2019 Mechanical Engineering Senior Design and Graduate Design Teams at Engineering Projects Expo

Team 18 - Demineralized Bone Matrix (DBM) Dispensing System: Our DBM Dispensing System reduces the time and effort it takes technicians to dose demineralized bone matrix putty. Our device uses an arbor press system to extrude the putty into a rotating disc that portions the DBM into four discrete volumes. The system is subject to ISO 5 cleanroom requirements and operates faster than one dose per 72 seconds.

Team 19 - Multifunctional MagTag Cover: The Multifunctional MagTag Cover is a device designed to protect an interface exposed to Low Earth Orbit. It provides retention and ejection of a CubeSat payload from launch to orbit and provides electrical power to the CubeSat via solar cells on its outer surface. The cover is attached and removed using passive and active magnetic systems.

Team 20 - Mechanized Cage Monitoring System: Animal Care Systems tasked our team with designing and prototyping a new attachment that automated their Optimice100 lab mouse carousel without causing uncomfortable levels of noise or vibration for the mice. Our project consists of both a motor system that rotates the carousel and a camera monitoring system, both are controlled remotely by a website user interface.

Team 2 - Modular Heated Production Press: Our team was tasked with developing a Modular Heat Press for the production of Ball’s Phase Array Antennas. The hydraulic-driven press we designed allows Ball to manufacture multiple antennas at once using specified temperature and pressure profiles.

Team 21 - BEEM Lab Automated Biodegradation Testbed: The BEEM Lab Automated Biodegradation Testbed is a system that controls and monitors environmental conditions for the testing of biodegradable electronics. This instrument helps BEEM Lab conduct groundbreaking research on eco-friendly sensors that promise a greener future for the agricultural industry.

Team 4 - Lean on Me - an Ergonomic Body Support: Lean on Me –an ergonomic body support was designed with the comfort of the end user in mind. Previously, their work created strain on their bodies which decreased productivity and worker satisfaction. This device allows the user to adjust its height and the angle of its bed, allowing them to ensure maximum comfort during their day to day work.

Mini-Marshalling Apparatus: This team is unable to present at Expo due to intellectual property considerations.

Team 5 - Shifting Capability of the Driven High Efficiency Bicycle Drivetrain: The CeramicSpeed Driven concept is a revolutionary bicycle drivetrain that achieves an efficiency of over 99% by use of a driveshaft and a bearing-tooth interface. Our project developed the shifting capabilities of the Driven system under realistic cycling loads. Our shifting system brings the single-speed concept closer to a competitive, market-ready drivetrain solution.

Team 6 - STEM and Arts Toy for Children's Hospital Patients: Patients of Children’s Hospital are often quarantined to Intensive Care Units with limited access to toys and educational opportunities due to safety restrictions. Through EcosySTEM Arts, we have developed a hospital safe, STEAM-focused toy that will serve to provide entertainment, education, and sensory stimulation to Children's Hospital patients.

Team 22 - Automated Wire Spooler: Ellab, Inc. is a thermal validation company working mostly in pharmaceuticals. In their Denver office, they manually prep thermocouple wires to be sent to clients. We automated the process by designing a button-operated device which automatically measures and cuts wire from 1000 ft spools.

Team 7 - Space Observation Tool Survivability: The Harris Team was tasked with developing a lightweight and low-cost system to provide visual feedback of satellite antenna deployment. The system – composed of a custom chassis, custom electronics, and off-the-shelf components – was designed to handle the harshness of the launch and on-orbit environments while providing video footage for antenna assessment.

Team 8 - Antenna Feed Deployment Mechanism: Design Team 8 collaborated with NASA JPL to design a deployment mechanism for a CubeSat antenna feed. This iterative project resulted in an innovative design for a collapsible structure that utilizes strain energy to deploy the feed. The mechanism architecture is unique in size and application, helping to shape design for future CubeSat missions.

Team 9 - NASA Lucy Two-Position Actuator: The NASA Lucy spacecraft will be traveling to 6 Trojan asteroids to investigate the beginnings of our solar system. Team 9 has designed, built and tested a Two-Position Actuator to actuate a sun shade for Lucy. The TPA hinges on a ball screw and a stepper motor and provides a low-cost and redundant solution that will survive the Lucy environments.

Team 24 - EOD Flexible Wire Attack Tool: This project modifies a linear explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) wire-cutting tool into a device that gives EOD technicians access to a complete 360° range of motion. The final prototype includes a multi-system module that consists of a hydraulic flex joint actuated and controlled by a cam and follower unit. The project was sponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Team 23 - HAZMAT Cut & Seal Tool: Our team designed a prototype tool for a Hazmat technician to cut and seal ⅛” diameter stainless steel tubing for Los Alamos National Laboratory. The tool must fit within a 2” diameter constraint and have a 2 ft standoff distance. With reliability as the top priority, our team designed and built a tool that houses a high force linear actuator within an aluminum frame. 

High-pressure Relief and Containment System: This team is unable to present at Expo due to intellectual property considerations.

Silica-dust Mitigation System: This team is unable to present at Expo due to intellectual property considerations.

Team 27 - Smoke Analysis System: The Smoke Analysis System (SAS) is a testing device created for Medtronic. The device accurately measures the performance of smoke evacuation systems for collecting harmful residual smoke during electrosurgical procedures. The SAS is cutting-edge technology to aid in developing products for eradicating smoke exposure in surgical operating rooms.

Team 11 - Micro Motion Clamping Mechanism: Micro Motion makes Coriolis Flow Meters (CFMs) that measure the density and mass flow rate of a fluid stream. Before shipping, the CFMs are tested by pressurizing them to 3 times their rated pressure. We made a clamping mechanism that reduces the total test time from 1 hour to 17 minutes and the loading on the CFM from 20,000 lbs to 10 lbs.

Team 28 - Deaerated Water Tower Project: The Deaerated Water Tower project was motivated by an effort by MillerCoors (MC) to lower their water and energy usage across their brewery. The team baselined the current system, implemented a new process that saves 7.8 M gallons of water per year, ran a full financial and utility analysis on 9 different systems, and presented each option to MC.

Team 28 - Meura Filter Plate Washer: The Meura Plate Washer project included an evaluation and redesign of the plate washing system used in the wort filtration process. A baseline of the system was developed using vibration and force-balance analysis and recommendations for improvement were presented. An alternate system design was also developed based on current system deficiencies.

Team 12 - Ankle/Chest Measurement and Training Device: The main motive of this project is to build off last year’s ADAPT device and develop a complete system that measures and records upper body as well as ankle motion in real time to train and improve the balance of NBA players. This process involves integrating a chest sensor with last year’s sensor-based balance board and having data from both systems run simultaneously through an iPad application.

Team 29 - LIDAR Motion Compensation Platform: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a large LIDAR sensor that must point vertically to take proper measurements. NOAA wants to operate this sensor on a pickup truck or large ship, where the vehicle will be shaking around. The design team has built a motion compensation platform to keep the LIDAR unit pointing vertically.

Team 30 - Disabled Swimmer Lift System: ME Team 30 has been tasked with building a portable lift system for disabled veterans designed to lift them in and out of a lake from a floating dock. This project is funded by Quality of Life Plus to be used by the Travis Mills Foundation.

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Team 13 - Wheelchair Luggage System: Team 13 has been contracted by QL+ to design a wheelchair luggage system that will be presented to a veteran they have been paired with. The device attaches to a wheelchair frame and allows for transport of a checked and carry-on bag through an airport. It includes features like telescopic carbon fiber tubes and a secondary set of caster wheels.

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Team 31 - Embedded Sensing Device: ME Team 31 has built an Embedded Sensing Device for Sandia National Laboratories. This device has been designed to monitor and log information about nine different environments. This compact device employs 16 sensors mounted to a custom printed circuit board in a shock-absorbing design conforming to strict geometric constraints. 

Team 32 - Particle Counting Device: Particle contamination can result in total memory loss and ruin computer hard drives. Our team developed a device that can scan, count, and locate these particles using a high-resolution line scanning sensor and an advanced computer detection algorithm. This device allows Seagate to better understand the contamination issue in the assembly process.

Team 14 - Seagate Disc Centering System: Seagate has tasked Team 14 with developing a disc centering prototype that is capable of centering a given hard drive disc pack to within a runout of 0.0003 in.; a solution that would effectively replace current disc biasing methods during hard drive assembly. The centering is accomplished using a vision system and a series of actuators.

Team 15 - Study of Half Bolting Using FEA and Flange Tests: The client, Shell Inc, is an oil and gas company seeking to safely streamline in-field bolt removal and replacement. The project goal was to physically and computationally evaluate the effects of removing half of the bolts in a pipeline system under 50% operating pressure. This was achieved using a replica test system and finite element analysis.

Team 33 - Automated Blade Inspection Device: Team 33 is working with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy on an automated wind turbine blade inspection device. The apparatus will ‘pan and scan’ the blades, sending photos to an algorithm to detect blade damage. The device increases the frequency and lowers the cost of inspections, ultimately extending the life of the wind turbine blades.

Team 34 - Infrared Imaging System for Wind Turbine Blades: As a true multi-disciplinary team, members from Mechanical, Electrical, and Computer Science collaborated with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy to develop a drone-based IR imaging system to identify defects in wind turbine blades. The team engineered a solution that uses solar thermography to capture defects on the blade surface and developed image processing software to view a full blade scan.

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Team 16 - RoboTitan 2.0: Optimize a device to semi-automate the M36 10.9 property class bolt replacement and tensioning process on Siemens Gamesa wind turbines decreasing physical strain, man-hours needed for operation, and preventative maintenance costs.

Team 35 - "Smart" Centrifuge Development: The Terumo BCT “Smart” Centrifuge project aims to expand the capabilities of blood separation technology by improving control and actuation on a centrifuge. This project is twofold - we created controllable and reliable flow rates through microchannels, and developed a method to actuate components on the centrifuge rotor using forces inherent to the centrifuge.

Team 17 - Mobile Connectivity Solution for Rural Areas: The Trimble mobile connectivity platform provides reliable power and data connectivity using a modular design that can be easily transported and set up across the world. Designed specifically for farming in Rural Brazil, this system enables a simple solution to increase agricultural efficiency and productivity using Trimble’s technology.

Optical Flame Sensor: This team is unable to present at Expo due to intellectual property considerations.

Team 47 - Bio-Cube: Social Innovation injection molding device for plastic re-purposing.

Team 45 - Automatic Fire Truck Ladder Controller: A retrofittable system that automates fire truck ladder operations, reducing human error and increasing the chance to save more lives. A handheld target acquisition device captures the desired orientation, and a system of actuators move the joysticks that operate the ladder.

Team 43 - Flux Thermal Solution: The Flux Thermal Solution is a revolutionary way to generate and store electricity using wasted heat from cooking fires in developing communities.

Team 44 - HydroFlow: HydroFlow is a point-of-use water filtration system for people in developing countries. It composed of a slow sand filter and a UV reactor, which reduces cloudiness and pathogens in water.

Team 42 - anyLight: The anyLight project mission is to rid the world of darkness and dangers of primitive light sources by developing a product with the ability to instantly provide light anytime anywhere. The device works by converting the potential energy stored in a suspended weight to usable electrical energy which powers an LED lamp.

Team 41 - Dynamic Canine Limb Prostheses: The dynamic front limb canine prosthetic is an improvement on current canine prosthetic technology. By utilizing additive manufacturing techniques, Puppy Pal Prosthetics has created a more lightweight, cost effective, and adjustable canine limb prosthetic.

Team 40 - SmartStep: SmartStep is a universally attachable walker accessory that corrects dangerous improper walker use habits that may lead to a fall, and monitors vital gait metrics to predict the user's fall risk.

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Team 46 - TapIt: TAP46 has created a product for people with dirty municipal water and poor-to-no electricity. Our product combines an under-sink water filter, sensor package, and mini-turbine into a single system. When manufactured at scale, this product could be sold for under $200. Specs: 1-micron paper filter, Tesla-style boundary-layer turbine, Hall-effect flow meter, and turbidimeter.

Team 51 - Bike Trailer for Medically Fragile, Low-Tone Adults: 

A robust, ergonomic, and lightweight system that allows an adult with low muscle tone and additional health considerations to be able to participate in a bike ride safely and comfortably.

Team 52 - Large Lumen Atherectomy Device: An atherectomy catheter which can fit into a 2.0mm vascular introducer while being able to debulk an 8.0mm artery.

Team 54 - Full Design for the “Iron Bird”: SNC's Dream Chaser spacecraft is a multi-mission space utility vehicle designed for transporting crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit (LEO) destinations such as the ISS.
The "Iron Bird" will be used to validate the processes and equipment to perform various operations for the Dream Chaser at NASA's Plum Brook facility. It has the same fit, form and function of mechanical interfaces of the Dream Chaser.

Team 55 - Acoustic Monitoring for Catastrophic Fault Prevention: Centrifuges used for blood collection and separation from donors have the potential for catastrophic failure if loaded incorrectly, spraying blood within the machine and potentially discouraging repeat donors. Our system employs embedded microphones, and a machine-learning algorithm, to acoustically detect centrifuge errors before failure occurs within the machine.

Team 56 - Helicopter Suspended Payload Stabilizer: Helicopter hoisting operations are plagued by lack of controllability of their suspended payload. We built an autonomous stabilization system which outputs a maximum of 225 pounds of lateral thrust to counteract these disturbance forces (e.g. wind gusts, rotor wash, helicopter motion) and keep the payload motionless beneath the helicopter.

Team 38 - Design and Development of Roll-Off Angle Testing Apparatus: An apparatus to measure the roll-off angle of liquid droplets on polymer-based membranes was designed and developed for Dr. John Pellegrino’s research team. The capabilities include 3D motion of a microscope camera, ability to test different liquid compositions simultaneously, and real-time image feedback of the liquid droplets.

Team 39 - Design and Fabrication of a Collision-Type Atomizer for the Generation of Nanoparticles: The Vance Laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder requires a collision-type atomizer to calibrate testing equipment. This atomizer will produce salt particles with diameters between 10 - 100 nanometers.

Team 1 - Baja SAE Off-Road Racing Vehicle: An off-road racing vehicle for the Society of Automotive Engineers' Baja competition. Features a 10 horse-power engine, two final drive ratios, and semi-trailing arm rear suspension. In May, the vehicle will compete against 99 others in Lebec, California.