No Mentor, No Problem, He Taught Himself Everything

We took a tour to Protodyne Manufacturing in North Carolina and visited the self-taught machinist whose specialties center around mechanical development and design; 3-, 4- and 5-axis CNC machining; fabricating; and TIG and MIG welding! 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.