We would like to welcome John Watton to Hill Engineering. John comes with more than 30 years of experience, most recently from Arconic where he worked at the Arconic Technical Center. John obtained an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering jointly with Acadia University and the Technical University of Nova Scotia, and earned graduate degrees in mechanical engineering at Stanford University (masters, applied mechanics) and Carnegie Mellon University (Ph.D., design and expert systems).
John was employed at the Alcoa/Arconic Technical Center from 1989 to 2019. Initially, he was employed with the Applied Mathematics and Computer Technology (AMCT) Division to work on the award winning PROSAIC project (Process Signal Interpreters Assistant). When AMCT disbanded, he became part of the Product Design and Development Division before transferring to the Product Manufacturing Division.
In the mid-1990’s, John focused on creating a three-dimensional forging blocker computer based design system. Over time, this grew to encompass almost all aspects of design for the forging process: finished parts from machined parts, cold work die sets, and pre-forms. John’s efforts significantly accelerated the product development cycle, while at the same time improving performance with fewer defects and rework.
In 2014, John transferred to the Aerospace and Defense Division. John was active in finite-element analysis of the forging process in order to validate the computer generated designs. To meet the challenge of bulk residual stress from the heat treatment process, John constructed an environment to perform full 3D analysis of quench-induced residual stress, cold work stress relief, and machining distortion of very large parts. This capability made it possible to optimize the stress relief cold working process to reduce residual stress and increase machining performance.
John brings a wealth of valuable experiences to Hill Engineering that will be significant as we continue grow as an organization. John’s extensive experience in material processing, simulation, and manufacturing will be instrumental as Hill Engineering develops new programs related to fatigue analysis, material testing, machining distortion, and residual stress analysis.
Please contact us today for more information about Hill Engineering and the services that we offer.