Engineering Portfolio
Projects Highlight
Some of our favorite client engagements, research, and engineering projects — mechanical engineering from concept through prototype.
Novel Foundation Structural Analysis & Design
Ongoing engineering support for Pin Foundations, a Gig Harbor-based manufacturer of pin-foundation systems used in residential and light commercial construction. Each project begins with a building layout review and foundation load analysis, resulting in a specified number and placement of foundation members sized for a code-viable installation. Deliverables span the full project lifecycle — from initial load calculations and foundation layout drawings through production documentation and field installation support.
Load Calculations · Foundation Layout · Structural Drafting · SketchUp · Client Engagement
Hip Assistive Exoskeleton — Georgia Tech Wearable Robotics Lab
Research and development of a mobile hip-assistive exoskeleton at Georgia Tech's Physiology of Wearable Robotics Lab. The mechanical system was taken from concept through a working prototype and into human subject testing, with a heavy emphasis on rapid prototyping, systems integration, and iterative mechanical analysis. The core design challenge was delivering meaningful hip assistance within the tight constraints of a wearable device — weight, range of motion, and donning complexity all in tension with structural and actuation requirements.
Rapid Prototyping · Mechanical Design · Systems Integration · Wearable Robotics · Mechanical Analysis
Equatorial Star Tracker
A fully self-contained equatorial mount for astrophotography — based on established mount principles but engineered from scratch, including gear ratio selection, motor sizing, and fabrication. The tracker uses NEMA17 steppers with TMC2209 drivers, a 1:144 worm gear reduction stage, and a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W + ESP32 brain to deliver GPS-assisted goto pointing, sidereal tracking, plate-solving polar alignment, and active guiding. Structural components are machined aluminum and 3D-printed parts designed and iterated in-house.
Mechanism Design · Embedded Systems · 3D Printing · Precision Engineering · Fabrication
4Runner Full Camper Conversion
A full interior camper system designed and fabricated for a 2019 Toyota 4Runner for a six-month full-time road trip. The buildout includes a bed platform, working drawer systems for cooking and pantry storage, a closet, and modular general storage — all constructed from plywood with functional drawer slides. Every component was dimensioned around the 4Runner's interior geometry to maximize usable volume while keeping the system practical for daily living.
Product Design · Fabrication · Space Optimization · Structural Layout
Mechanical Lymphedema Detection Scanner
A precision mechanical rotation system designed and built for LymphaTech's 3D volumetric limb scanner, used for early detection of lymphedema in arms and legs. The engineering challenge was achieving constant angular velocity at a fixed radial distance from the limb — without any electrical power — to eliminate scan artifacts caused by speed variation. The solution was a fully mechanical drive mechanism with custom-cut steel gears, taken from concept to a complete functional steel prototype. LymphaTech subsequently invested in the design and integrated it into their scanner platform.
Medical Device Design · Mechanism Design · Custom Gearing · Steel Fabrication · Precision Manufacture