Everybody asks

"Les,  do you ever sleep???"

 Yes I am human too. I do sleep.

But I consider sleep a waste of time.

"You can sleep when you die."

Engineering 

I remember when I was a kid and my dad took me on the set of Gun Smoke.  (shot in Canada)  What would an engineer be doing there, I here you cry? 

He designed all the movable sets.  You see all those building were not real, just some of them.  The rest were just fronts, moved around in different sequences to give the illusion of different towns.  I met some of the actors.  I remember Lorne Green who  didn't even look at me when I called out his stage name. (I didn't know his real name) I never watched the show again. And I never wanted to go back to the set again either.  But it was sure fun to see it all in real life.  I was around 5  or 6 years old at the time.

Laminate  machines and robots

German, French and American innovations too.  Including the perfection of the  Kit Kat bar.

All kinds of Automated Processes  like the Kit Kat Bar when Rountree approached my dad because they were having problems with a lot of waste in their main plant.  I remember when I was a kid, my dad used to bring boxes of broken Kit Kat bars from the "line."  I had so many friends then....yes because of the almost unlimited supply of Kit Kat bars.  I don't remember how long it too.  It wasn't very long.  But my dad fixed the problem and soon he brought home no Kit Kat bars.

Deck cranes for the U.S. Navy.  What is the most Amazing thing to me is the U.S. Navy could afford anybody. The best in the world.   They hired my dad to do a few things.

Underwater submarine rescue equipment  and

deck cranes for  ships and Helicopter landing pads in ships that did not have them in their original designs.  My dad added them later.  (well he didn't - he just designed them)

I remember when I was in a kid, that I was in a plant in the states  that had just finished one and it was being picked up by one very big military helicopter, then it was air lifted to  one of the ships for installation. 

COOL!!!!

The ultr-lite aircraft  company were having programs steering  their planes my  dad figured it out.

All terrain vehicles for a company who got a u.s. military contract and could not figure out  the steering  of these newly designed vehicles.  They called my dad in to figure it out.

Still working on the list.

World first copy milling head/pre computer.

Leslie Bubik Sr.  My Dad has some 38 patents to his name.  Most of the things that Vulcan equipment is or was manufacturing were invented by my dad.  All except for one thing. The only tow truck that could take a car out of a parked place. I thought if a trailer follows a car with great ease, then this boom thing I came up with may be able, to remove a car from a parked spot.       Many of his designs have changed the world from a little to a lot.  I have only a few patents and came up with the original concept for the "Vulcan Wheel lift."  When I was 15, my dad came to me and said that if I can figure out a way to tow cars in an easier manner than was presently being done, that I would get the bicycle and stereo  of my choice.        Within 20 minutes I came up with this except my conceptual design (I was too young to be an engineer) was the back boom was make entirely of metal.  My dad made the design much better by putting straps on it.  

I designed this mechanism above when  I was 15 Not bad for a kid, eh??? My company my dad was working for made Millions The Company? Vulcan Equipment       I remember that Vulcan Equipment, that that time on 95 Research Rd., and had a prototype within 6 months and had sold a whole whack of them to the Police. I am very sorry to admit to the fact that you can thank me for designing the first town truck, that could tow a car out of a parked place.  

Later models were made with fancier colors and other newly improved features.   My dad came up with many innovative variations to what this thing could lift.

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I believe it is the only tow tuck in the world can could tow motorcycles very easily.

 Many pictures are available on these variations.

The came the really big stuff which the Canadian Military

(I didn't know we had one)  wanted these tow truck for the feild

What about all the things I do not have pictures of

Crane trolley, Forging manipulator, ore feeding conveyer, copy milling machine,  suction oil drilling platforms, production line of laminates for plastic company, for plywood company, machine to make books, for Schick razors he made a machine that would pack 10 razors to every package, press rollers and unrollers, grinding wheel press, flying sheer, steering for those military vehicles the navy seals use, steering for all types of specialty aircraft for the U.S. Military,  all types of hydraulic cylinders and switches, production press, deck cranes for the U.S. NAVY, Mobile cranes, Air control valves, Special rubber piston seals, assorted furniture and lamps, tire re-treading machines, panel saw, electro hydraulic devices, wheel dollies to carry heavy parts from one end of a factory to another and you should push it with one finger (amazing), wood planer, Sunway tunnel washing machine horse race starting gate which all open at exactly the same time.  He has some 38 patents to his name.

I only have 2

I could make a separate web site just on my dads stuff and it would take me  5 years to compile it.    He eventually figured out  how to tow two cars at the same time.

Get your mind out to the gutter.  This is a concrete vibrator used to take the care out of concrete as it is being poured, and allowing it to settle properly in it's mould.

He was one of the first to use robots. which he also designed,  to move heavy laminates from one part of an automated assembly line which he also designed.

But we are basically only limited by the laws of physics, so if you need something designed and it does not matter what it is, I can assure you of that, (anything mechanical or electro-mechanical)       I have a new design for a new revolutionary tow truck but I think I will just keep it to myself this time.     My father who is now 82, has close to 50 years engineering experience and has been recognized by Design Canada for many of his achievements.    Even the Americans Hired him to design deck cranes  for the U.S.. Navy Helicopter landing pads of the U.S. Navy I am amazed because it is my dad but what amazes me even more, is the fact that the u.s. already has about a million really good engineers and the u.s. air force and Navy choose my dad.  WOW!!!  COOL!!!!   Parts for a new revolutionary Airplane that is both Helicopter and Plane Now the U.S. Military is considering for fast troop and equipment deployment It hovers like a helicopter  and flies like an airplane, as soon as they figure out how to fly it. My dad designed the  impellers behind the propellers.    

Here the "jiffy Jack" would lift a car off the ground in about 1 or 2 seconds.  Later used by the Racing industry to lift race cars

A hydraulic jack to lift cars from one side or end

A razor blade packing machine for Shick

I saw it work when I was a kid. it put ten razors into each box in about a second with no errors

One of my dads specialties was automation

One year, when I was a kid, in a German Magazine admiring the best designs, in the world.  Of the 4, 2 were ours. COOL Eh?  The Jiffy Jack  was  popular in the racing  circuit for a while because it could lift and drop a car in about a second.

Mining Equipment for the French

             Horse Racing Gates for the Canadians The only series of gates that all oven at precisely the same time. They came to my dad to figure this one out. Not bad eh???   I see those gates everywhere now.  He also designed  them to make them more portable.

Assorted Hoists and Tow trucks (big and small)  for Vulcan Equipment CANADA including the big monster above.   Most of the things  Vulcan equipment had produced in the past Automotive related, he designed. He also had a small group of creative engineers.  Ken Murimasu from  Japan and Mike Bogdan of Hungary were the others who helped my dad in the new product development area of Vulcan equipment.

He has single handily designed machines that must be collectively produced trillions in revenue for all these companies over the years  and I guess if you were to take all of them and add their revenues, jobs they created  all over the world combined,   I don't know what comes after trillions  but whatever that number is, I have no doubt it is up there somewhere.  Have you seen these around?

 Concrete Vibrators, Crust manipulators  I machine that did the work of  50 men using jackhammers.  I will find a picture of this one too.

Sold to FMC for just over a million and a half it had paid for itself over and over again. Have you seen one of these in your local automotive garage?  

Most garage owners even after 30 years still think it is the best one on the market.  Now that is impressive. 

The only reason they are replacing them is because of the new larger wheel sizes the 19" and more require the different type of machine.           

Vulcan was the leading company in Tire Retreating equipment.  This is true Recycling of tires

Clinical Engineering? Please remember, I don't sleep much.

My dad designed the military tow truck

Military hook lift.  One truck and 15 containers, tool shops to move around for mobile hospitals  and  more

Almost anything can be lifted and transported.  we did not design the containers. those where done by other companies

How  did I come up with the idea?  Simple really  when you hand you coat over your  shoulder, you usually do with with a finger or too and drape it over your shoulder and you  put it up onto your shoulder.  That is how the idea became a truck  Cool eh??? I love engineering stuff.

And now I do cheap engineering, just for myself.

Tire Inspection equipment

My father and his team in New product development made Vulcan a very rich  company.

After my dad retired and the owner eventually died and then  the Alm sons took is over and really screwed up that company.

I have many fond memories of hanging out there including a few summer jobs driving a fork lift and loading the trucks which never seemed to end.  They were waiting in lines to take the products away.

  '

   I remember one year when Design CANADA put out there stuff about the 4 best designs in CANADA and three of them were my dads I also remember an article about the 4 best designs in the world the three of them where my dads the 4th was that high speed train in Japan.

  My  dad was pretty busy

woodworking equipment which won design Canada Awards

Clinical Engineering? Please remember, I don't sleep much.

Clinical Engineering? Please remember, I don't sleep much.

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Here are a few other things

I designed and built without

my fathers assistance

I have 2 patents and as far as I am concerned, I have two too many.

Do you know how long it takes to get a u.s. Patent?  1 Year.  In Canada  12 years!!  12 Years!!!  What the heck!

I designed the handy-hoist is 20 minutes, It took 3 years t get a patent and 4 guys from the government to screw up a deal. Here a petite women illustrates how easy it is  to lift a bike onto the top of a car with great ease.

50 years ahead of it's time.  Canadian Tire Ordered 19,000 units and in the middle of the deal told us to provide them with a colour box.  Just before the signing of the deal, my mother got sick and I had to walk away  from the deal.

The Handy-Hoist bike and Tandem Lifting Assistant

                Has a U.S. and Canadian Patent

This one above was a the tandem lifter.  One one was made to see if a short Chinese person could lift it up onto a mini van

It worked. 

Now the U.S. Military has copied it to put missiles onto the top of Hummers (not above)

I CAN DESIGNED AND BUILD JUST ABOUT ANYTHING

And if I can't I will find someone who will

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What am I working on

now?

This is a self powering solar trailer Specifically designed to provide additional power for an electric Tricycle  which I did not design but modified. (I added another solar panel to the top)

This is what it looks like.  it goes 20 km/hr. for 60km.  Though it will not break any speed records, it is the first "off grid" designed system which actually works.  I use this prototype to buy groceries and run errands.  I use it when I am not in a hurry.  I save on parking and fuel and even time because i don't have to look for parking.  It produces  no carbon or any pollutants.  It is completely GREEN.

And it is always charging.  This is the best thing.

The trailer  can be detached and re-attached  to something else like a regular bicycle to he used as a power source  for a camp site or to power a laptop and a cell phone.  

The trailer hitch is lockable but now I am working on a lighter solution.

I believe such a vehicle could be used in small towns for the post man, a visiting nurse, older people just to get around. Tourist organizations to make groups more mobile.  I can figure out  how to  even carry  camping gear to take a small trip out of the city and even to pull children on their bicycles when they get tired.

Today I am doing smaller projects

Clinical Engineering and things and do-dads

for occupational therapists

www.doltware.com    Small business Software

Fanny Friend a bike seat to absorb road shock

Picture on the way a joint venture between my dad and I and one of the first Electric cars in Canada.

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