Who's building it
About
Founder & Lead Designer
David Pettingill
Education
B.S., Mechanical Engineering Technology
ECPI University — ABET-accredited · 2025
M.S., Engineering Technology starts Oct. 2026
Mechanical Engineering concentration — ECPI University
- U.S. Navy — Hospital Corpsman
- Precision troubleshooting & schematic analysis background
- CAD, mechatronics, PLC/automation
MechaNexus is built on a straightforward premise: most small manufacturers and hardware teams don't need a full-time hire — they need the right help for the problem in front of them. A bracket that doesn't exist yet. A line that stalls without warning. A quoting process that still runs on spreadsheets and memory.
That's the work — mechanical design and fabrication-minded prototyping, grounded in Navy training where precision and safety weren't optional. It's also the reason the business is built to grow toward the second half of its name: as automation and AI integration become part of nearly every shop floor, MechaNexus is the connective layer between the mechanical work you already trust and the automated systems you're only starting to adopt.
Based in Castle Rock, Colorado, and working with clients across the Front Range and remotely.
Roadmap
Where it's headedNear term: mechanical design, rapid prototyping, and PLC/mechatronics retrofit work for small manufacturers and hardware teams — paired with the AI-integration and business-automation tooling that's becoming table stakes on a modern shop floor.
Mid term: an M.S. in Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering concentration, starting October 2026. Coursework projects get built as real, demoable portfolio pieces — not shelved after grading — and client relationships move from one-off installs toward ongoing monitoring and support retainers.
Long term: MechaNexus grows into a technology company built around robotics and autonomous systems — condition monitoring, mobile robotics, and the automation layer that connects mechanical work to intelligent systems. Every step between now and then is chosen to build directly toward that, not away from it.
What that means for a client working with MechaNexus today: you're hiring a designer who is actively deepening the exact skill set your problem needs, not one who stopped learning at graduation.