Founder & President · Evansville, Indiana
I build and support robust automation — machines, controls and the networks that tie them together.
About
I grew up in manufacturing and came up through I.T. — so I'm as comfortable in a control panel as I am in a network rack.
I started in my father's tool shop, then worked at our family's CNC shop, where I also ran the IT infrastructure, built the websites and handled graphic design. A controls engineer took me under his wing, and I spent years on the road commissioning and fixing equipment all over the U.S. — programming PLCs and HMIs on a home lab at night.
In 2019 I founded Envision Automation & Controls™. Today we design and build automation equipment in-house — leak testing, marking, inspection, assembly and material handling — and we won't take on a project unless we're 150% sure it will succeed.
Selected projects
Designed, built, programmed and run off by our team — from discovery and concept through commissioning.
Automated leak test for a wide range of part models and lengths, with pass marking, reject lock-in for supervisor review, and toolless quick-change fixtures.
Read the project →
Cross conveyor and claw pick-and-place merging two Roll Out lines into one Char system — four systems talking over EtherNet/IP and CIP Safety.
Read the project →
Full controls package — drawings, PLC, HMI, servo, in-house panel — plus conveyor and diverter integration.
Read the project →
Pallet conveyors and lifts with operator step-through, Kanban and 2D matrix verification at the tote station.
Read the project →
Leak test, light assembly, laser marking, data collection and sortation, with tooling ID for future model variants.
Read the project →On video
Machines running, builds in progress and the shop behind them — straight from the Envision YouTube channel.
Giving back
Someone opened the door to controls for me. The Change a Life™ giveaways pay that forward — putting real PLC hardware and software in the hands of people who want to learn automation and build a career in it.
A $1,079 PLC trainer with 3D factory simulation software — everything needed to start learning PLCs at home.
Giveaway details →Our biggest giveaway yet — opened worldwide — introducing the winner to Siemens, TIA Portal and motion control.
See the post →Follow along on LinkedIn to catch the next Change a Life™ giveaway.
Follow Preston →Ventures
Custom automation equipment, controls engineering, panel fabrication and retrofits, built in our own Evansville facility with an in-house machine shop.
envisions.io →
Standard machines for repetitive tasks — test, mark, scan, assemble — so manufacturers don't wait six months for a custom build. Run them alone or link them into a line.
Meet the X Platform™ →
An industrial Ethernet disconnect: a DIN-rail hardware relay, switched by a 24VDC signal, that physically isolates a machine from remote VPN access and plant networks.
Shop LAN Lock™ →
Achievements
Connect
Need a machine built, a line retrofitted or a network secured? Reach out.