Freshman Design Portfolio

Here lies documentation for the group projects completed in my first two semesters of college 2023 thru 2024. I really enjoyed these projects as my introduction to the mechanical engineering design process. They built my foundation in project documentation, CAD design, and presentation.

Flywheel/Impeller “Mechanical Battery”

Idle Energy Harvester Photos

• In a team of six, created a low-friction flywheel connected to an impeller via a belt drive that stores and harnesses unused energy from a door opening in order to increase airflow in crowded spaces
• Optimized 3D printed components in terms of volume, dimensions, and structure in order to maximize cost efficiency, strength, and print quality
• Conducted controlled experiments with repeated trials to obtain experimental values for moments of inertia and torque

Smartphone Impact Data Tester Prototype

One of the final iterations of the excel spreadsheet used to display kinematic data

Created the structure of an experimentally sound and reusable impact data tester, using internal sensors within a smartphone as a common means of gathering accurate data.

Structure: Made out of 1” PVC piping, it uses joints and pvc glue to stay rigid.

• Used a two-legged base to support the mass of the structure head & attached smartphone
• A nylon string and carrier held the smartphone facing directly to the ground

Data: Using the phyphox app, we created an easy-to-use method of gathering data for the acceleration, velocity, and position of the smartphone as it falls.

• Utilized accelerometers and LiDAR sensors to collect kinematic data
• Formatted an excel document to process raw data into easy-to-read graphs

View the presentation here:

Functional Decomposition and CAD Recreation of Electric Garden Tool

Render of the final assembly for our Fusion360 designed leaf blower

With gardening tools being such a common household item, the engineering behind these tools are often overlooked. As part of a freshmen mechanical engineering design course (ME1212), I along with three other group members were tasked with functionally decomposing a SunJoe SBJ601E All-Electric Leaf Blower in order to provide an absolute understanding of its functioning.

Render of the final assembly for our Fusion360 designed leaf blower

Our project had 4 stages:

1. Top-to-bottom analysis of the device. Identifying all steps of the leaf blower’s operation, having sub-steps to assist in the explanation of form, fit, and function for each of the device’s components
2. Precision measuring and CAD design of each component.
3. Finalization of CAD assembly and Design Report.
4. Proposition of design improvements.