About US

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Rodger Thomason 

Owner/founder

A graduate of UCLA’s School of Mechanical Engineering, Rodger Thomason has also completed extensive course work at UCLA’s Human Factors Engineering Program. A member of the technical staff at Hughes Aircraft’s Mechanical Design Group, he was responsible for mechanical and thermal testing of composite materials such as carbon fiber and kevlar, and exotic metals. Following his stint at Hughes Aircraft, Rodger joined the Mechanical Design Department at TRW as a senior staff member and lead design engineer. His responsibilities included direct involvement from preliminary design through manufacturing.

In 1989, Rodger launched an independent consulting firm to fully exploit his educational and professional experience. His firm has a proven track record of applying the experience acquired from advanced technology companies to smaller scale enterprises. Additionally, his extensive work with the industrial design community has brought a unique design sensitivity to the firm’s engineering projects.

Rodger is well known for his knowledge of Pro/Engineer. He became one of the first Certified Engineering Providers for Pro/E in 1996. Since then he has further developed his skills as a contract instructor for many companies, and is regarded as one of the top Pro/E users in the country.

Rodger holds numerous patents on medical and consumer products.

Bill Conley

Owner

Bill Conley graduated with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  While a graduate student, he taught CNC machining techniques and constructed a test facility for high- speed composite drive shafts.

After graduation, Bill went to work for Ford Motor Company as a Powertrain Engineer. He received extensive training in vehicle component and systems design, and developed into a lead powertrain noise specialist. Bill applied his experience and training to earn a Professional Engineer license in 1993.

After six years at Ford Motor Company, Bill joined Virtual Engineering, a small consulting firm near Detroit. He received extensive training in Pro/Engineer  and Pro/Engineer Simulate. Bill was assigned the task of working on challenging projects such as vehicle seating, vehicle interiors, and mechanisms used for latching and unlatching fold down seats.

In 1995, Bill moved to California to join one of the leading industrial design firms in the country, Hauser Inc. At Hauser Inc., Bill was exposed to consumer products, electronic packaging design, and medical equipment design. This type of work further developed Bill's Pro/Engineer surfacing skills. An art form not found in many engineers.

While at Hauser, Bill and Rodger collaborated on several projects. They soon discovered a natural synergy in their skills, experience, and commitment to customer satisfaction. Bill joined Rodger’s firm as a partner in 1998. The combination has proven itself in the unprecedented success of Origin Design.

Bill holds several patents in mechanical, electro- mechanical, and consumer product design, and has received an IDEA award for industrial design excellence. He has led the design and development of many successful products, while developing a reputation as one of L.A.’s top design engineers.