Michael Trovato is the founder of Valence Tek, a groundbreaking mechanical engineering design house in the Pacific Northwest. He grew up on the east coast and graduated from North Carolina State Unive... Read more

Michael Trovato is the founder of Valence Tek, a groundbreaking mechanical engineering design house in the Pacific Northwest. He grew up on the east coast and graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He rebuilt his first automobile before the age of fifteen and had to enlist the help of parents to test drive his work. Michael is referred to as “The Idea Guy” because of his track record of innovative ideas that lead to new technologies. He has designed robotic & automation systems for McKesson, Abbott Laboratories, The Veteran Affairs, Cornerstone Automation Systems, and Walmart. His latest endeavors include proprietary product designs in material handling systems using integrated vision systems and complex controls. His work can be seen in Amazon warehouses as well as local pharmacies.

Located in Corvallis, Oregon we are an industrial design studio bringing ideas to life. We are your one stop shop for all your product design needs whether it's 2D drafting, 3D modeling, rendering, or... Read more

Located in Corvallis, Oregon we are an industrial design studio bringing ideas to life. We are your one stop shop for all your product design needs whether it's 2D drafting, 3D modeling, rendering, or prototyping. We have the expertise needed to develop a great product. More goes into a design than just being able to draw it and we understand that. We know that in order to design something exceptional, we need to be able to conceptualize the product's environment, how people will experience it, and the overall function. A product is an extension of the brand. Almost like a business card. It has to work great, feel great, and look great. A good design is consistent, efficient, lean, and beautiful. That's what we strive for when we design any product. www.steele-inc.com

I have been working 7 days a week since December, so to say I am very dedicated is an understatement. I have owned my online business since 1994 when freelancing was just moonlighting. I am up front... Read more

I have been working 7 days a week since December, so to say I am very dedicated is an understatement. I have owned my online business since 1994 when freelancing was just moonlighting. I am up front, if I don't feel comfortable with your proposed project or am not interested, I will let you know right away. I don't play games and I am an expert in my field which is Solidworks. I have been a project manager more than a few times during employment stints and I completely understand the manufacturing process. I am in expert in taking over projects when a key employee dies, quits, etc. (don't laugh, 3 of my best customers were draftsman or engineers that suddenly died). I have worked on everything from IC chip architecture to sandcastings to very large machinery and even a few urea plants. I am probably faster than your best cad guy and the whole time I am drafting I am also keeping an eye on deadlines, watching out for potential pitfalls such as hard to design parts or sourcing a more common or cheaper component. I am use to doing tab and slots for parts made out of plate, I can etch bent parts for use in laser cutting, know how to properly cope a tube for a laser machine, can use GD&T properly, can properly notate a weld diagram, assembly drawings, etc. My largest project to date (working under a process engineer and with a small team of drafters) was a 6M urea plant in china which was nearly a thousand pages of mechanical information, not to include mass balance info, spec sheets for the components, etc. The package was a 5' long wooden box that had to clear customs. I can source materials from china or other offshore locals and now I have a sub that will be helping me so I can get away from the crazy 7 day a week schedule. I have no problem managing your team, or providing consulting as well. I am starting to steer away from the smaller projects unless you are paying really well as there is a lot of "plate spinning" with a bunch of smaller projects.