About Burke Mitchell
For over four decades, I’ve worked at the intersection of machine tools, automation, process flow, and human behavior. I understand not just how machines fail, but why — and how to improve them so they stay reliable, consistent, and efficient.
I’m not a repair mechanic. I’m a technical investigator, teacher, and solution finder who helps organizations solve difficult problems and improve performance.
Machine failures rarely come from a single component. They usually come from disruptions in the energy moving through the tool—electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, or thermal. When that energy falls out of balance, the machine reports a symptom, but not always the true cause.
This is why my work is structured in two layers: fast remote diagnostics to capture and stabilize the symptoms, followed by deeper engineering analysis focused on how energy moves through the system.
I specialize in problems that sit at the crossroads of mechanical, electrical, controls, and process behavior. Most failures aren’t single-layer issues, and most service calls miss the multi-disciplinary patterns hiding underneath. By separating immediate stabilization from detailed analysis, I provide both quick relief and long-term reliability.
How I Work
Remote and On-site Diagnostics – Finding the Symptoms Fast:
- Interview operators and maintenance
- Review alarms, messages, and cycle behavior
- Identify which energy path is out of balance
- Gather logs, parameters, screenshots, and machine history
Engineering Analysis – Finding the Root Cause in the Energy Flow:
- Evaluate electrical load and power stability
- Analyze the equipment capability and verify the setups
- Analyze servo response, torque, and axis loading
- Examine timing, motion, and vibration behavior
- Verify machine parameters, ladder and G-code programs for best optimization
Examples:
- A drive alarm may come from a mechanical overload.
- A hydraulic stall may come from electrical feedback loss.
- A drifting axis may come from thermal expansion or lubrication breakdown.
This is the difference between replacing parts and restoring the system
Approach
- Root-cause first, always
- No guesswork
- Clear communication in plain language
- Practical, cost-conscious solutions
- Support for leadership and technicians alike
- Insight across 40 years of machine generations (1980–2020)
Teaching and Knowledge Transfer
I teach every step of the process to anyone who wants to learn. Operators, maintenance, engineers, supervisors — I want them to understand:
- What I’m seeing
- Why it matters
- How to diagnose similar issues themselves
- How to maintain the improvements long-term
Great troubleshooting is a skill that grows the organization. I never keep the knowledge to myself
Philosophy
Machine failures are rarely random—they are energy flow problems with visible symptoms. My job is to decode that behavior quickly, locate the true cause, and guide your organization toward the most reliable, cost-effective repair path.
The value isn’t the hour spent. The value is the downtime avoided.