Technical Designer & Build Manager
Collin Smith
Collin studied mechanical and architectural engineering at IIT and UIC. He is a fan of old school 1970's metal shop tech manuals which keep him up to scratch on his machining skills. Before moving to Chicago to become a partner in Active Alloys he worked in New York where he developed and ran a metal shop for a business prototyping Pilates and exercise equipment. He's been excited about metal work ever since because of the new opportunities it opens up to engineering things and because if you can figure out how to engineer and fabricate it, you can make pretty much anything you want. One of the objects he is most proud of making is a custom birthday gift - a 6 foot cupcake Ferris wheel that is so well balanced- once loaded with cakes - rotates continuously without being powered. Very satisfying.
Technical Director & Project Manager
William Tellmann
After studying mechanical engineering at Rolla University Bill realized he was most interested in working with his hands. Metal fabrication was intuitive considering his mind was already hooked into engineering and because metal provides instant gratification - no waiting for it for dry. Bill founded Active Alloys so that he could work directly with individuals and organizations on a wide variety of metal build projects. The guiding principle of Active Alloys is to work smart under the banner of Henry Ford's philosophy; if you need a tool and you don't buy it you'll end up paying for it anyway and then you won't have it. As a result Active Alloys is a fully functional metal shop that excels in working through theoretical ideas to make them real. Bill has numerous areas of expertise which range from metal fabrication, model work, all aspects of machining, hydraulics, mechanics and electrics. His proudest accomplishment was refitting a Miata with a V8 from scratch - no kits.
Our Mission is to Make
We have made our careers and business out of understanding how to work with metal. Because of this we are equipped to make extraordinary objects, vehicles and structures out of all kinds of metal. If a part doesn't exist we make it. If a new mechanism is required, we invent it. We engineer critical pathways until a product is complete. We learn by doing.
Bill and Collin are both members of the American Welding Society.
