Side Projects

STLViewer

     For our class project in ME6104, Matthew Chamberlain, Rahul Kulkarni, and I set out to create a Java applet that allowed users to view solid models saved in the .STL file format in 3D space over the web.  The result was STLViewer, an applet that uses the Java3D API (unfortunately, a required install for the applet to run) to allow users to enter their own STL file (either ASCII or BIN format) for viewing.  The software features support for traditional viewing controls (rotate, pan, zoom) and for checking and recalculating the normals of each of the triangles in file.

     The foundation for this project came from my undergraduate research with Dr. Ashok Kumar at the University of Florida through their (undergraduate) University Scholars Program.

Hollowing Solid Models in UG NX 3.0

     At one point in my research, I needed to find a way to efficiently hollow a part while still retaining a solid model of the empty space that remained (in order to fill it with truss structure).  The result is this video that I made (via Camtasia Studios video capturing software) to document the process for an industry sponsor.  Special thanks go to Darren Watts of the University of Loughborough for his assistance.

Animating Sequences of Images (& converting them into movies) via Matlab

      I came to a point in preparing presentation materials for my research and I needed a way to show a rapid progression of screen captures.  The result is this Matlab code that reads in a collection of images, animates them into a movie, and saves the movie as an .avi file.  The user can specify the number of times the animation repeats itself, as well as the rate at which each frame of the movie is shown (frames per second).  Special thanks go to Nathan Young for his assistance.

     Here's a sample video.  It is a progression of screen grabs from the Three-Dimensional Printer (3DP) slicing software. It's a great way of showing the audience the topology of the cross-sections that must be printed in order to manufacture a cellular structure.

Video Conferencing Tutorial

     Once Prof. Farrokh Mistree became the Associate Director for the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech Savannah, the SRL was in need of a way to stay in touch.  As such, Matthias Messer, Matthew Chamberlain, and I investigated video conferencing software solutions.  The result is this tutorial on video conferencing. 

     It's nothing special, but this page has been of use to some outside the lab: I was contacted by an employee of the state of Virginia who was researching video conferencing devices to complete the creation of an emergency plan for telecommunication in the face of an avian flu epidemic.

Research Web Pages

     In order to bring more attention to the research done here at the SRL, I suggested that each lab member / research sub-group create web pages dedicated to their respective research projects.  I submitted the following as examples:

• The Product Platform Constructal Theory Method (my MS research)
  
• Design and Development of a Layer-Based Additive Manufacturing Process for the Realization of Metal Parts of Designed Mesostructure (my PhD research)

Clip for the Nintendo Wii remote & Classic Controller

     Having access to a rapid prototyping machine can do wonders for one's creativity.  After spending some time with the Nintendo Wii's "classic controller," I realized that one of its buttons seemingly had no function.  Furthermore the controller had two slots with spring-loaded tabs on its backside that also seeming had no function.  After a bit of investigation, I generated a concept: the slots on the back of the controller were meant to accept a clip of some kind that would attach to the Wii remote.  In an hour or so of careful measurements with calipers and some CAD work, I drafted the idea and sent it off to the stereolitography (SLA) machine.  In just under two hours, I had a physical prototype of my idea, and it worked very well! A gallery of photos can be found here. 

     The concept generated some buzz on video game and "do-it-yourself" (DIY) related "news" sites.  News stories about this idea appeared on kotaku.com, joystiq.com, digg.com (over 660 "diggs"), EvilAvatar, gonintendo.com, 4colorrebellion.com, infendo.com, and even Engadget and the "Make Magazine" blog.  This quote from joystiq.com does a good job of capturing this side project's relevance to this niche crowd:

     While it was nothing to get too excited about, I found it to be a great avenue to share the concepts of rapid prototyping with the public, and also a preview of what would happen if desktop RP machines were readily available in today's Web2.0 world.

Lunch Satisficer

     Here's the situation: a dozen hungry grad students, all with different preferences on what/where to eat, and all having done some amount of research on making compromise decisions.  The result: a java applet that helps make the complicated decision of "Where should we go for lunch?" a little easier.  What else to call it, but "The Lunch Satisficer."

Pictures

• Some of my favorite pictures throughout my stay at Tech (coming soon).