By Scott Lowe
At the 2024 SEMA Show, the SEMA Emerging Trends & Technology (ETTN) awarded Mike Black of The Tuning School with its second annual Engineer of the Year award. This award is given to a nominee who has made great engineering achievements within the automotive aftermarket field for the previous fiscal year. Let’s learn a little more about Mike!
Scott Lowe: What school did you attend and when did you graduate?
Mike Black: I graduated with a BS in electrical engineering from ITT Tech in Tampa, Florida, in 2004. At the time I was working full time at a Buick dealership so I needed a college that could work around my schedule. They offered night classes, so it was a good fit. After graduation I went to work for a medical equipment company upgrading ophthalmic microscopes to use digital cameras. At the time there were still a lot of them out there using polaroid cameras.
SL: How long have you been in the automotive aftermarket and did you plan to work in the aftermarket or OEM space after graduation?
MB: A few years later I was offered a job at an auto repair shop. I missed working on cars and it turned out good – electrical and drivability techs are in high demand. Then 13 years later in September of 2021 I started working at The Tuning School working on the class cars.
SL: Can you explain some of the challenges or obstacles you faced while creating the new ATLAS Boost Controller?
MB: In the fall of 2022 I installed a Whipple supercharger on Bob's 2019 6.2L GMC Sierra. He loved the power, but when he was cruising down the interstate, if he pushed the pedal down just a little, it would go into boost. It was kind of annoying to him, so he asked me if I had any ideas to solve it. The problem was the vacuum actuator – it didn't have enough vacuum to hold it while cruising and it would close the bypass valve. It would give you that surge of power when you didn't want it.
SL: How did you tackle these challenges and did you have any failed attempts in your finished design?
MB: I decided to replace the vacuum actuator with an Arduino board and an RC servo. After some experimenting, I was able to solve the problem. Bob was excited about my creation and ATLAS was born.
Going from a prototype that's held together with zip ties and electrical tape to a device that's ready for retail was a challenge. I was familiar with CAD design because I've done a lot of 3D printing at home. The problem I ran into was I would design a nice bracket and housing only to find out that when you have to put 50 of them together it would take weeks. Labor is one of the highest costs of a project and it's something you don't think of when you're building that great looking housing. The way I solved the problem was I designed and 3D printed a housing then timed myself putting it together. After many attempts I was able to create a housing that looked good and was quick and easy to assemble.
Another problem I had was circuit design. I've never designed a circuit board. I've always used protoboards, jumper wires, and development modules to create a circuit. The first boards I made would get hot or not work at all. I even fried my laptop USB port on one of the early boards. During this time, I spent a lot of time researching circuit board design. I read books, watched videos, and even took things apart to look at circuit boards to see how they were done. The current ATLAS boards are the result of improving on a pile of failed boards.
SL: Who is your engineering hero?
MB: My engineering hero was my Grandpa Bill Heusmann. I spent summers on his farm as a kid. That man could fix anything with random stuff he had laying around in his workshop or the pile of old tractors in his back field. One time a shaft broke for the PTO on one of his tractors. It had a splined coupling on one end that completely broke apart. He dug around in the gearbox of that tractor, found all the broken pieces, and welded it back together. Not only did he finish bailing hay that day, but it lasted until we sold that tractor decades later.
SL: What is your current weekend cruiser or your overall dream car?
MB: I don't have any cool cars at the moment, but I really like the restomods from the early to mid-60s. The GTOs, Chevy 2s, even the Ford Falcon with the round "rocket engine" taillights are my favorites. Put an LT4 in it, drop it with some modern rims and I'd be set.