No Mentor, No Problem, He Taught Himself Everything
86,848
Published 2023-12-22
Hailing from Illinois, Kyle Hill, once a sprint car racer, found his groove in welding during his youth. In high school, he hit up Danville Area Community College to hone his welding skills, paving the way for a future in engineering. After shifting gears to Charlotte, NC, in 2004, he bagged a Mechanical Engineering degree from UNC Charlotte in 2009, all while working hands-on as a machinist.
Before kickstarting Protodyne in June 2010, Kyle clocked in hours gaining engineering stripes. From testing vehicles at John Deere and the Electric Power Research Institute to rocking it at Duke Energy as a Mechanical/Electrical Engineer. Now at Protodyne, he's the captain steering a manual machine shop ship, diving into everything from mechanical development to CNC machining and welding.
To learn more about Protodyne Manufacturing, visit protodynemfg.com/
or follow them on social media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Protodyne/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-hill-69a89b25/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/protodynemfg/?hl=en
Twitter: twitter.com/protodyne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Practical Machinist is the largest and most engaged #metalworking community across the web. With more than 200,000 registered members and 400,000+ social media followers, Practical Machinist is the easiest way to learn new techniques, get answers quickly, and discuss common challenges with your peers. Visit Practical Machinist today to join the community and start connecting with your peers.
Become a Practical Machinist member (www.practicalmachinist.com/)
Like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/PracticalMachinist)
Follow us on Instagram (www.instagram.com/practicalmachinist/)
Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/prac_machinist)
Follow us on TikTok (www.tiktok.com/@practicalmachinist)
Connect with us on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/practical-machinist/)
#machineshop #metalworking #machining
All Comments (21)
-
Don't kid yourself boys and girls this guy is sharp.
-
This young fella is a genius machinist. Future looks bright for those around him. Best of Blessings
-
I went to college with Kyle, glad to see his doing well in business, he has come long way from when we used to run the Haas tool room mills with no tool changes in the basement shop of Duke Hall.
-
I started grinding and cleaning. Was taught the waterjet. Then Ended up teaching myself cad and cam and now I run my cnc department running 2 mills and a lathe.
-
I did the same thing. I bought the equipment, watched videos, read books and really absorbed any info I could. I've already paid for my machines many times over. I have a heavy truck collision shop commercial sandblasting as my main thing, but adding machining has been a good move for me.
-
This is absolutely awesome. I used to watch this kid sling dirt at our local race tracks here in central Illinois. I have been cutting chips for 25 yrs and recently started my own shop and this is definitely inspiring. Good job Kyle !!!
-
Definitely the one thing he's had is a network of friendships at hand. It's a big leg up for sure.
-
You know this guy is a genius as soon as you see the unicycle. 3:32
-
Very good machinist. I never thought that could be done self taught machinist. Learn a 5 axis mill just amazing
-
Love the unicycle in the background! Beautiful shop and machinery.
-
Lord have Mercy.. If this man had a quality machine like a Makino or DMG Mori... He'd rule the world.
-
Awesome looking shop and very inspiring being self taught.
-
I thought I was the only one who was self-taught in machining. I got my learning by attending the school of trial and error, mostly error. When I retired in 2018, I sold off my CNC mill and my Gunsmithing lathe; along with alot of my other metal working tools. Since I was retired, I thought I really wouldn't need them anymore. Boy was I wrong. Now I've slowly started buying the kinds of benchtop mill and lathe I started out with.
-
Well sir you have a super nice shop congratulations thanks for creating so much hope for people trying to start a business I wish you success
-
Kyle is a great guy and has a fantastic setup, I was at his previous shop when he was making those water pumps. I know his dad and he's certainly no slouch either.
-
Outstanding tool guy with skills that go beyond your standard machinist, degree helped. What a shop, lots of hard work and long hours making thing work. Great video, great tool guy.
-
no joke about the cost to make parts.. you really have to be willing to give up everything personally to start from scratch on your own. i started with a benchtop lathe and have only been away from my shop 8 days in the last 10 years.
-
I love this Guy, that's how I tackle things dive in. God bless this Guy.
-
If I was a much, much younger man, I would move to this fellows shop and beg to work for him. Next lifetime.
-
FANtastic! Great job man 👌
