The following is a collection of the many projects that I have worked on both for classes and for personal use.
If you have any questions about the projects or you would like to build something similar please contact me and I would be happy to help!
The idea here was to create a super bright head light for divers. Current dive lights require the use of hands which can be a huge hindrance to any sort of work underwater. This is especially true in the case of scientific diving and reef restoration. Low budgets demand a simple and adaptable solution and DiveLight meets those needs. In addition to this, the options to change the light color and even change to UV allows divers to explore how colors change with depth and varying light levels as well as admire phosphorescent corals.
The main challenges of this project were miniaturization, waterproofing, and pressure-proofing. Miniaturization was achieved through careful component selection and use of a miniaturized Arduino Beetle. Conforming the enclosure to the battery (the largest component) helps keep the overall size to a minimum. The waterproofing and pressure proofing were achieved at the same time through the use of resin potting for the solid-state electronics and mineral oil for the moving parts. Specifically the potentiometer and the toggle button needed to be sealed from the water and the pressure while still retaining the ability to move. I chose to replace the air in the parts with mineral oil with the help of a vacuum pump. I then sealed the openings with flexible urethane.
The entire enclosure was designed around the electronics to allow room for each of the components as well as soldering. The circuit was designed, tested, and simplified using a breadboard. This video shows the functionality of the complete circuit.
Despite my best efforts, the space for soldering was small and I accidentally shorted our circuit board using the tip of my soldering iron. Due to time constraints we were not able to replace the circuit board and fully troubleshoot the problem. In order to maintain primary functionality of the device I bypassed the board and hardwired just the white LED through the power button.
In the top of the image is the power button mold used to form the exterior shape (the interior shape is formed using an extra button covered in mold release). The gap where the LED strip leads connect to the interior of the enclosure is filled with fast curing silicone caulk to prevent the potting resin from dripping through
The goal of this project was to design a permanent mold cast aluminum skateboard deck (engineering drawing shown on the left) as well as create a functional prototype from another material to showcase our design. My teammate Nalini and I used this opportunity to create a board that is not only extremely functional but also grabs some attention with it’s interesting design. We chose to make the deck pennyboard sized so that it would be easier to transport around campus and take to class. Our wood lamination and vacuum press methodology allowed us to achieve a compound curve for the kick-tail and maintain sufficient strength and flexibility to make the skateboard ride smoothly.
Initial Concept Development
Foam core prototype to visualize and solidify the shape of the board
This helps to ensure that the board is the right size for my feet, doesn’t interfere with the wheels when turning hard, and will be an appropriate size to carry into class
This also allows me to adjust the kick-tail angle experimentally rather than just guessing and hoping for the best. I discovered that the necessary angle was shallower than my initial CAD design
Fleshed out CAD design for aluminum permanent mold casting
Engineering drawing for the permanent mold casting
The raw material is 1/16in maple veneer. Each piece is dyed already so I just chose the color stack that I liked
We laid out the mold on 2in insulation foam and shaded the areas the need to be tapered to achieve the desired curve
Profile shaping was done on the bandsaw
Some rough grit sanding blocks made quick work of the curve sections
The side bend has a relatively shallow angle but it gives the board additional rigidity and a location register for the rider’s heels and toes
A closer look at the angle and size of the kick-tail. Large enough to get the width of your foot on but just barely. No sense in making the wheel base any shorter than needed
The mold was then covered in duct tape to make it more durable and less likely to stick to any of the adhesives we will use
Basic profiles (slightly oversized to allow for later edge cleanup) were cut out of the veneers to allow us to line the parts up with the mold
Plies were cut one at a time but luckily did not take very long because the material is thin
Here we can see what the stack taking shape in this dry-fit
All the pieces of the puzzle on the work station and ready to be put together
It’s important to coat both sides of the layers to ensure that there are no dry spots that could cause delamination down the road
The materials glued up and the vacuum nozzle and breather-strip in place
With the vacuum drawn we can see how easily and precisely the board takes the shape of the mold. This is one of the primary advantages to using the thin veneer plies
With a few holes drilled for the truck hardware the wheels are on! All that’s left now is a coat of paint to protect from water damage and some styling grip tape
A view of the overall profile of the board
Our aesthetic ribbing really adds to the overall look of the board
A good view of the color stack we achieved on the side of the board after a protective paint coat
The money shot! The board is ready for use and rides quite smoothly but is still small enough to shuttle between classrooms and fit under my chair
This final project for DIY Design and Fabrication was completely open-ended. I chose to make a bluetooth speaker with a visually reactive laser. The whole system is completely analog and the reactive laser patterns are generated by a mirror mounted on a flexible membrane. As the air cavity vibrates with the music, the mirror resonates and generates different patterns depending on the frequency and the beat. The speaker enclosure was made from 3/4in oak and shaped on a CNC router.
The goal of this project was to create a lamp entirely from paper products (except for the bulb) without any adhesives or fasteners. The challenge here was to create a robust structure with flat-packed materials and only interlocking joints. I modeled the whole structure in SolidWorks with parametric values for all of the joints. This enabled me to adjust the size of slots very easily on each iteration in order to get the friction fits tight.
The design was inspired by an astronomy theme. The stars on the side of the lamp as well as the planet on the front are meant to emulate the objects seen through a telescope. In addition, the holes cast star patterns on the wall when the bulb is lit.
The lamp shade rolling tabs did not work very well on the first prototype. The tab and the slots were removed on the final version to allow for easier assembly.
The bulb could wobble around pretty easily in version 1. This let me know that I need another spacer to keep the bulb centered and rigid.
Went together quite well. I had to trim a little material off of the slots to allow for enough room to fit the telescope body into.
I had to tape the paper down because parts were getting blown away by the ventilation fan.
The order of operations was very important here to ensure that I could get the bulb in with the cord in the middle of the shades.
The core of this project was really about the manufacturing technique. I used a 3D printed master model to form a two part silicone mold which was then used to cast the final parts. I used steel pins pushed into the silicone in order to position a magnet near the contact pad.
The theme I developed here came from the project outline. Since the goal was simply to make a keychain, I decided that I wanted a bit more functionality which lead me to the inclusion of the magnets. In order to keep the theme interesting and make the design and casting process more challenging, I chose the fist bump theme.
The goal of this project was to create a cup-holder from given acrylic material without the use of adhesives. Additionally, the product needed to fit the theme of a rugged mountain adventure. This led me to the idea of a carabiner that would grip onto the cup rigidly. The primary limitations here were in the material but with the help of a thin flexible cantilever and some heat forming, the overall product is quite robust and holds the cup tightly.
Model generated using Solidworks. I initially modeled the cup using measurements I took with digital calipers. I then used this model to create closely mating clip geometry.
This file is generated directly from the CAD model and input into the laser cutter.
This is my handheld torch that I used to get more selective heating of the bend area. This required patience and gloves.
This was my first attempt at selective heating and bending. I did not heat the very end enough and I pushed too hard. This resulted in a fracture at the thinnest point of the bend.
This actuated gripper was designed to attach to an existing arm assembly to pick up a spherical mass, withstand swinging, and return the mass to the starting position. The project additionally imposed the goal of minimum assembly weight.
My team used 10% carbon fiber reinforced PLA filament with optimized print settings for each part (low infill and skin thicknesses for low-load parts). A few of the key features include a conical worm gear to prevent back-driving and to allow much greater gripping force with low motor torque. We also employed a hollow carbon tubing frame for the claw pivots and Dycem pads for very high friction. The overall assembly mass (fasteners included) was 92 grams.
