Pocket 1/4″ Hex Driver
I’ve always found a Leatherman to be bulky and deeply unsatisfying to unfold to use the pliers. While building a wallet toolkit around a Knipex Cobra XS pliers as a leatherman alternative, I went to great lengths to build a matching driver of just the right size and shape.
DINGLABS Brass Nameplate
A housewarming gift for a friend, a THORLABS spoof, and a great excuse to buy a powder coating setup. This simple project was a great way to try out some fun Fusion 360 CAM toolpath tricks and learn the basics of powder coating.
Taig Mill Tachometer Circuit
After years of struggling with a handheld tachometer to get spindle RPM it was time for something that integrated with the CNC mill control software. As an introduction to making circuits at home, I modified some existing plans and made up a simple tachometer circuit for my CNC Taig mill.
DIY Welded Battery Pack
Carrying and maintaining a large inventory of flight packs for drone racing can be expensive and exhausting. Recharging flight packs from a larger battery in- between races provides a cheaper alternative. To meet storage constraints and learn more about lithium batteries, I decided to build my own high capacity battery.
Billet Aluminum Collet Wrenches
A project to test the limits of the Taig mill and a good excuse to design some unique fixtures. Aluminum wrenches will not mar collet nuts like steel wrenches, and are less likely to damage carbide endmills if the wrench bumps the tool.
Taig Mill Enclosure
College graduation meant no more access to a well outfitted college machine shop, so it was time to start modifying my little Taig mill to be a more capable workhorse. It’s tough to get your deposit back with metal chips wedged between every floorboard, so a quality enclosure was first on the list!
2019 NASA Robotic Mining Competition
During my final year as a team member of the NDSU NASA Robotics Mining Competition team I was only able to participate for one of the two design semesters since I had to graduate and get a real job! I handed off project management roles to other team members and focused on helping manufacture components and train incoming team members.
Kurt KTR-35 Fixture Plate
In 2017 the NDSU machine shop purchased a Fryer CM-15 machining center that was incompatible with all vises currently in the shop. I selected an appropriate vise to purchase, then designed and built a fixture plate to mount it onto the machine table.
2018 NASA Robotic Mining Competition
The NASA Robotic Mining Competition tasks fifty universities to autonomously mine and deposit at least one kilogram of simulated martian ice in a ten minute time period. For the 2018 competition year I was the project and mechanical lead.
2017 NASA Robotic Mining Competition
Not having a robotics team in high school, the 2017 NASA Robotic Mining Competition was my first foray into any organized robotics team. During the competition season I designed and built drive systems and regolith deposition mechanisms while learning a lot about the competition itself.
Brass Bolt Puzzle
A fun project taken on at the behest of the machine shop manager at NDSU to prove my lathe abilities, and to allow me to puzzle fellow engineers for years to come.
