What is your name and position within Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence?
Dan Jeanloz, applied metrologist –aero engines
I always liked math and repairing cars, so I decided to pursue Mechanical Engineering at The University of Connecticut. The major was a perfect fit for me. My first introduction to CMMs was at my Pratt and Whitney Aircraft engine internship, in Connecticut. I was given a programming project on a DEA Iota with Fortran-based Spectrum software. Bob Hospadaruk, Applications Engineer at Hexagon, taught me my first CMM language (with good and bad habits!). From Pratt, I was hired by The Robert E Morris Company (now a division of Morris Group) as applications engineer, responsible for the Brown & Sharpe line. I enjoyed the manufacturing turnkey projects and machine tool capability studies using the Xcel CMM. I learned MM4 and was exposed to PC-DMIS running on DOS!
I was first exposed to jet engine blades when Brown & Sharpe took on a four-machine turnkey contact scanning project. This project helped me to learn Visual Basic (VB), PC-DMIS closed loop scanning, and our blade software. Aircraft engines always fascinated me, so I stuck with this focus at Hexagon.
What does your day to day look like at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence?
I work in the R&D Engineering team developing faster, more accurate ways to measure jet engine parts. For the past two years, I have been working on blisk (bladed disk) measurement with our new HP-O optical sensor. This forced me to learn QUINDOS software, while losing some hair in the process! By working with our software developmentteam, I continue to influence improvements to our blade software.
What are your future goals?
Our blisk project has grown to become a global solution, incorporating probes from Switzerland, machine and software from Germany, and aerospace application development from the US. In the future, I hope to continue collaborating with our factories and application engineering departments around the world to produce best-in-class systems.
Where do you see aero engine manufacturing moving over the next 10 years?
I see the aero engine industry moving toward non-contact measurement with pictures and point clouds of a part, producing dimensional data. Furthermore, CAD models will have more geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) information embedded, allowing facilities faster measurement routine creation. This will mean metrology software will also have to create measurement paths with collision avoidance, directly from the model.
What do you do for fun outside of working at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence?
I have always loved the ocean and cruising Block Island Sound. My preference is for motor boats but for the past few years I have joined a Narragansett Bay sail racing team. The joy of being on the water is still there, just at a much slower pace. In the winter, I enjoy snow skiing in NewHampshire and Vermont with my family.
What is something that most people don’t know about you?
My wife and I fostered and eventually adopted a special needs child. Abigail is seven years old and has a genetic seizure disorder. She goes to school with a nurse. Abigail has brought immense joy to our lives. Her laugh and smile show no disability.
