About
I’m a manufacturing engineer with hands-on experience in aerospace machining, sheet metal fabrication, and large-scale assemblies. I’ve programmed and supported production on 3-axis and 5-axis mills, fiber laser and punch operations, and brake forming, while also building the process documentation, tooling logic, and workflows that keep production moving.
I like working at the intersection of engineering, programming, and the shop floor—taking complicated drawings, requirements, and tribal knowledge and turning them into clear, step-by-step processes anyone can execute.
Core Capabilities
Areas where I bring the most value in aerospace and defense manufacturing:
Software & Tools: Mastercam · Amada ecosystem (laser / punch / brake) · ERP / routing · Basic Python & SQL for automation support
Selected Experience
- Programmed 3-axis and 5-axis CNC operations for complex aerospace components.
- Developed process plans, workholding strategies, and tooling selections for tight-tolerance titanium and aluminum parts.
- Standardized travelers, work instructions, and setup documentation to reduce ambiguity on the floor.
- Collaborated with quality and inspection to connect design intent, machining strategy, and final verification.
- Led daily operations in a regulated lab environment with strict quality and turnaround requirements.
- Designed and refined workflows to reduce errors and standardize processes across staff.
- Implemented tracking, documentation, and quality checks with an engineering mindset.
Across both manufacturing and operations roles, my focus has been the same: define the standard, remove ambiguity, and build systems that scale.
Featured Work (Representative Demo Projects)
These examples use generic, non-CUI geometry, but they reflect the way I actually approach machining, sheet metal, fixturing, and process engineering in aerospace environments.
Challenge: A complex 5-axis bracket with limited clamping surfaces required a machining strategy that preserved datums while minimizing reclamps.
Role: Lead programmer and process engineer.
Process: Selected primary/secondary datums, designed a 2-stage fixturing approach (dovetail then soft jaws), programmed roughing and finishing with 5-axis toolpaths, and built a probing routine for automatic datum verification.
Result: Stable, repeatable 5-axis workflow with reduced setup time and predictable tolerance control.
Challenge: Large curved surfaces required long finishing cycles; goal was to cut time without sacrificing finish.
Role: CAM strategy engineer and programmer.
Process: Analyzed engagement, reduced air moves, tuned step-over and tilt strategy, shifted to high-efficiency semi-finish, and validated blends in simulation.
Result: Approximately 22–30% cycle time reduction while maintaining dimensional accuracy and cosmetic surface quality.
Challenge: Thin aluminum housing with multiple bends showed variation across operators.
Role: Process engineer for brake forming.
Process: Defined a clear bend sequence, selected appropriate tooling to manage springback, added alignment guides, and created a visual work instruction with angles, order, and orientation.
Result: Improved part-to-part consistency and reduced corrective hand work.
Challenge: Reduce material waste and machine time for medium-volume sheet metal parts while maintaining edge quality.
Role: Programmer and nesting strategist.
Process: Tuned spacing and tab locations, selected punch tooling combinations, mixed laser and punch operations for speed, and organized nests to support efficient forming and unloading.
Result: Material waste reduced by roughly 10–15% and improved throughput.
Challenge: A family of related parts needed a single fixturing solution that minimized changeover and ensured repeatability.
Role: Fixture designer and process engineer.
Process: Designed modular soft jaws with interchangeable detail plates and dowel-pin locations, set clamp points away from critical features, and documented jaw positions, torque specs, and setup steps.
Result: One fixture supported multiple variants with minimal setup changes, improving throughput and reducing operator error.
Challenge: Need for clean, standardized documentation to support repeatability and CMMC Level 2 compliance.
Role: Process documentation lead and contributor.
Process: Created consistent structures for setup sheets, routings, and work instructions; aligned document storage and access with CMMC rules; translated compliance language into usable checklists for the shop.
Result: A unified documentation system that improved clarity, reduced errors, and supported audit requirements.
Demo: Manufacturing Time & Cost Estimator
This demo estimator is something I built to show how I think about manufacturing complexity, setup vs. run time, material effects, tolerance bands, and the real drivers behind cost and schedule.
In production environments, estimating isn't just plugging numbers into Excel—it’s understanding machine behavior, fixturing, risk, operator variability, and how small decisions upstream cascade through the entire build. This tool is intentionally simplified, but it demonstrates my approach to breaking down operations into consistent, predictable elements that can be communicated clearly and repeated on the shop floor.
Time & Cost Estimator (Demo)
Enter a few basic parameters to estimate setup time, run time, and a rough machine cost based on a sample shop rate. This is for demonstration only and not a formal quoting tool.
Estimated Manufacturing Effort
Note: This estimator is intentionally simplified and not intended for formal quoting. Real estimates also account for fixturing, inspection plans, risk, tooling life, shop loading, and part-specific requirements. The goal here is to showcase how I think about process drivers and build scalable logic for decision-making.
How I Work
- Clarity first. If the floor is guessing, the process is already broken.
- Design for execution. Programming and process plans are built around real setups, fixtures, tools, and inspection needs.
- Feedback loops. I actively pull in feedback from machinists, brake operators, welders, and inspectors.
- Standards over heroics. I prefer a boring, reliable process over a hero setup only one person can run.
- Continuous improvement. Each run is a chance to make the next one easier and more reliable.
Let’s Talk
If you’re building complex hardware and need manufacturing and process engineering that the shop floor can trust, I’d be happy to connect.
📧 Email: stevenjmcclain@hotmail.com
📍 Southern California