Overview

After a series of failed prints, I decided to upgrade my 3D printer. I had previously installed a BL Touch, which automatically "levels the bed" by making height measurements across the bed and adjusts to it for more accurate movement in the Z-axis. Over the past two days, I added Klipper firmware and direct drive to the printer. I configured an old Raspberry Pi 3 to run MainsailOS to control the printer, and have seen an improvement of 25% so far in print times with this upgrade. For the direct drive upgrade,  I 3D printed an adapter I found on Thingiverse, disassembled the extrusion system and the X-gantry, and reassembled with the adapter. From this upgrade, I expect to see fewer failed prints, since a large portion of failed prints came from the filament getting misrouted with the Bowden tube setup. Additionally, I can now print more easily with TPU filament.

Overview

Green Ammonia for Sustainability (Project GAS) was an undergraduate research project sponsored by SoCalGas  to explore green methods to generate heat, electricity, and ammonia for farming operations in the Imperial Valley. 

My Role

I worked on the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) subsystem design, proposing integration with a steam Rankine cycle to take advantage of the hot exhaust gasses coming out of the SOFC to generate even more power and raise system efficiency. I brought a strong theoretical background on SOFCs to the project, having co-authored two research papers on the technology. I verified and expanded on an existing Python SOFC model, adding heat power and efficiency equations as well as an easy way to download all required dependencies. After a thorough literature review, we settled on pairing the SOFC with a steam Rankine cycle for our project. I developed custom blocks in MATLAB to model our specific SOFC waste heat parameters feeding into the Rankine cycle modeled in Simulink. 

Overview

Our team was tasked to develop a desktop-sized plastic injection molding machine with around 1000lbf of injection force. After pouring in ABS pellets, our machine was expected to heat and inject the pellets into any given mold at a press of a button. 

My Role

I managed the entire electrical and software portion of the project, from parts selection to installation. After discussing the mechanical design with the rest of the team, motors and heating elements were selected to meet the requirements of the project. Based on available spec sheets, I calculated the expected power draw from each component to design a comprehensive power delivery system from 110V AC power from the wall to each component. An AC/DC converter was used as the power supply to DC components, and buck converters and wires with appropriate gauges were selected to ensure each component was adequately and safely powered.
I selected an Arduino Uno to control all DC components and the pneumatic cylinder. I adjusted control through physical testing of each subsystem. 

Overview

This Raspberry-Pi-powered exhibit allows visitors to experience a variety of sound and visual effects overlay their live movements captured by the Raspberry Pi camera. Visitors have 12 unique sound and visual effects to choose from, making for a fun, wacky experience. This project revamped an existing exhibit, adding fun visual effects and an additional display in front of the stage for easy view. Today, it continues to be enjoyed by visitors to the museum.

My Role

I found 12 sound effects to go along with the 12 buttons part of the original exhibit. I then edited the sound files to eliminate delay from a button press to the sound playing. I assisted with debugging the Python code tying each button to a sound effect and Pi camera visual effect. I participated in prototyping designs for the exhibit and the final installation.