Troy Vom Braucke

Troy Vom Braucke
Associate Consultant 

Troy has guided R&D teams to focus on bringing superior high-tech, next generation products quickly to market within high-pressure environments and has held P&L responsibility for 7- figure projects. One of these projects leveraging European funding to reduce the cost per watt for Solar cell manufacturing for Swiss based company Oerlikon Solar, later becoming TEL Solar. The project involved optimizing process gas delivery systems and system engineering to minimize contaminates in solar photo voltaic PECVD deposition systems in both R&D and mass production systems. The project also involved managing, design and safety for the introduction of Fluorine delivery as a process cleaning gas.

 Since 1999 he has worked with materials sciences industry leaders who include GP Plasma, MDS Coating Technologies, Oerlikon, and Sutton Tools to refine their expertise in coating designs, simulation, and manufacturing for plasma deposition technologies such as PECVD, Sputter and Cathodic Arc Evaporation. He has thrived in fast-paced, high-stakes innovation environments, while managing the market and technical risks of Minimum Viable Product development, including mission-critical, high-speed aerospace rotating hardware. In the latter case designing and optimizing coatings for particle impacts and fluid erosion performance gas turbine engines. 

Troy’s teams have developed protective coatings and technologies, applying his extensive expertise in heat treatment, plasma nitriding, and pre/post treatment within the cutting tool, aerospace, automotive, and semiconductor industries. He leverages the skills of generalists who collaborate with deeply-focused experts by teaming complementary personalities this optimizes mission critical innovation-process strategies. As a consultant he has audited companies to help them identify their core needs, root causes, and find the best technical solutions. 

He has both a Master’s in industrial engineering and Bachelor of Applied Physics, with specializations in knowledge-based expert systems, functional coatings and plasma systems. From his Master thesis in expert systems applied to PVD coatings until to today, where he is also President of a deep tech start-up company leveraging unified physics with a powerful toolbox where the team finds optimized solutions to highly complex and otherwise intractable problems.
COMPETENCIES 

  • Holistic thinking – zooming out to ask better questions before solution finding.
  • Leading and building R&D teams and a ‘can do’ innovation culture.
  • Identifying key market differentiators and developing technology innovation strategies for both product and services with a customer focus.
  • Applying new developments to realize new product and service applications by connecting the dots between multiple fields and industries.
  • Building development partnerships with suppliers, customers and universities.
  • Encouraging an ‘open’ innovation culture while carefully controlling technical information flow with respect to trade secrets and patents.
  • Wide knowledge on thin film processes, tribology of wear, functional surfaces  and materials design.
  • Strong knowledge on vacuum system (PVD and PECVD) systems design.
  • Applied Six Sigma tools – R&D Project Management through to Quality and Reliability Statistics.
  • Solution orientated / forward thinking.
  • Adaptable and open to new ideas, applications and procedures.
  • Capable under pressure.
  • Work as a team player and autonomously.
  • Smart-working and responsible.
  • Public speaking / International conferences.
  • Training
  • Patent writing and analysis..

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Oct 2019 - Present
11556045 Canada Corp. - Owner/President 
Industry Consultant 

  • Implementing simple procedures for various businesses to improve their strategic uncertainty reduction and decision making on new customer pipeline, new product and process development with complex business and technical interactions.
  • Supporting patent development, competitive research and analysis for clients. Technology market scouting for products, manufacturing processes and technologies for clients with business, market and technical SWOT analysis.
  • Developing and delivering custom training courses for vacuum deposition technologies, inclusive Sputtering, Filtered Arc, Cathodic Arc, PECVD, CVD and HiPIMS. Courses include the supporting pre and post processing technologies.
  • Coating application design & failure analysis
  • Developing a start-up business for strategic decision simulation and optimization (scenario planning) with visualization for the layman to quickly see and identify strategic improvement options for any complex problem (business, marketing, communication, product & service in a single view).

Mar 2015 – Jan 2020
MDS Coating Technologies - Director - Technology (R&D)

  • Leading the R&D groups across remote locations and facilities.
  • Building key complementary skill sets within the R&D group to maximize team dynamics and ensure strong employee retention.
  • Developing the innovation strategy and roadmap for each R&D department consisting of coatings, surface treatment, additive manufacturing, and automation. i.e. Strategic planning and SWOT analysis aligning market requirements with current and future technical capability.
  • Defining key product and process differentiators and championing an innovation process culture within the R&D department to be then disseminated across the organization.
  • Supporting and developing R&D processes and documentation for achieving AS9100 qualification.
  • Developed a product scorecard matrix for minimizing the time to market for minimum viable product within an aerospace quality operating environment.
  • Steered the coatings team toward new performance achievements for both high cycle fatigue and fluid erosion without sacrificing solid particle erosion and corrosion properties.
  • Led external supplier and university partner projects to develop new technology and process capability.
  • Managed the patent portfolio and interaction with patent examiners and patent lawyers.
  • Led P&L for 7-8 figure projects for handling & automation, vacuum deposition systems, quality tools, cleaning, and de-coating equipment.

May 2012 - Mar 2015
MDS Coating Technologies -  Manager Technology Development

  • Management of the technology development team members in the Prince Edward Island’s production facility including the surface treatment team, process improvement team and the coating development team.
  • Evaluating, down selecting, and validating new deposition processes and supporting technologies to improve performance capability.
  • Operating in a NADCAP aerospace quality environment for approval and validation of new equipment and processes with customers on frozen processes.
  • Led P&L for 7 figure projects to evaluate, down select and implement new deposition technologies and supporting processing and analytical quality tools.

​Mar 2009 - Mar 2012
OC Oerlikon - Solar Systems Engineer / Project Manager

  • Concept Design & Development for PECVD photovoltaic vacuum deposition systems.
  • Value proposition assessment of concepts for ‘cost of ownership’ with respect to capital expenditure, productivity, and reliability.
  • Project Management of prototype system design & integration with; factory, safety systems, hardware compatibility & operations when using highly reactive and toxic Fluorine gas.
  • Writing and controlling specifications for hardware, electrical and software functions of PECVD systems.
  • Safety studies for HAZOP, Risk Assessment, ATEX and CE product and local government approvals.
  • Problem solving hardware and process issues of existing customer systems.
  • System cycle time analysis to improve output & reduce cost of ownership for our customers.
  • Gas contamination reduction of PECVD system to improve photovoltaic cell power by improved system design & processes.
  • Led P&L for 7 figure projects.

Oct 2007 - Mar 2009 
Balzers Coating - Project Manager R&D Tool Coatings

  • Management/execution of R&D projects via six-sigma techniques. Constant monitoring of progress, project costs, resources and schedule.
  • Verification of results by scientific characterisation and industrial test methods.
  • Validation of products and processes in collaboration with customers.
  • Reviewing & writing of patents.
  • Improving product test & acceptance documentation/procedures using; Measurement systems analysis, Control Charting, Quality statistics.
  • Design & Development of PVD Coating recipes and hardware related to coating improvement with a focus on reduced roughness, increased deposition rate and adhesion.
  • Testing the influence of pre/post treatments on cutting tool performance
  • Development of coating recipes and assisted in hardware development of cathodic arc, sputtering and plasma etching technologies.
  • Led P&L for 7 figure projects.

Mar 2001 - Oct 2007 
Sutton Tools - Product Testing / Process Control Engineer

  • Thin Film development and testing of PVD coating products in Turning/Drilling/Milling & Tapping operations for the Surface Coatings Technology division.
  • Experience with Cathodic Arc, Filtered Cathodic Arc, PECVD, and Low Voltage Electron beam deposition technologies.
  • HR-SEM, HR-TEM, FIBS electron microscope preparation and examination of film morphologies and fracture behaviour. Extensive metallographic analysis of tool steels
  • Research into the deformation and adhesion of thin solid films to ASPN (plasma) nitrided tool steels and untreated tool steels using uniaxial tensile test and comparison to coating failure in turning.
  • Reduction of vacuum heat treatment component distortion from 30% down to 3% by innovative fixture design and confirmation with statistical capability analyses.
  • Implemented lean manufacturing strategies & standard operating procedures in a team-based approach to improve production efficiency.
  • Design & Development of Expert Tool System (ETS) for cutting tool selection - investigation of systems and requirements through to completion of a working prototype.

June 2002 - Sept 2007 
Swinburne University - Casual Lecturer/Tutor

  • Leadership and mentoring of students.
  • Oral and written communication of ideas, concepts and problems to an untrained audience.
  •  Performance assessment of individuals.

Sept - Dec 2000 
DSTO Melbourne - Defence Research Scientist (Industry Placement)

  • Developed non-destructive test (NDT) procedures for ultrasonic quantification of delamination and dis-bonding within composite aircraft wings and fuselages for F1-11 and F-18 aircraft to reduce downtime during service intervals.
  • Participated in team problem solving exercises on various projects aimed at reducing service downtime of maritime craft via NDT techniques.

EDUCATION 
Innovation Intervention [2018]
  • Program provided by Stephen Shapiro designed to provide black belt training to implement an innovation framework across the business (not just in the confines of R&D departments) and to maximise innovation ROI.

Swinburne University [2005 – present]
  • Completing PhD Engineering & Industrial Sciences. Specialising in the“Microstructure, properties and performance of thin solid films” in high load/wear applications within the cutting tool industry.

Swinburne University [2001-2004]
Masters of Engineering by Research (MEng)
  • The establishment of a database for tool-life performance using a knowledge- based expert system software approach.

Certificate Business Strategy for Innovators [2002]
  • From concept to public float - patents, trademarks, publicity, venture capital, exit strategies, etc.

RMIT University  [1997-2000]
BAppSc. Applied Physics (w/Distinction)
  •  Awarded Dean Certificate of “commendation for achievement” (within top 5% of colleagues).
  • Majored in advanced materials and photonics, Industry placement project: Acoustics/Ultrasonics.

Peninsula Institute of TAFE [1990-1993]
Associate Diploma of Engineering
  • Majoring in: Engineering-Mechanical (fluid power), Engineering-Manufacturing (CAD), Engineering-Mechanical (applied mechanics).


CONFERENCES / PUBLICATIONS / PATENTS 
  1. Conventional Drill Testing of State-of-The-Art PVD Coatings and Evaluation of Microstructure as revealed by FEGSEM. Out of Place and Out of Time? ICMCTF conference, T. vom Braucke, S.J. Dowey, E.D. Doyle.
  2. Accelerated Drill Testing Lifetime Response of Coated and Uncoated HSS Jobber drills to Deep Cryogenic Treatment, Applied at Various Stages of Manufacture; ICMCTF conference, S.J. Dowey, E. Thompson, T. vom Braucke, E.D. Doyle.
  3. Pulsed DC Titanium Nitride Coatings for Improved Tribological Performance and Tool Life, ICMCTF conference, P.J. Kelly, Z. Liu, T. vom Braucke, R.D. Arnell, E.D. Doyle, G.T. West.
  4. Patent: METHOD FOR PRETREATING SUBSTRATES FOR PVD METHODS Europe Patent WO/2010/057747, Issued October 27, 2009. Inventors: Jürgen Ramm, Troy vom Braucke, Beno Widrig, Helmut Rudigier
  5. Assisted in getting previously submitted patents adjusted for concise text and legal definition for multiple patents successfully approved by examiners.

OTHER SKILLS / ACHIEVEMENTS 
  • Volunteer technology advisor to non-profit NGO www.ariverofhope.org
  • Award - University Blue (administration), for the 2001 Australian University Water-ski and Wakeboard Championships, of which, I was the event manager.
  • Competitive water skiing and wakeboarding during university
  • Ultimate Frisbee player during university