Matt
Whispell

I implemented an ADXL345 accelerometer-based input shaping algorithm which avoids resonance peaks to reduce print artifacts and improve surface finish at high speeds. The printer platform was also useful to analyze power consumption and thermal performance of the stepper drivers under various print loads, optimizing cooling to maintain consistent performance during long prints. To support high speed printer development, I designed a low cost CPAP cooling assembly using custom 3D printed parts to provide superior part cooling performance at high print speeds (orange 3D prints and gray vacuum hose in the image).

Currently this sensor supports chronoamperometry, cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, and differential pulse voltammetry, but I plan to work with the chemistry team to expand its electrochemical experiment capabilities. This sensor also implements bluetooth connectivity and a custom smartphone app to provide real-time feedback on sensor readings, which is a unique feature for this type of low-cost sensor. Along with this, I hope to work on the PCB design and use an electromagnetic simulation software to implement an on board trace antenna to improve bluetooth performance, and to analyze effects of EMI on the experiment results. We will work to finalize the design and begin looking into applications for the sensor such as glucose monitoring and environmental sensing, and I hope to publish our results in a journal paper by the end of the year.

This dashboard provides critical real-time feedback to the driver during testing and competition, and has been a key part of our vehicle's performance and reliability improvements over the past year. I ensured the dashboard's program was modular and well-documented to allow future team members to easily update and expand its functionality. In addition to the dashboard, I also worked on the PCB assembly and testing to validate the design and ensure reliability. Next year I plan to contribute to the design and implementation of a custom battery pack to further improve our vehicle's performance and reliability.

This project is still in development and research, but I have designed a custom EEPROM programmer to upload my program, and a clock circuit that uses 555 timers to generate an adjustable clock for debugging.