Posts

E-Guitar (Work in Progress)

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Skills Utilized: Soldering Woodworking 3D Printing Engineering Sketches In winter 2023, I started building a custom electric guitar from scratch using particle board. This project is ongoing, and updates will be shared as progress continues: Process So Far: Shaping the Body: Using a jigsaw, I cut the guitar body out of particle board. The body comprises two laminated boards bonded with wood glue. Small holes were drilled in specific areas to allow wiring to pass through. I sanded the edges with fine-grit sandpaper to ensure a smooth finish and avoid splinters. Fig 1. Guitar sketch on particle board Fig 2. The two wood boards are laminated using wood glue Fig 3. Cavity for controller and wirings on the back of the guitar Installing Pickups: Humbucker pickups were mounted on the guitar body. These pickups reduce electrical noise and interference and ensure clean signal transmission from the strings. Next Steps: Install the output jack onto the guitar body. Design and 3D print a cover for...

Cold Inflation Tests (CO-OP)

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During my co-op term in the spring of 2024, I spent eight months working as an R&D engineer for Mustang Survival. My primary focus was testing the inflation performance of portable flotation devices (PFDs) in cold water environments. Below, I've outlined the typical daily procedures involved in these tests: Morning Preparation: Adhering to ISO standards, the PFDs are packed in the morning and placed inside a Thermotron chamber for five hours. This simulates a cold-use scenario where a user might wear the PFD for an extended period before entering the water. Fig 1. Thermotron Chamber Fig 2. PFDs are stored in the Thermotron Chamber for five hours Water Tank Setup: The water tank is prepared according to ISO requirements, maintaining a temperature close to 0°C to replicate freezing conditions. A water chiller and ice maker are combined to achieve the desired temperature before testing begins. Fig 3. Water tank for Cold Inflation Testing (Water Chiller on the right) Testing Proces...

Electric Bike

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  Skills Used: Soldering Iron Rotary Kit Heat Shrinks Prototyping and Testing Product Design Working with bike motors and bike controllers In the summer of 2022, I collaborated with a friend to design and construct an electric bicycle. The design required extensive soldering of wires and a rotary kit to trim the edges of the bike motor. For our project, we installed a throttle and a pedal assist system on the bike, allowing the power to be accessed in two different ways.  Below are some images of the design process and final product of the e-bike. We swapped out the bike's front wheel for a new one equipped with a pre-installed motor. Next, we used helping hands to solder the controller to the motor, pedal assist, and the display meter. To ensure insulation and added durability, we covered the wires with heat-shrink tubing.  The e-bike runs on a lithium battery, as seen above. The battery was housed in a pannier on the bike rack, and any loose wires were secured to the bi...

Speaker Box

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  Skills Used: Woodworking Engineering sketches Soldering Researching In the summer of 2022, I designed and constructed a BlueTooth speaker box from scratch using car speakers, an amplifier, and a compressed particle board. The design process and final product are shown below.    Using a ruler and pencil, I carefully sized the wood to match the speakers' dimensions perfectly, ensuring a snug fit and optimal design. The amplifier is designed around an Arduino microcontroller, which came preloaded with volume controls and Bluetooth functionality right out of the box. I just had to solder the car speakers to the control board to get everything connected and working. I assembled the speaker box's body using wood glue. Without a clamp on hand, I got creative and used a 20-pound dumbbell to apply pressure while the glue set. Once the glue had set, I mounted the car speaker and the amplifier control board inside the box. To enhance its appearance, I gave the exterior a fres...

Aquaponics System

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Skills Used pH testing and control Research  Piping Pumping control In grade 12, I, alongside a peer, oversaw an aquaponic system located in our school's courtyard. Our objective was to grow microgreens by creating a recyclable system where both the fish and plants support each other. In our system, the fish excrement is converted into nitrate for the plants to grow, while the microgreens consume toxic ammonia within the fish tank so that the fish can survive. Below are some pictures of our system and final   product .

Arduino Claw System

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Skills Used: "C" Programming  Arduino Breadboard Engineering sketches Prototyping Risk Assessment During our first-year course at the University of British Columbia, we were tasked with designing an Arduino-controlled claw system using simple, everyday objects, such as cardboard, pencils, etc. Below are the components and final design of my claw retrieval system.