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.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
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.


Sunday, October 31, 2010
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:
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
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: 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.

PCB responsible for interface between computer and CD Drive.

Complete Drive Unit
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.
Monday, June 14, 2010
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:
Friday, February 19, 2010
Pro/E Homework
Monday, February 15, 2010
Magnifying Glass
I decided to take advantage of this 3 day weekend to play around with assemblies. I had a magnifying glass lying around, so I decided to CAD it out. Drawn in SolidWorks 2010.





The handle of the device, made of black plastic
The base of the glass itself.
The glass with the curvature for magnification.
Connector between the handle and glass base.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
My Own Designs
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)









Module Assembly Exploded View
Final Module Assembly








