MAE 2250 Mechanical Design
MAE 2250: Mechanical Design is a course for undergraduates at Cornell focused on teaching the fundamentals of mechanical design.
We had two major projects:
- Designing a water pump that could pump at least 1L/min
- Designing a new product to exhibit user-centric design, developing rapid-prototyping skills
I ended up loving this class so much, I’ve gone on to TA it for the last 2 years!
Water Pump
Myself and five other students worked to design and manufacture a single-piston water pump. I was chosen by my teammates to be the Scheduling Coordinator and Manufacturing Lead, ensuring we secured all necessary machine shop shifts and assisting team members with machining their parts.
The pump design process started with research into three pump types: peristaltic, centrifugal, and piston. Each design had its own advantages and disadvantages, but ultimately, we selected a cylindrical piston pump due to its simplicity, versatility, machinability, and low material cost.
Functional Decomposition of Water Pump
Our pump achieved a rate of 2.8L/min, exceeding the requirement by 280% and securing a 2nd Place finish in the class.
Our Piston Pump during Competition
User-Centric Design
I designed a centrifugal paintbrush spinner to rapidly dry wet paintbrushes. This device uses a helical twist rod profile to convert a linear pushing force into rotational inertia. Additionally, I employed Fusion 360 Generative Design to optimize weight in the paintbrush housing.
Paint Brush Spinner Render
Spin Test
Miscellaneous CAD
Reuleaux Gear Train
Mug Recreation