Dan King’s Take on Working at Fabrisonic, UAM, and the Future of Additive Manufacturing

We’re thrilled to feature Dan King, Production Engineer at Fabrisonic, on our blog. Dan started working at Fabrisonic as an intern and in May 2020, joined our staff full time upon graduation. Below, hear from Dan, about his engineering background, what he loves about working at Fabrisonic, and his predictions for the additive manufacturing industry in the next 5 years. 

Dan’s Path to Fabrisonic

Dan, a Pittsburgh native, studied Mechanical Engineering at The Ohio State University. During his junior year, he worked as a Student Supervisor at Ohio State’s Student Machine Shop. In this position, Dan received quality machining experience while helping students with various metalworking projects. 

After finishing his role at Ohio State’s Machine shop, Dan worked as an intern at Monks Engineering in Columbus. In this role, he learned about electrical and HVAC system design. One of his biggest accomplishments of the internship was designing the fire alarm systems for 9 different buildings at Ohio State!

In August 2019 during his senior year of college, Dan joined Fabrisonic as an intern and was hired full time in May of 2020.

Why Dan Loves Working at Fabrisonic

Dan was initially drawn to working at Fabrisonic because, in his previous internships, he had developed a love for machining and was craving more experience with CNC machining. After working as an intern at Fabrisonic, Dan just knew a full-time position would give him exposure to patented technology and the ability to make unique parts that solve customers ‘impossible challenges. 

When asked why Dan enjoys working at Fabrisonic he said the following: 

“I love working at a small company with a start-up atmosphere. Everybody is given a good deal of responsibility, and I’m able to gain experiences that I wouldn’t be able to get at larger companies until years down the road.” 

A Day in the Life at Fabrisonic

At Fabrisonic, no two days are the same for Dan. Some days, he is operating machinery and laying down welds, while other days he could be helping coworkers with machine maintenance. When he is not running the machines, you can find Dan at his desk drafting up CAD models or running simulations. 

“One of the rewarding parts of the job is that when I work on a project, I usually get to work with the customer, design the solution, and then see the project through to its completion using our equipment.”

Dan has worked on many unique projects throughout his time at Fabrisonic. Recently, Dan has been working on a project that involves embedded fiber optic sensors into pipe walls. 

“To accomplish this, we mill down a pipe to a flat surface, embed the sensors, and print metal over these sensors using Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing. When complete, these pipes will be able to measure temperature, pressure, heat flux, and strain along the inside diameter.”                                                                                                               

Dan’s Additive Manufacturing Industry Trend Predictions in the Next 5 Years 

Dan predicts that in the next few years, the additive manufacturing industry will become more accessible to commercial companies. Currently, the majority of additive manufacturing is still in the research phase, with much of the work being for government clients or research facilities. 

“As the industry matures, the confidence in additive manufacturing quality will increase, and companies will begin to realize that the additive industry is a legitimate solution to their manufacturing problems.”
We are proud to have Dan on our team. We are confident that he will have a long and fulfilling career in the additive manufacturing industry! To learn more about Fabrisonic, visit our website at www.fabrisonic.com to learn more about Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing!