Week 3 Complete – ConMet Startup (Monroe, NC)
Three weeks into startup at ConMet in Monroe, and I’m writing this from the airport after one of the toughest weeks of power-up and testing I’ve been through. Delays, bad components, and coordination across multiple crews slowed us down—but we painted our first part. Now it’s about tightening everything up and finishing strong.
A Few Thousand Miles, One Working System, and a Reset Button
The last several weeks have been a reminder of what this job actually looks like in real life—less theory, more airports, and a lot of time standing next to machines waiting for them to either cooperate or expose the next problem. It started with a full week in Tucson, deep into commissioning work. This was […]
Another Trip to Tucson, Another Round of Motor Issues—Because Of Course
A behind-the-scenes look at our explosion-proof spray gun positioners project—supply chain delays, unexpected motor failures, and the realities of delivering complex industrial automation systems in the field.
Building Precision Far From Home
Startup week in Arizona. Chain-on-edge conveyor, infrared preheat, TAK cure ovens, automated fluid handling — the works. This project has been on the books for months, and seeing it come to life is one of those moments where all the engineering, planning, and late nights finally click into place. Startup setup in Arizona: laptop, tools, […]
Arizona Startup: Miswires, Leaks, and Missing Magnets
It’s Always Something Arizona’s hot. I expected that. What I didn’t expect was spending the first day of startup elbows-deep in an infrared oven because the electricians miswired it. Not a loose connection — we’re talking full-blown miswire that required tearing apart the panel and tracing every damn wire until we found the issue. Once […]
Field Testing From Coast to Desert
North Carolina to Arizona, and everything that broke (and didn’t) There’s a moment in every project where the drawings are done, the checklists are green, and you think the system is ready. Then you show up for field testing, and reality pulls a steel-toed boot back and kicks you square in the PLC rack. That’s […]
Real-World Testing > Perfect Drawings
Commissioning a coating system in North Carolina turned into a crash course in real-world problem-solving — from overly viscous paint to a full robot controller lockup. CAD drawings don’t prepare you for jammed thermocouples and overflow bugs.
Dry Runs and Delays
Startup Testing a Robotic Spray System in North Carolina In mid-2025, we were on site in North Carolina to begin dry run testing on a robotic coating system built for painting motor rotors. No parts were sprayed on this trip—this was all about powering up the system, verifying integration, and shaking out the bugs. And […]