RBSP Devices

I've realized that I never put up the designs that I initially worked on at the Space Sciences Lab. The first is a testing system for the Spin Plane Boom to be deployed in the RBSP (Radiation Belt Storm Probes) NASA mission. Most of the system was already designed, but I made several enhancements and added a few sensors to the system for proper testing:

Operational position. The SPB is placed on the bottom and controlled by the motor on the side.

Safety sensors near LVDT (Linear variable differential transformer)

The device is operated by the outer motor and a motor on the inside which

winds the wire on SPB. This is all controlled by a program written in LabView. After making necessary design changes, we built a brand new 2nd system to do simultaneous testing.

The following is another testing device that I made a few adjustments to and built a copy of.

Phototransistor circuit

Just for fun...

I haven't done a design for fun lately because I've been focusing so much on school projects and such. Therefore, I thought I'd give it a shot:

This is a flash drive I've had for a while. As you can see, it rotates at the center to keep the USB interface safe. Sadly, I just lost this flash drive yesterday :-(

TQCM Mount

Just a small side project at work that took about a week to finish:





This is a simple mounting system for a TQCM (Thermoelectric Quartz Crystal Microbalance). It is meant to interact with the systems inside of one of our huge chambers, and there was a very tight space into which we could fit it. The main goal was to have variable adjustment in all three coordinate systems. Also, The TQCM is mounted through its heat sink, so we needed to use a material for the mount that had a high thermal conductivity yet strong enough to support the weight (went with 6063 Aluminum).

Helmholtz Coil Chamber

For the past 6 months, I've been working on designing and building a calibration chamber at my current job with the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Lab. The chamber itself is currently in production and should be shipped to us within a couple of weeks. The support structure and the Helmholtz coil mechanism, however, is all manufactured. I hope to commence assembly pretty soon, so I can finally get my hands dirty. Below are a couple of screenshots of the finalized SolidWorks model.

The support structure was built out of 80/20, which is very convenient and sturdy for these kinds of projects. The Helmholtz coils were manufactured off site, but will be welded to the support tabs in house. This is one of the most fulfilling parts of working on an engineering project: designing everything as a 3D model and actually seeing it come to life.

Finite Element Analysis

After hearing so much about it, I finally got the chance to do Finite Element Analysis. I've gotta say it helps out A LOT during the manufacturing process. I've been using Solidworks Simulation, which isn't as sophisticated as other FEA programs, but it gets the job done for now.

I have attached four project reports that I've done so far in my ME128 class that deals with the application of FEA:

Project 1: Computational and Graphical Design Analysis of a Generic Beam under Triple-State Loading

Project 2: Implementing Computer Aided Design in Real World Manufacturing - The Corkscrew Bottle Opener Example

Project 3: Parametric Design of a MEMS Accelerometer

Final Project: Drop Shock Dynamic Analysis of a MEMS Accelerometer System

Dell Latitude CD-ROM Module

Amidst the constant SolidWorks exposure I had at work over the summer, I decided to embark on a little side project just for fun. I had an old Dell Latitude laptop lying around, so I decided (with high ambition) to model it all out. So far, the CD-ROM drive is complete for your viewing pleasure:

The core of the CD reading and writing system: the laser pickup

The tracking motor and gear system that controls the movement of the laser pickup along the helical rod

The main head unit: bottom view. The full operation of the laser pickup movement can be seen here.

The main head unit: top view. Disc motor along with the PCB and the laser pickup

Disc motor connected to PCB. The PCB attaches to other devices in the system through the three ports on the right hand side of the image.

Motor and gear system responsible for opening and closing of the main unit based on user input.

Main Unit: bottom view with cover on

Main unit: bottom view. The center of operations.

Main Unit: top view, facing forward.

Main Unit with Drive Unit, including the railing mechanism

PCB responsible for interface between computer and CD Drive.

Complete Drive Unit

Module Assembly Exploded View

Final Module Assembly

Final Module Assembly Bottom. The awkward front shape can be explained by the fact that this module slides into the laptop front the front, and not the side. Therefore, it has to adhere to the curvature of the front lip of the laptop.

Wire Diagram of entire assembly, just for fun ^_^

Hope you enjoyed viewing part of what I spent my summer on. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. If you want to see the actual SolidWorks files, just shoot me an e-mail and I'll be glad to send them out.

Autodesk 3ds

During the last couple of months of E128, we were taught Autodesk 3d Studio. By the end of the course, I guess you can say we pretty much mastered the program, even though there is so much more to learn. The following is a collection of things I've done with 3d Studio over the course of the class:

P-51B flying over UC Berkeley campus



ARC Mate 120iC/10L Robot Welding



Final Project: Oster Beehive Blender Assembly & Function