Welcome, I'm
Zack Arnold
Controls Engineer / Systems Intergrator


I have strong background in industrial controls / systems integration field.
I’ve been self-employed for the last 27 years. I began my carrier in the car wash equipment manufacturing market, designing, and building a vast array of equipment for all sectors of the industry. It was during this period that I recognized that my talents exceled in working with industrials control systems, programming and electrical engineering.
With over 20 years of experience in designing equipment and control solutions! I’m sure that my skills will allow me to solve your control integration needs. These skills included a fast array of PLC’s, HMI’s, VFD’s as well as solid background in pneumatics, hydraulics and sensor networks.
I love inventing, designing, and look forward to discussing your integration needs.
Click to Download copy of PDF Resume
I’ve been building, fabricating, and designing for years. Being self-employed and loving to invent, has caused me to constantly learn new skills. Often I’ve had to learn skills out of necessity; mostly I’ve learned them out curiosity.With age comes depth of skills and knowledge. I’m looking forward to applying these skills and seeing what we can create!
Self Employed
27 years
Equipment Design,
Engineering, Manufacturing
Technical Sales
Marketing
Trades and Construction
25 Years
Electrical Instalation
Plumbinbg Instalation
Hydraulic Equipment Design
Pneumatic Equipment Design
Project Management
Contorl System Designs
20 Years
PLC Programming
Electro Mechnical panel Designs
Electrical Engineering
HMI Designs
Motor Contorls
Systems Intergration
15 Years
Custom Project Intergration
Customer Programming
Industrial Networking
Remote I/O
UL508a Panel Designs
Proficiencies
Over the years of designing equipment, and system integration. I have seen first hand the growth of the controls industry. From simple ladder and basic smart relays, to factory equipment automation with all their related protocols. I have acquired many proficiencies in a myriad of hardware and software. The following is a list of these proficiencies.
PLC Controllers
• Allen Bradley / Rockwell
SLC-series
MicroLogix
CompactLogix
ControlLogix
• Automation Direct PLC
05, 06, 205, 405
Click
Productivity
• Eaton
Easy 500, 700, 800
Compact PLC
• Idec
MicroSmart
Pentra
• Mitsubishi
FX series
FXon series
• Siemens PLC
S7-1200 series
PLC Remote Hardware
• Allen Bradley / Rockwell
Flex I/O
• Automation Direct
Terminator I/O
• Festo
CPX Remote I/O
Pneumatic valves
• Nematron
Optilogic RTU’s
• Digi
Embedded Controllers
HMI’s Operator Interfaces
• Allen Bradley
PanelView
Panel PC’s
• Automation Direct
C-More Full function
C-More Mico Panels
• Nematron
Opti-mate series
• Idec O/I series of Panels
VFD’s
• Allen Bradley
Powerflex 40, 523, 525
• Automation Direct
GS VFD’s
Dura Pulse VFD’s
• DanFoss
VLT drives
• Eaton
M-Max,
PowerXL DC1
PowerXl DG1
• Siemens
V20, G120, G123 series
PLC Peripheral’s and Controls
• Analog 4-20ma PID Controllers
• RTD’s & Thermocouplers
• Transducers
• Encoders
• Bar Code Scanners
• RFID tag readers
• Saftey Control Relays
• Remote Access Routers
• Industrial Network Switches
Protocols Networking
• TCP/IP
• IPX / SPX
• Device Net
• Ethernet IP
• Modbus RTU
• Modbus TCP
• ProfiNet
• RS Linx
• AS-I
• Foundation Field Bus
• Hart
• RS285
• Rs486
• 4-20 ma
PLC, Intergration Software
• Allen Bradley
Factory Talk SE
Factory Talk ME
RSlogix 500
Rslogix 5000 Studio
Connected Components
• Automation Direct
Direct Soft v 5 v6
Ds Data DDE
C-More HMI Software
• Siemens
TiA Step 7 V13
Starter
• Kepware
Kep Direct OPC DDE
• Think n Do - Cursory
• Wonderware – Cursory
• Digi-Dynamic –C
Design ,Operational Software
• Auto-Desk AutoCad
• Auto-Desk AutoCad-Electrical
• Auto-Desk Inventor
• Visual Studio 2010
• MS- Access
• MS-Visio
• Vista-Db (Sql)
• Corel Draw
• Flash
• Illustrator
• Tech Smith Snagit
• MS-Office Suite
• MS-Project 2003
• Acrobat
• PhotoShop
• In Design
• Dreamweaver
• Fireworks
• 27 years - as owner of a car wash equipment manufacturing company. Responsibilities included product design, sales, proposals and project cost analysis. Additional responsibilities included business development, marketing and advertising as well as management of office employees.
• 27 years - of high dollar technical sales. Sales ranged from turn key car wash projects from $1.5 million to smaller equipment hardware sales $5k in size. Work included dealing with municipalities for approvals as well as procurement of government contracts.
• 25 years - in all phases of mechanical manufacturing, design, and engineering of all car wash types, bus, truck and train washes, as well as industrial water treatment system for washing and reclamation. Development of entire product lines providing significant product enhancement and industry improvements. Mechanical engineering and design included sheet metal and tube steel fabrication, flat layout design, laser cut-out plots, bending, forming and welding with a focus on stainless materials. Engineering profiles for CNC machine parts, designed from stainless, brass and plastic components.
• 25 years - Journeyman electrician in the car wash industry. Low voltage to high voltage systems to 480v 3ph., Control wiring (low voltage) systems AC and DC. Field trouble shooting of control panels, and control equipment. Technical support in the field and on the phone to trouble shoot equipment failures.
• 25 years - Journeyman plumber in the car wash field. Designing various plumbing systems for car wash industry often integrated with electrical control panels. Work included waste water system, reclamation systems, reverse osmosis systems, high pressure pumping, fluid transfer, tank washers, as well as full site plumbing design. System designs included Hydraulic, and Pneumatic designs.
• 22 years - Electrical control design using standard motor control technology (fv contactors) cam / drum timers, multi function timers, relays, rotary switches, transformers. Systems ranged from 24v control voltages up to 240v 3 phase systems. Electrical engineering and equipment control design. Including complete electrical site blueprints, and load schedules. Supervision of electrical contractors in connection installation and implementation of equipment designs.
• 20 years - of experience analyzing, developing, programming and integrating PLC technology solutions with a focus on the car wash industry. Hardware included HMI’s, master and slave systems. Data acquisition, process and automation control. Designs include, hardware specification (BOM’s), PLC programming, site control wiring and fabrication of control panels. Typical panel designs included multiple PLC’s HMI interfaces, motor speed controls in DC and later AC VFD’s. Panel design and integration included high and low voltages, and localized PLC communications.
• 15 years-custom hardware design and consulting services for non company projects.
• 12 years- industrial networking including conventional TCP/IP, IPX/SPX Protocols, Modbus IP and RTU, serial rs232, rs485. Remote I/O, analog controls and other peripheral hardware integration, including sensor networking. Began the design of control panels that meet UL508a and NEC specifications.
• 8 years - designing PC based software application for integration using RTU’s (remote terminal units). System design included SQL databases, C##, as well as data acquisition protocols DDE ,OPC communication with PLC’s using excel as a daq O/I services. Designed a Card system with integration to multiple car wash control system. System design included working with RFID ,barcode and magnetic swipe technologies. During this time I began working with other industrial networking protocols including Device Net, Ethernet IP as well as industrial wireless networking solutions and sensor networks and PID controls.
• 2 years- embedded controllers with database operations and pc software . Designing an embedded controller solution as an enhancement to an existing product..
Created a controls division from the ground up including set up of control panel shop, securing UL508a training and licenses. Established electrical design parameters, procedures, bill of materials, proposal bid worksheets, electrical cad engineering formats, vendor hardware and general panel design. I was responsible for creating the client operational review document format (ords) to clarify scope of work required on projects.Within the Controls Div. I provided training and supervision, to allow installation of in-house pre-wiring of control and high voltage wiring, as well as the building and manufacturing of control panels. With my strong controls background I provided system integration of multi-faceted equipment designs. Panels ranged from basic (fvr) dump controls. Control systems for adjustable conveyor speed control. Automating mechanical equipment designs to provide turn key products like tray washers, fryers, blanchers and automatic grain malting equipment, to large scale factory process automation involving multiple panel design hydraulic and pneumatic system with over 100 i/o and multiple remote i/o units and drives.
In 2008 I purchased MagCard Automation a credit card control company supplying services to the car wash industry. At this point we moved away from active car wash equipment sales, to a credit card and control systems focus. We have redesigned our credit card software to meet PCI compliant standards and using the latest programming technologies. Currently I am designing a wireless hardware technology that will replace the current RTU’s and provide a chip and pin technology.
Elite Wash Systems began as local supplier of car wash parts and supplies and service to self serve car wash operators in the southern California. Equipment was provided for new construction as well as existing facilities After four years we began manufacturing drive thru wash equipment for auto dealers and large vehicle washes for busses, trucks and trains. These systems relied heavily on hydraulic and electro pneumatic controls, using basic electrical control systems. It was during this period that I took course in PLC programming and electrical design to convert our control panels to PLC based systems. In 1997 the company dissolved each partner went his way and I began WashTech Controls
Chemco products is a large chemical manufacturer in Southern California and began started a car wash division to sell car wash soaps. It quickly became a parts and supplier company . After 5 years the owners of Chemco products were looking to sell the division and focus on chemicals. I secured an investor and purchased the company from them in 1989 and began Elite Wash Systems
I began my education with a focus on real estate and business administration, and a drive for entrepreneurship. After starting Elite Wash Systems I discovered that I had a unique ability for computer programming and electrical control designs. In the early stages of industrial automation controls were simple relays or at best indexed drum timers. PLC’s were often job specific designs. Training for industrial automation was only available from the manufactures. Schools have been focused on Cobol or C , all of which fueled the PC market and now the Industrial Automation Market.
Over the years I’ve taken many programming course and factory automation course. As I’m sure you’ve seen from my skills and proficiencies page I have a well-rounded strong education in the industrial automation control market.
Food Manufacturing Traying System
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Food Manufacturing Traying System
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Thanks for taking your time to drop by and learn a bit more about me. Send me a note at this email address and lets talk about your project.