Project Portfolio IJDyke

MOHRA

Machined Open Source Humanoid Robot
Senior Project 2024

Developing a full robot assembly from scratch, in conjunction with K-Scale Labs.

Prioritizing:

Easy-access Machining Methods

Minimized Cost balanced with Capable Performance

Open-Source availability, build with public tools

Full Analysis & Justification of All Design Decisions

View the Final Report - GIthub View the Full Model - OnShape View the Code Repo - Github

Gear Generation Repo

gearage
Initiated 2024

Leverage exposure & intuitions developed working an industrial gear-making internship to evolve publically available but hard-to-understand gear design mathematics and principles into more comprehensible & accessible code.

Not just drawing an involute curve on a circle:

General conjugate action tooth-form generation.

Geometric justifications of underlying trigonomtry and calculus.

Utility to real-world manfuacturing, in layout and quality control.

Full gear-form generation; trochoidal roots, backlash. (tbd)

View the Github

Sprag Element Clutch Integration

BajaSAE, 2021-2023 Seasons

From SR21 competition vehicle, we found that the existing front wheel drive overrunning clutches were fully unsuitable for off-road, high-intensity service. Immediate need for a new option for upcoming years' deepening reliance on FWD performance.

Investigate industrial clutch element options.

In-depth communication with manufacturers on specifications, implementation details.

Organizing sponsorship arrangements and ongoing business relationships.

Calculation and specification of press-fit tolerances for non-standard bearing housings.

Real-world testing, modeling of press-fit performance.

Four Wheel Drive Torque Limiter

BajaSAE, 2021-2024 Seasons

New rules-required front wheel drive system found to have highly volatile and poorly understood load behavior through the front drivetrain system.

Defined a new project to implement a 'mechanical fuse' into the system to mitigate overloads, enable further lightweighting of outboard components (less unsprung mass, increased compliance for suspension design), and allow for empirical evaluation of typical load behavior in competition conditions.

Research and novel implemenation of a tunable friction clutch.

Project management - scope, timelines, and design reviews with senior engineers.

Early exposure to standard mechanical design analysis; pinned joints, load analysis, thread shear, etc.

Stress analysis and iterative lightweighting design with FEA.

3D Printed Titanium
Rear Load-Bearing Drive Shafts

BajaSAE, 2024 Season

Combining the driveline and suspension into one component, the rear drive shafts are a critical component for both performance and optimization. Utilizing the now-expanding technology of electron-beam melt (EBM) printing, the assembly was condensed to a single part while also removing stress concentrations at interfacing geometry and enabling non-uniform internal geometry for improved strength-to-weight.

Assembly-level finite element analysis, evaluating the rear shaft and adjacent components - combined power + suspension loads.

Optimized FEA workflows -- configured analyses, maximum stress isolation at different orientations of the shaft assembly.

Intimate coordination with manufacturer concerning EBM specifics; build volume limitations, layer line considerations, shrinkage of surfaces during HIP, fatigue concerns of surface condition.

Off-Grid Solar Power + Business, Malawi

Humanitarian Design Corps / EWB, 2020-2023