Though TBM's roots lie in automotive design and development, over the years our experience has widened substantially. The following list gives a sense of the products and clients with whom we've been involved. It should, however, be recognized that clients often request anonymity or confidentiality which preclude details or discussion of TBM's work with them.
Automotive Design
TBM first formed in 1959 as a small group designing an SCCA "H-modified" sports racing car. The TBM Mark I was completed in 1962, and featured a 750-cc overhead-cam engine, fully independent suspension, and front clutch/rear transmission powertrain design to ensure good weight balance and high-speed stability.
Design on the TBM Mark II was begun in 1961, and featured a mid-engine layout with transverse 1500-cc six-cylinder two-stroke engine. This two-seat coupe was contemporary with the Porsche 911 series and was similar in size and shape.
The TBM Mark III was conceived as a two-seat roadster, using again the same 750-cc engine as in the Mark I or alternative powerplants up to two liters displacement, in a conventional front engine, rear drive chassis wrapped in a clean, simple body envelope.
The TBM Mark IV was a design study of a front engine, front drive five-passenger sedan. At the time, this layout was only commercialized in a very few European sedans, though today it's by far the world standard for design.
Automotive Accessories
TBM's principal has accumulated career experience in the design of automotive signal flashers -- a highly technical snap-action device using ultra high strength materials, critically stressed welds, high speed precision assembly techniques, functional calibration and extensive testing to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and OEM design criteria. Multi-layer Pd-Ag-Ni contacts are used for extended life in this high-inrush current, switched tungsten load application.
The mechanism used in this type of flasher is a physical example of applied "chaos" theory, and demands highly mathematical analysis. Assembly equipment included on-line measurement of material thickness and curvature on a microinch scale, of individual spring force/deflection curves at the rate of one per second at one-gram resolution levels, and some of the earliest microprocessor-controlled assembly systems.
Other experience in this area includes security-interlock solenoid design, passing-car sensors to alert a driver to overtaking cars in his or her "blind spot," cornering lamp relays, halogen headlamp development, self-regulating engine block heaters, electric choke assemblies and early fuel evaporators (EFE).
Circuit Breakers and Thermal Protectors
TBM's principal has provided consultation services on production problems and product design of bimetallic d-c circuit breakers used in automotive wiring harnesses and of bimetallic snap-action thermal protectors used in fluorescent lighting, appliance motors and hermetically-sealed refrigerator compressors.
This work involved mathematical analysis of snap-action devices (see also flashers, above) in collaboration with staff at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, cyclic stresses on small precision spot welds, the effect of resistance welds on bimetallic materials, the effect of material microhardness on bimetal behavior, custom equipment design, development and characterization, and glass/metal interface phenomena.
Telecomm Products
Over a span of some ten years, TBM's principal provided engineering, management and customer technical support for an exponentially growing line of new products for use in the U.S. and foreign telecommunications markets. Commencing with the development of a 1/2-inch screw-in surge arrester capsule for the U.S. market, entailing collaboration with an established French manufacturer, and the protector block with which it's used, this simple two-product line-up was built into a $40M annual business with over 1,200 products and derivatives.
While the arrester was a rather industry-typical product, the protector block incorporated a special grounding feature which prevented service technicians' removal of arresters. Telco customers had long wished for such a safety solution. However in studying the nature of electrical surges, it became clear that solid state electronics had reached the state where they could be used in lieu of spark gap technology, and Mr. Mickelson was privileged to lead a team of engineers, in collaboration with GTE managers, in developing the first commercial solid-state protection for both central office and subscriber locations.
The development of these products has played a tremendous role in reducing surge damage to sensitive CO equipment and the new genre of sensitive subscriber equipment -- MODEMs, FAX machines, and voicemail, ISDN and DSL cards.
Following the 1984 deregulation of the nationwide telephone network, there arose a need for a "demarcation" or "interface" device where telco and subscriber responsibilities cross. This new product, originally envisoned as an indoor-only device, quickly found its way outdoors so the installer could access it without homeowner involvement. The tiny (RJ-11C) modular plug and jack comprising the interface, however, was never intended for outdoor use. Mr. Mickelson developed the first weather-tight version of this jack which found wide application throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and saved untold service outages caused by so-called "exploding jacks." Around this "Network Interface" device grew a large family of products.
Another major development was the invention of a modular distributing frame for terminating the many thousands of subscriber lines entering the central office. While large cities may have several "exchanges" of 10,000 lines each, small towns and even subdivisions often have less than 1,000 lines. For this wide range of applications, TBM's principal drew up and developed a modular system which can be software configured to meet any size need. He led a small team of dedicated engineers in establishing support and documentation methods for the frame as well as its terminal block assignments. This invention won GTE's 1987 Leslie H. Warner award -- $30,000 -- for the estimated systemwide savings of $30M annually.
Other products in this arena included RF cable protectors for cellular and CATV installations, a-c powerline surge suppressors for computer and PBX applications, electronic test modules for use at the interface, re-usable single-mode fiber-optic splices, and numerous other related products. Mr. Mickelson has long been a proponent of fiber-to-the-home as a replacement for today's copper wire and cable services.
Dental Prostheses
TBM worked for several years with a client in developing a flexible arm measuring system for use by dentists in making crowns and other restorations. The system incorporated both optical and electromechanical measuring devices, as well as a miniaturized computer numeric control (CNC) machining station so that a patient's tooth could be characterized and stored as a three-dimensional model, the prepared tooth similarly, and the resulting restoration defined by these inner and outer surfaces could be machined and installed in one sitting. Current methods entail at least two patient visits.
Custom Test Circuit
TBM afforded engineering and design support to a client in developing a custom integrated circuit and associated surface-mount circuit card. Primary responsibility lay in Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and in characterization of circuit behavior.
In addition to the above-mentioned products, TBM has worked on NASA projects for the Apollo program (one product of which is currently on the lunar surface), on fueling systems for power boats, in delivering on-site training for numerous clients in the several areas of manufacturing and engineering, and in developing and publishing instruction and systems manuals. TBM's principal currently serves as President and CEO of NEXTEP Incorporated, a new-product development firm which invented, manufactures and markets HearFonesTM worldwide into music and speech/hearing therapy markets.
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