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Commutators allow electrical signals and power to transfer between a stationary base and a rotational unit. This is done using what is known as a slip-ring (see the medical slip ring commutator I developed).   The ring has cylindrical contacts around its surface that are contacted by mating brushes. The cylinder is then free to rotate while contact is kept. The main issue with this technology is wear. Over time the brushes wear down and the signal or power transmission degrades.

The Solution

A new super low friction system would eliminate this problem.

While developing the medical slip-ring commutator, I came up with the idea that using a rolling contact would be a better way to reduce friction.  This can be achieved by developing a planetary gear arrangement.  To simplify the design, I created several bands using flex circuit, which is both low-cost and durable.  The resulting design has the following features:

• Low-cost
• Low Friction
• Long life durability (compared with brushed commutators)

Custom wine cabinet made of mahogany and birds eye maple with a wooden inlay front door.  The hand made custom wooden inlay features two bottles of wine and glasses.

Custom jewelry box with a brass inlay in a birds eye maple top.

Walnut coffee table with a river rock center

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Kung Fu and Kempo

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Side Lighting

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The Girls

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Babies and Kids

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My Linh

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The NanoWalker micro-robotics

The NanoWalker Project is a large scale effort, spanning several years, headed by Sylvain Martel of École Polytechnique of Montreal in conjunction with BioInstrumentation Lab at MIT. The goal of the project is to develop a tiny robot to manipulate or scan individual atoms.

The robot moves using three piezoelectric actuators arranged in a pyramidal fashion around the robot. Each leg has the ability to deflect in multiple directions. Sub-micron omni-directional positioning can be achieved by actuating these legs in various deflection directions and frequencies. I worked on the early stage development of this robot, including designing the complex folded flex circuits. The robot, measuring only 25mm cubed, has close to 500 components. Careful attention was paid to the folded joints in order to allow the 8-layer flex to bend into position.

I created the Super Invar structural frame of the device using a Wire EDM. Invar was used due the need to control thermal expansion of the robot when in operation.

The Problem

Whether it be moving from spot to spot, shooting, or reloading, speed is key when playing paintball.  Most paintball guns have a hopper which can carry approximately 100 paintballs.  When a player wants to reload their paintball gun, they open a cover on the hopper and pour in the paintballs.  This process is slow, requires two hands, and takes concentrated effort so that the player doesn’t lose his ammunition on the ground.

The Solution

I created an add-on product which would attach to the standard hopper.  This device provides a sealed iris that mates with a secondary iris on the spare ammunition canister.  When mated, the player simply twists the canister to open the iris and allow the paint balls to fall into the hopper.  Quick loading gives the user an advantage on the game field.

Rapid prototyping is critical to the design process and something I rely heavily on during my product realization phase.  I created the prototype device to show the concept.  The prototype was created using SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) and Laser cut parts.

The Problem

When studying brain activity in animals, scientists try to intrude as little as possible in their daily activities.  Ideally, they would like the animal to have free range of motion, but this is rather difficult while attached to a EEG. What is needed is a device that allows faint signals to be measured while the animal is freely moving in their habitat.

The Solution

Hypnion Inc. brought this problem to my current employer and asked us to help solve it. My team and I produced an ultra low friction commutator that could achieve the signal requirements they needed, while dramatically reducing the disturbance to the small rodents.  We designed and built a prototype which was then manufactured in the hundreds.