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Articles 1 - 13 of 13
Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering
Robotic Arm Extrusion End Effector, Nicholas Viamin, David Blouin, Savannah Hunt, Nico Figueroa
Robotic Arm Extrusion End Effector, Nicholas Viamin, David Blouin, Savannah Hunt, Nico Figueroa
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
This senior design project aims to enhance the capabilities of the Rotrics AIO Desktop Arm (Dexarm) by designing and implementing an extrusion device capable of smooth and consistent extrusion for 3D printing applications. The project focused on ensuring safety, affordability, and ease-of-use for users, while achieving precise control over the extrusion process. Various mechanical and electrical components were carefully selected to ensure compatibility with the Dexarm and to provide optimal performance. To maintain safety, extensive testing and risk assessments were conducted to minimize any potential hazards associated with the extrusion process. To achieve smooth and consistent extrusion, precise control mechanisms …
Marine Robot Sample Retrieving System, Valeriya Chulyukina, Noah Villar, Kekoa Blair, Mandeep Singh, Nathan Burke
Marine Robot Sample Retrieving System, Valeriya Chulyukina, Noah Villar, Kekoa Blair, Mandeep Singh, Nathan Burke
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
The exploration of our underwater ecosystems is critical. The aquatic ecosystem has a significant effect on human life, yet our understanding of the oceanic environment is severely lacking. Santa Clara University’s Robotic Systems Lab contributes to subsea exploration through its investment in remotely operated vehicle (ROV) technology. This project was done with the guidance of not only professors in the Robotics Systems Lab, but also stakeholders from the US Geological Survey scientists and researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). Our team goal was to further advance SCU’s efforts by creating a sediment sample collection system consisting of …
Mobile Nanogrid, Daniel Mendoza, Ben Mahony, Charles Ju, Michael Batshon
Mobile Nanogrid, Daniel Mendoza, Ben Mahony, Charles Ju, Michael Batshon
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
The mobile nanogrid is a standalone mobile power solution which uses a combination of automatic and manual tracking mechanisms to maintain a solar panel's perpendicularity to the sun over the course of the day in order to maximize energy generation. The power can then be consumed by a user or stored. It is designed to be placed on the roof of a vehicle for the recreational camping market to meet the need for mobile power generation. A scaled-down functional prototype was designed in SolidWorks, modeled in MATLAB Simulink, fabricated in the machine shop using a combination of off-the-shelf and custom …
Heavy Lift Drone, Sam Carhart, David Cooper, Luis Gaitan, Michael Kaliterna, Sami Lama, Paul Rogel-Herrera, Yuya Yabe
Heavy Lift Drone, Sam Carhart, David Cooper, Luis Gaitan, Michael Kaliterna, Sami Lama, Paul Rogel-Herrera, Yuya Yabe
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
Despite the rapid rise in the number of drones in the past few years, there has been little work done to produce a drone that is optimized for the FAA' s 55 lb upper takeoff limit. This gap in the market is one that the Heavy Lift Drone (HLD) fills - a light-weight, higher payload capability, and inexpensive drone to be used in commercial applications - most notably irrigation monitoring. The HLD is a contra-rotating hexagonal configuration system featuring two levels of propellers that allow for larger propeller diameter and generate greater lift. After performing extensive finite element analyses and …
Design Of An Urban Garden Aquaponics System, Riley Albright-Borden, James Wang, Sydney Thompson
Design Of An Urban Garden Aquaponics System, Riley Albright-Borden, James Wang, Sydney Thompson
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
The project objective is to create a durable, off-the-grid, large-scale aquaponics system consisting of over 90 sq. ft of growing space, a 650-gallon fishpond, and four types of sensors to transmit water quality data to the internet for remote water quality monitoring. The end goal of the project is to supplement produce grown in the garden to further increase fresh, nutritional options available in meals cooked and distributed by Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen to combat food insecurity in San Jose. This report presents the need for a system, details the various subsystems, and the rationale for the designs. It …
The Vessel For Autonomous Research Underwater (The Varuna), Tyler Briles, Shae Connor, Erin Guthrie, Anthony Jackson, Madeleine Peauroi
The Vessel For Autonomous Research Underwater (The Varuna), Tyler Briles, Shae Connor, Erin Guthrie, Anthony Jackson, Madeleine Peauroi
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
Humans are intimately connected to the Earth’s ocean, and yet only 5% of it has been explored. Learning more about marine life and ocean chemistry can only improve our stewardship efforts. The addition of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle to the Santa Clara University Robotic Systems Laboratory’s collection of marine robots will contribute to this quest for knowledge. It will assist researchers by providing a low-cost, easy-to-use, portable, reliable, and safe alternative to operator-controlled vehicles. This report describes our motivations for this project, the decisions we made in the design and manufacturing of the VARUNA, and tradeoff analyses of possible options. …
Pcb Prototyping, Kasey Chun, Dylan Hack, Ilja Medan, Michael Rudolf, Ryan Sidley
Pcb Prototyping, Kasey Chun, Dylan Hack, Ilja Medan, Michael Rudolf, Ryan Sidley
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
In today’s world, Printed Circuit Boards, also known as PCBs, are part of our daily lives. However, it is currently difficult for students in university classes or hobbyists to quickly produce custom made PCBs since no system exists where every step in the production process is on one platform. There are four main steps that go into manufacturing a PCB once it is fully designed which are: milling, solder dispensing, component placement, and a reflow process. The goal will be to create various toolheads and place them onto a single platform allowing the user to perform the aforementioned production processes. …
Marv: Marine Autonomous Research Vessel, Drew Azevedo, Sam Beltram, Gregorio Delvecchio, Ben Hopner
Marv: Marine Autonomous Research Vessel, Drew Azevedo, Sam Beltram, Gregorio Delvecchio, Ben Hopner
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
Conducting hydrologic research in remote areas is currently performed manually, making it a labor intensive and inaccurate solution. Due to the size, weight, and cost of automated solutions on the market today, a need has arisen for a low cost, highly portable, autonomous solution. Working closely with Santa Clara University’s Robotics Systems Lab (RSL), our team has developed a low cost, highly portable autonomous marine research vessel named MARV (Marine Autonomous Research Vessel). It is an autonomous surface platform where scientists outfit the vessel with their own data acquisition equipment. The mechanical chassis is collapsible for modes of remote transportation …
Rsl Autonomous Rover, Cris Madrigal, Jiachi Zhang, Nicholas Peacock, Brogan O'Hara
Rsl Autonomous Rover, Cris Madrigal, Jiachi Zhang, Nicholas Peacock, Brogan O'Hara
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
Autonomous vehicles are useful for a variety of applications such as military, urban, and agricultural environments. This paper discusses adding an autonomous navigation system to an all-terrain vehicle by implementing controllers that interface with its current system, installing sensors on the vehicle for obstacle detection, and developing effective safety mechanisms to prevent injury to others. The result is a vehicle capable of waypoint navigation and obstacle avoidance. Testing the vehicle showed that the LIDAR and the autonomous navigation system were integrated seamlessly, and that the sensor output signals were successfully translated into vehicle commands the existing system uses. This system …
Might-E Wheel, Abigail Grills, Daniel Doke, Jared O'Rourke, Zach Jesberger
Might-E Wheel, Abigail Grills, Daniel Doke, Jared O'Rourke, Zach Jesberger
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
Electric bikes are proving to be an increasingly reliable source of transportation, but with large price tags and existing conversion kits proving too complicated and unapproachable for the average user, commuters are failing to consider electric bicycles as an option. A prototype of a wireless, rear-wheel replacement to convert a bicycle from manual to full-power electric was built. This motorized wheel is called Might-E Wheel. Might-E Wheel was designed as the most approachable and user-friendly way to convert a bicycle from manual to full-power electric. Might-E Wheel was able to achieve a top speed of 27.5 km/h, a range of …
Mobile Music: A Musical Therapy Assistance Device, Alex Hildebrand, Tanner Malkoff
Mobile Music: A Musical Therapy Assistance Device, Alex Hildebrand, Tanner Malkoff
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
Children suffering from Cerebral Palsy often undergo gait therapy in order to strengthen and coordinate their trunks and legs. The patients often feel unmotivated to perform their gait training because the physical movements associated with it are difficult and there is no immediate reward. Physical therapists (PT) will often play music as an incentive to get the children focused on their physical therapy, but this is inefficient and impedes the PT from analyzing and tuning the patients' gait. Mobile Music is a small device designed for automating musical therapy during gait training. In this paper, we go through several design …
Uavino, Matthew Belesiu, Aaron Chung, Kirby Linvill, Nathan Carlson, Phillip Coyle, Megan Peekema
Uavino, Matthew Belesiu, Aaron Chung, Kirby Linvill, Nathan Carlson, Phillip Coyle, Megan Peekema
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
UAVino is a drone solution that uses aerial imagery to determine the overall plant health and water content of vineyards. In general, the system focuses on automating crop inspection by taking aerial imagery of a vineyard, conducting post-processing, and outputting an easily interpreted map of the vineyard's overall health. The project's key innovation is an auto-docking system that allows the drone to automatically return to its launch point and recharge in order to extend mission duration. Long term, UAVino is envisioned as a multi-year, interdisciplinary project involving both the Santa Clara University Robotics Systems Laboratory and local wineries in order …
Formula Electric : Powertrain, Mark Allison, Bryan Bidwell, Stuart Hopson, Jackson Smith, Carlos Streegan, Dominic Villa
Formula Electric : Powertrain, Mark Allison, Bryan Bidwell, Stuart Hopson, Jackson Smith, Carlos Streegan, Dominic Villa
Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses
The Santa Clara Formula Electric team designed, and manufactured a powertrain for an electric racecar according to the rules prescribed by the SAE International Formula Electric competition. The powertrain is divided into subsystems: the battery pack, battery pack cooling system, motor controller, and the motor. The battery pack was constructed, but full electrical connection of all cells were not made. The pack was not integrated with the motor and motor controller. In addition, due to time constraints, extensive testing could not be completed.