A collection of my projects.
Table of Contents
Spring 2021
Fall 2020
Spring 2019
Electromechanical Device to Test Electrosurgical Generators
Fall 2021 - Spring 2022
- Description: This was my Senior Year Project. The goal was to create a system that allowed Medtronic to test its electrosurgical generators. Via the engineering design process, we built a lead screw actuator with an electrode arm to replicate the generator’s arcing behavior in monopolar mode (dissection and coagulation), and a variable load using a saline bath to copy the varying tissue impedance in bipolar mode (vessel sealing).
- My role: I was the Project Manager. Some of my responsibilities were to guide the project toward success (by assuring compliance to requirements), balance stakeholders (client, director, and class executives), manage resources (time & work distribution), and keep the team aligned towards the project’s goals.
You can learn more about this project on the CU Boulder Mechanical Engineering Website
New-Trition
Spring 2022
- Description: This was the capstone project for the Business Minor. We had to develop a professional business plan for a startup and pitch it “Shark Tank” style, competing with other teams in the classroom. The team and I built New-Trition, a service that “ships personally tailored daily supplements in the form of a runner’s gel for active people with busy lifestyles”. The final round of the competition was against other classroom, and the judges were local community leaders and entrepreneurs in Boulder. We won the final cash prize as the most thought out business plan.
- My Role: I was the CEO of New-Trition. Apart from also playing the fictional role of “operations manager at the manufacturing facilities”, I was the PM, planned the the development of the service, designed the add, and delivered the “hook” and “call-to-action” of the pitch.
Electronic Generala
Fall 2020
- Description: This was the final project for “Circuit for Engineers”. It was an electronic version of the game Generala, also known as Yahtzee or dice Poker. The dice were represented by a circuit of 4060 microcontrollers and 6 LEDs each, showing the rolled value. A push-button is used to “roll” the dice. A counter system made of LEDs showed the time left in the game. A PCB divided the power from two 9V batteries into the counter and the dice portions of the project.
- My role: I planned and built all circuitry. I was also the team leader, setting the vision and milestones for the project.
Thermo Guard: Cook Outside The Kitchen
Fall 2020
- Desciption: Thermo Guard was a project for “Engineering Projects 3: Invention and Innovation”. This project involved creating a fictional business around a product and them building such product.
- My role: I was the CFO, but apart from my financial duties, I was in charge of the programming and circuitry of the Thermo Guard. It was a device that sends data to an app, informing cooks about the state of the food, allowing users to “cook outside the kitchen”.
How Pan Material Affects Brownies
Fall 2020
- Description: This was the final project for “Data Analysis for Engineers”. As a passionate baker (and cook), I have heard multiple well-know bakers recommending metal pans for baking brownies “evenly” across the pan. However, my personal experience said that glass or ceramic pans made for brownies with better “moisture”. I set the purpose of this project was to test that hypothesis: to identify how the pan material affects the overall humidity of the brownies and evaluate how humidity changes across the different locations of the slice. We used a humidity sensor to measure the brownie’s humidity for glass, ceramic, and metal plans and across the brownie slice (border, middle, and center). It was found that there was no statistical difference between ceramic and glass pans, and these were different from metal pans. Moreover, there was no statistical difference across the slice for none of the pan materials.
- My role: As the team leader, I was responsible for road-mapping the project. Moreover, I baked all 9 batches (3 for each pan material) and helped with the measurements and data analysis.
The Acidity Indicator, a pH Alerting Control System
Fall 2020
- Description: For this “Data Analysis for Engineers” project, my client was a chef who wanted to find the acidity level of the perfect tomato sauce. Tomatoes are one of the most acidic fruits. As the base for tomato sauce, their acidity is always a concern. If the issue is not addressed, the result is an unenjoyable dish in which the acidity overwrites the other flavors. Therefore, a very methodic Italian chef (possibly myself) was interested in finding a way to detect this. To solve the issue, I created a control system for reading the pH levels of tomato sauce, with a speaker that warns the chef whether it is too acidic or too basic. I used LabVIEW to run the program and a data acquisition system, DAQ, to digitize the signals.The system turns on by pressing a button and an LED displays that it is functioning. The pH sensor then reads data, and depending on the pH level, the mini speaker (buzzer) alerts the chef.
- My Role: I was the Engineering Consultant (and the client!).
The Chinese Dragon
Spring 2021
- Description: This was the final project for Component Design. In this project, a team of 6 Mechanical Engineering students, including myself, designed, fabricated, and assembled an electro-mechanical kinetic sculpture: a Chinese Dragon Automata. The principal objective is to create a desktop-size structure that simulates the movement of a Chinese Dragon. Powered by a DC electric motor, a shaft rotates with cams attached to it. Due to the off-center position of the cams on the shaft, each revolution makes a piston (in itself linked to the cams) move up and down. By multiplying this system with cams at different angles, the pistons imitate the movement of a wave, similar to that of a dragon.
- My role: I was the Project Manager, and applied and developed leadership and prototyping skills.
School Lockers for Everyone
Fall 2019
- Description: We created a locking mechanism that allowed students with special needs at Broomfield High School to open their lockers by themselves. Our goal was to design a lock that the students could use in order to give them greater independence. One of the main requirements of the project was that the lock had to work with a plug-in switch which students are used to operating.
- My role: I had Project Management responsibilities, and helped with building the prototype and the CAD for the bracket that held the special lock inside the locker.
Truss Design
Fall 2019
- Description: For a Statics class, we had to design and manufacture a truss. The goal was for it to be able to withstand 1200 pounds-force. After many calculations, along with testing for the most reliable wood and glue, we built our design. The truss weighed 0.682 lbs. and the final test was a four point test. It was successfully able to support 1381 pounds-force, failing due to shear stress.
- My role: I worked on testing, prototyping, and manufacturing the trust.
Compressed-Air 3D-Printed Turbine
Fall 2019
- Description: Our goal was to compare ideal and real values on the efficiency of a Thermodynamic Cycle. We built the system: compressed air ran through a 3D-Printed turbine which rotated the shaft of a generator. Temperature, pressure, and work output were obtained with thermo-couples, pressure gauges, and a multimeter, respectively. With such data, calculations were made, and results were produced.
- My role: I calculated the ideal and real values of the efficiency of our system on EES (Engineering Equation Solver). Also, I helped with prototyping and testing.
Buzz Beat: The Bee Counter
Fall 2018
- Description: The goal was to design a product that allows the beekeepers to know whether a beehive is active or not based on the number of bees entering & exiting a hive. Our client, Andre Houssney from Jacobs Springs Farm, needed a solution to a problem: beehives die unexpectedly. We worked and found a way. “Buzz Beat” is a bee counter consisting of a Pixy Cam, detecting bees going in and out of the hive by keeping track of X and Y-coordinates. An LCD screen displays the number of bees going in and out. Our client can now monitor the activity of these amazing animals.
- My role: I helped with prototyping and testing. I first learned about Project Management because of this project. It planted a seed of a passion that keeps growing ever since.
Mate: Upgrade
Spring 2019
- Description: This was my final project for the Engineering Drawings (CAD) class. It is a reverse-engineered customization, an all-in-one effective idea, an improvement to an Argentinian tradition. I built this upgrade to the “mate” experience by making the Termo lid the mate cup, and having a screwable container for “yerba” in the bottom of the Termo.
- My role: I ideated and designed this project in SolidWorks.
Name Plate for Engineering Projects Team
Fall 2018
- Description: This was my first Engineering project ever. It had laser cut, 3D printed, and electrical parts.
- My role: I was born and raised in rural Argentina. Day 1 of this class made me feel far behind, everyone kept talking about Arduino and CAD, and I didn’t even know what those words meant. This name plate project started answering my questions.