Agricultural Material Transporter (AMT)
   - Design of truck based on using major tractor components
   - Design included a ladder type frame, leaf spring suspension, power steering, 4-wheel      drive with drawbar and highway capability

• Transmission and Drivetrain Design
   - Mechanical transmission
   - Power shift transmissions
   - Design of spur gears, planetary gear sets and shafts
   - Design of wet clutch packs
   - Design of dry clutches
   - Flywheels, shifters and control valves for agricultural and industrial tractors

• Hydraulic Components Design
   - Design of hydrostatic wheel motors and controls for agricultural machines
   - Design hydraulic control valves and cylinders

• Project Manager
   - Design analysis, discounted cash flows, planning, evaluation and field testing of new       products

• Wide Area Mower
   - Design of engine and deck drive oil cooling system, hydraulic circuit, control valves, deck      lift linkage and cylinders

• Des Moines Works Planter Project
   - Design of lift wheel system and transport hitch to allow highway transport of 12 row      planter in Europe

• Tractor Hitch Rockshaft Test Stand
   - Design of test stand and redesign of control valve for tractor hitch rock shaft

• Baler Clutch
   - Design of torque limiter tester for large rectangular baler

• Polymer Injector- Design
   - Valve to feed polymer flow to drums
   - Drum arm linkage and air springs
   - Frame stress calculations
   - Lift linkage and cylinders
   - Pump drive
   - Foam marker system
   - Test stand for drum and valves

• Space Cargo Transport System
   - Analysis of steering geometry and steering errors to calculate side loading on wheel      motors
   - Layout of turning path
   - Redesign of steering cylinders and ball joints

Additional Information