Selected project work across manufacturing test, mechatronics, and embedded systems.

Custom test rig for a connected door-lock product that was failing intermittently in the field. CAD, machined and 3D-printed parts, custom PCB, Raspberry Pi controller with remote monitoring and data capture. Ran the lock through thousands of slam cycles to reproduce and isolate the failure.

The system conducted unlocking and cycling tests, logged every cycle, recorded fault times, and sent email and text notifications to lab personnel at any time of day.

Assembly line tester

Custom manufacturing test rig for a production line, built on 80/20 aluminum extrusion with a pneumatic cylinder actuator, limit switches, and sensor wiring managed back to a controller. The rig cycles a part through the test sequence, asserts the expected behavior at each station, and reports pass/fail data so failures are caught at the line rather than downstream.

Pneumatic stress-test fixtures

Among the various manufacturing fixtures I designed, I developed a pneumatic system for stress-testing and identifying manufacturing flaws. Any failures detected during the stress application were documented in subsequent manufacturing tests, which I both developed and automated.

Hardware failure analysis

My skill set encompasses the capacity to conduct thorough failure analysis, spanning from system-level hardware down to individual ICs and components. This entails diagnosing issues associated with weathering, corrosion, moisture damage, electrical stress, PCB failures, as well as assessing detailed hardware and electrical failure scenarios.

Failures I have investigated in production and in the field include cracked solder joints from thermal cycling, corroded contacts after moisture ingress, MOSFETs that failed under load transients, and PCB laminate delamination. The work pairs bench instrumentation — oscilloscope, microscope, curve tracer, X-ray where needed — with structured documentation so the root cause and corrective action travel with the part back to the line.

I designed, programmed, and built a 3D surface scanner using multiple motor technologies, laser scanning, and a custom interface for capture and analysis.

The scanner achieves sub-millimeter resolution and can capture fine detail on PCBs, machined parts, and complex assemblies. The custom GUI does the heavy lifting on data analysis: depth maps, point cloud capture, deviation analysis versus a reference model, and exportable 3D mesh output.

This project not only captures data with precision but also allows for seamless data analysis directly within the user-friendly interface.

A controller built on the ESP32 to communicate directly with other ESP32 devices utilizing the ESP-NOW framework.

ESP-NOW is a connectionless peer-to-peer protocol that lets multiple ESP32 boards exchange small packets without a Wi-Fi access point or handshake, which keeps the controller fast and predictable for embedded comms.

Prototype for a client who needed to scratch and scan a large volume of gift cards automatically.

CAD, 3D printing, PCB design, multiple electromechanical controls, and a Raspberry Pi running the system with a custom UI for the operator.

In 1lb and 3lb combat robotics, every gram counts, so I prefer to build custom control boards to minimize weight. But designing a new board for each robot became tedious — most share the same fundamental requirements: receiving commands from a handheld controller and driving motors, both for movement and a high-current ESC/BLDC weapon system.

To streamline future builds, I designed a compact, universal control board that integrates these core functions and can drop into any new robot design. At its heart is a custom-programmed ESP32-C3-MINI, which communicates over BLE with an Xbox gamepad for seamless wireless control.

The V2 board added a 4-layer PCB layout, reverse-polarity-protected 30V / 30A power input, an AP63203 buck converter for clean 3.3V at 2A, dual DRV8871 brushed DC motor drivers, an external power switch connector, and high-current output pads for ESCs and other accessories. Debug LED, tactile pushbutton, and I/O headers round out the build.

Filed under a public PCB design contest as part of the iteration, with the longer-term goal of a small product release.