Harprit Singh Sandhu, BSME, MSCerE (Materials), PhD (abd) Identification Name Harprit Singh Sandhu Residence Champaign Illinois USA Citizenship USA Contact information 705 West Kirby Avenue Champaign IL 61820-6833 Telephone 217-359-6751 E-mail address harprit.sandhu@gmail.com Home page harpritsan.com encodergeek.com Education 1953-1957 High School The Doon School*, India 1958-1963 University of Illinois B. S. Mechanical Engineering 1972 University of Illinois M.S. Ceramic Engineering Material Science did all my work for a PhD but then did not write a dissertation. (A very very serious mistake). Hobbies Woodworking, I am an expert cabinet/furniture maker Metal working, I am a journeyman machinist Our two Yorkshire Terriers are a serious interest. I play a fair harmonica backwards. High notes on the left! Gardening, Literature, Music, Technology application, Analysis based prediction of events in the near future. Work Experience 1958 to 1963, 1972 College and graduate school teaching assignment work. Taught graduate and post graduate level courses in Electron optics and electron microscopy, both transmission and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) Worked at tiny Frasca Aviation and helped design and build their first flight simulators. Frasca has gone on to become a world leader in flight simulator technology and manufacture. I think I helped, there were only two employees at the time + Rudy Frasca. 1960 to 1965 College and after graduation. Worked at Brown Davis et al as a draftsman and then as an engineer. Designed mechanical systems for all their large projects while I was there. 1966-1967 India. Volunteer work similar to Peace Corps Worked with U.S. Peace Corps volunteers and German volunteer service volunteers. Built low cost housing for farm workers. Improved Agricultural machinery and helped machine shops. 1967 to 1980 President Sandhu and Associates, Consulting Engineers My own firm |
Harprit Singh Sandhu's Bragging Rights page! Resume!? |
Started Rhino from scratch and ran it till it was sold Rhino has designed
manufactured and sold approximately 7000 robots worldwide. Rhino also designed
manufactured and sold Computer Numerically controlled machines. It
sold close to 1000 CNCmachines world wide. Total sales about $25,000,000.00.
Essentially these activities had to do with the application of computers
to running motors. The motors then do useful work as a part of the machine
that they serve. Rhino pioneered almost all the work we now see on
table top robots and CNC machines. Esched (Israel) used to be our representative. Mis-appropriated our intellectual property by asking for it so they could repair our robots. Then became our major competitor all over the world using our intellectual property. Now they boast that this was all work done by them. Shame on them. |
* The Doon School has been described as the best high school in the world by Kurt
Hahn the founder of Gordonstoun, the spartan boarding school in Scotland
that was attended by both Prince Philip and Prince Charles. |
1996-1998 |
Wrote two books that are still in print. One on how to make high speed "Spindles"
for the home machinist and the other "An introduction to Robotics".
Both published by the people who publish the Model Engineer in the UK.
Here are a couple of reviews of the robotics book from Amazon.com.uk |
A truly great book for beginners, January 24, 2000 Reviewer: (kiw005@unl.ac.uk) from London I bought this book knowing nothing about the workings or theory behind robotics. This book starts you off with a gentle history of the technology that makes robots possible and goes through all the theory of what a robot should be with regard to your needs. Once you are confident in the workings and software side of things part two of the book shows you how to build the robot pictured on the cover, giving all working dimensions of the robot, all the programmes needed to control it, plus even a list of suppliers where you can buy the components. All in all, a very interesting and easily understandable book which will be of benefit to anyone with a passing interest in robotics. |
1999 to present |
Decided I was not quite ready to sit at home so I got the first job of my life working
for some one else. I am currently working as an engineer in the Research
and Development department of Vesuvius USA. The Vesuvius Flo-Con division
that I work for makes ceramic valves that shut of molten steel. We
sell these valves to steel companies all over the world. About 80% of the
steel poured in the US goes though our valves. And I still design special machinery af all kinds for my friend Don Patterson and others as my side line. I am busy. |
Skills |
General |
Excellent grasp of the application and use of all aspects of electronic and mechanical
technology to do useful work. I understand where the the technology
has come from and where it is going. I understand how to apply it. Specified and them managed the implementatkon of RoboTalk the best known robot control language in the world for students. It includes a powerful vision system that is fully integrated with the operation of the robots. The first one of its kind in the world. Oversaw the development and inplementation of a Fanuc like language (i.e. an emulation) for the CNC milling machines and lathes that Rhino manufactured Personally comfortable enough with software to write a word processor. This ability allows me to supervise and communicate with software engineers and to evaluate their work with confidence and competance. I have done extensive computer programming (before extensive software became available) but I do not consider myself to be a trained software engineer and do not consider myself qualified to do cutting edge work any more. I have writrten and illustrated literally thousands of pages of specifications, manuals and courseware for robotics, CNC mills and CNC lathes. Started, built up and ran a successful consulting business for 15 years. I closed it down because I could not find anyone competant enough to run it and I was no longer challenged by it. I then started Rhino Robots Inc. Rhino made machines that were run by computers. Robots, CNC mills and CNC lathes. Created, recruited, managed and ran the team that designed robots, acccessories, kernal command languages, higher level robotic languages, software, firmware, CNC lathes, CNC milling machines, completely automated FMS work cells, PLC integration, extensive pneumatic controls and other related items. Almost every innovation in table top robotics and CNC machines was pioneered by Rhino Robots Inc. The work done at Rhino has been copied by every major player in the field including Heath with their Hero and Esched (Israel) who used to be my representative before they appropriated our intellectual property under false pretenses. Trained mechanical engineers to design and build robots and automatic machines Trained software engineers to run motors with computers and to make them an integral part of robots and machine tools. Set up complete manufacturing facility for Rhino Robots Inc. including selecting and buying the machines, setting up, programming and record keeping proceedures. Trained personnel to run the CNC machines. All this before any one had CNC machines or software to write the programs. Rhino had a complete CNC machine shop including CNC sheel metal fabricating equipment to make the cabinets for its machines. We were pioneers in every way. Marketed Rhino products in the USA and in over 35 foreign countries through a set of representatives. Travelled extensively in the USA and Canada to visit reps and customers, to review operations and to promote sales. Designed sales literature. Managed advertising campaigns. Skilled machinist. I can run and program almost all the CNC machines in a modern machine shop. Comfortable with CNC machines and manualy operated machines. Familiar with the RS-274D landguage requirements for CNC machines. I am a fair welder. Skilled cabinet and furniture designer and maker. Construction carpenter for frame construction and for building forms for concrete work. (Shuttering) I can fly an airplane though my license if not current. I built a fully aerobatic single place airplane from scratch right after graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. (Those were the days, I had time then but even then there was none to waste). I speak fluent native level English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. I have had French in high school and German and Russian in college. (It was required for a PhD in the good old days). |
Marketing |
Machine shop |
Wood working |
Flying |
Languages |
04 Sep 04 |
Excellent beginner's book, April 5, 2003 Reviewer: drummondbass from Bournemouth, United Kingdom This book covers many aspects of robotics, with some good practical examples that anyone could try out. It culminates in a simple walking bi-ped robot that you can build from parts out of any model shops. You can control it from your own PC or make it autonomous with its own on-board controller. The book is written in an easy style without being full of jargon. Best of all, it's very inexpensive. After reading this, I was inspired to set about building something for TV's TechnoGames. |
|
|
|
Duties |
President Rhino Robots Inc. 308 Sout State Street Champaign IL 61820 USA |
1979 - 1995 |
Duties |
Started my own consulting firm and ran it. Designed mechanical and electrical systems for well over $1,500,000,000 worth of construction. Supervised construction. Did process design and engineering (Chem Engineering) Designed a plant for Humko that makes 4000 lbs of coffee creamer every hour. Designed a corn oil dewaxing plant to remove wax from salad oil. This process was originally called "winterizing" the oil. Wrote software for all sorts of applications. This was in the days before good software became available. Designed and built special machinery. Examples Collar bagging machine for Collegiate Cap and Gown. Builds bag around a collar. Very complicated pneumatic (before the days of the cheap programmable logic controller) Built machine that builds ultra light weight conduit for commercial aircraft like the Boeing 700 series jets. The counduit is made from 0.004 inch thick by 0.500 inch wide stock that is first corrugated and then wound on a mandrel and soldered. Any size from 0.375 in. dia. to 2.0 inches in dia. can be made. Trained scores of engineers to be good engineers |
I wondered what kind of book could provide such inspiration in such short order.
HSS |