Mechanical Engineering Design Projects 2024

Senior Design by the Numbers

Design Projects

296

Engineering Students

1,600+

Student Hours per Project

Dedicated Directors

2024 Winners

2024 Senior Design Projects

All

Team 01: Airbag Deployable Data Recorder for Aircraft

The Air Bag Deployable Data Recorder is a floating flight data recorder used to assist in the evaluation, search, and rescue of a water landing of a Boeing 777 aircraft. Using a pressure sensor, we can detect when the plane conducts a water landing, eject the device from the plane, and send out a distress signal to the rescue teams in the area. This allows Boeing to quickly analyze the problem and correct it to help prevent further disasters in the future.

Team 02: Small-Scale Spacecraft Composite Curing Oven

Securing technological superiority in space requires tailorable composite solutions. In partnership with CesiumAstro, the SSSCCO cures composites with the precision and accuracy necessary to optimize for Low-SWaP and enhanced material properties. Our solution is an affordable and innovative approach for in-house manufacturing methods and vertical integration bespoke to the needs of CesiumAstro.

Team 03: Wide-Field Imaging Device for Retinopathy of Prematurity Examination

To help doctors at Children鈥檚 Hospital baby直播app detect a debilitating but correctable disease called retinopathy of prematurity in infants, our team has developed an affordable and portable device that illuminates an infant's retina using a high-power lighting system and captures wide-field images. Captured images are processed on-board and displayed in an app on any personal iOS device, facilitating rapid and remote detection to enable prompt treatment.

Sponsored by Children's Hospital baby直播app

Project Poster

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Team 04: Automated Insulation Wrapping Machine

CU Physics is working with Advanced Conductor Technologies to develop high temperature superconducting cables for high-current power systems and high-field magnets. Our team has been tasked with developing an insulation wrapping machine capable of wrapping these cables in a dielectric film. Our machine will minimize the number of defects in the insulation, ultimately improving cable performance.

Team 05: Aerially Deployed Jetpack Launched Mars Helicopter Chassis

The Aerially Deployed Jetpack Launched Mars Helicopter Chassis design project will provide JPL with a high-precision mass estimate for the proposed Mars Science Helicopter exploration rotorcraft. The rotorcraft structure is designed to withstand the loads associated with launch and flight operation. The rotorcraft mechanisms are designed to facilitate a complex mid-air landing procedure on Mars.

Team 06: EOD Flexible Cutting Tool

EOD Technicians are responsible for handling hazardous explosives to render them safe. Partnering with Los Alamos National Laboratory, the team designed a flexible wire cutter attachment that technicians can equip to current defusing tools to better access wires around obstacles. Cutting force is delivered through a hydraulic piston design using tension from cable reels to flex the assembly.

Sponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory

Project Poster

Team 07: Electronic Ligasure Handle

Medtronic has developed a portfolio of blood vessel sealing devices known as the LigaSure. By Reducing the cost of purchasing and manufacturing the device, Team 7 has designed the next step in LigaSure technology. These changes eliminate the single use nature of the device by adapting a reusable housing where major components can be user replaceable and serviced.

Team 08: Robotic Surgery Sterile Interface Module

Medtronic鈥檚 Hugo 鈩� robotic-assisted surgery system is modular and portable for flexibility and efficiency across surgeries. Our team redesigned the Sterile Interface Module, which separates Hugo鈥檚 arm and reusable instrument to maintain a sterile field. The modified SIM connects to a now single-use instrument, creating opportunities for more affordable and sterile surgeries with the Hugo 鈩� system.

Team 09: Dragon Boat Paddle Assist

We designed a race paddle for one-armed use by Gary, a local veteran. Gary enjoys dragon boat racing, but his current shoulder-mounted paddle hurts, limits motion and fails race specifications. We made a leg-mounted paddle that is comfortable, easier to use and enables powerful paddling with better form. It also meets international racing specifications so Gary can compete with his team worldwide.

Team 10: 3D Archery Target Challenge

We partnered with Quality of Life Plus to advance archery technology by creating a moving target base that replicates realistic shooting scenarios for the user. The product can be moved with a remote control, pre-made paths, and an independent autonomous program. We implemented electromechanical design, impact ballistics, and dynamic programming to create a durable and practical prototype.

Team 11: Digital Aircraft Skylight Mockup and Study

This project, led by Rosen Aviation, developed a life-sized business jet cabin mock-up with an OLED skylight, enhancing the passenger experience through simulated natural light. Key tasks included design, material procurement, psychological study contributions, and setting new standards in aviation interior innovation.

Team 12: Particle Damper for Wind Turbine Blades

Wind turbine blades are structures subject to dynamic loading. The project explores particle damper technologies as a passive vibration suppression system to damp unwanted blade vibrations. Through experimentation on a representative blade model, key variables influencing particle damper performance were identified, leading to the development of an optimized prototype to improve turbine longevity.

Sponsored by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy

Project Poster

Team 13: Net Launcher

Orbital space debris poses a significant threat to current and future space missions, from damaging satellites to hindering future space travel. Sierra Space tasked the team to develop a Net Launcher to identify, capture, detumble, and retrieve space debris of varying sizes. This project contains several mechanisms, sensors, and control systems to enable net capture of an unresponsive satellite.

Team 14: Blood Plasma Bottle Active Weight Station

Our team has partnered with Terumo, a global leader in blood component technologies, to maximize plasma yields from their new Rika Plasma Donation System. We developed a motor-integrated base that communicates with a weight station to rotate a plasma bottle throughout the donation process. This design will allow for an increase in plasma collection while maintaining donor safety and comfort.

Team 15: Train Bearing Inspection Automation鈥�

Locomotive bearings require quality inspections before reuse, with their longevity heavily dependent on thorough surface level examinations. Wabtec requests a device to automate this bearing inspection process. The machine manufactured for this project manipulates five 70 lb. bearings to accurately measure for roundness and scan for surface defects smaller than a human hair.

Team 16: Baja SAE Vehicle Design Competition

The 2023-2024 Baja SAE team is designing and manufacturing a one-seated, off-road vehicle. The team must design for durability, agility, speed, and comfort while adhering to strict guidelines. A final competition will take place in May 2024, where colleges from across the country will come together to test and race their vehicles on multiple courses build around tough terrain.

Team 17: Aerosol & Particulate Generation and Test System For Aircraft Mounted Atmospheric Measurement Instrumentation

To better understand aerosols in the atmosphere, Boeing utilizes instruments over a wide range of sizes and composition. These instruments require precise calibration. Our team developed a system that produces, mixes, and delivers aerosol to these instruments with high accuracy, repeatability and uniformity, to enable Boeing to perform in-house sensor calibration for more accurate data collection.

Team 18: Miniature 3mm Laparoscopic Port

Laparoscopic surgeries on neonates require smaller surgical ports than those used on children to facilitate minimally invasive access to the abdominal cavity. Larger ports can crowd the surgical field and are easily dislodged from the abdominal wall. With Children鈥檚 Hospital baby直播app, we developed a 3mm port that incorporates a novel retention mechanism and minimizes the presence of the port head.

Sponsored by Children's Hospital baby直播app

Project Poster

Team 19: Autonomous Methane Monitoring Rover鈥�

Addressing the need for frequent landfill methane monitoring, Team 19 designed a fully autonomous rover equipped with HAQ Lab's methane sensing package, terrain navigation, and obstacle avoidance, complemented by a solar-powered rover house for charging. The project builds on current monitoring attempts by minimizing human interfacing, increasing safety and frequency of methane scans in landfills.

Sponsored by Hannigan Air Quality Lab (HAQLab)听

Project Poster

Team 20: Optimized Arrow Vanes for Broadhead Flight

An arrow鈥檚 flight is characterized by a delicate balance of drag, accuracy, stability, sound, and wind drift. With Iron Will Outfitters, we wanted to design a new arrow vane that improves upon these characteristics in broadhead flight over industry competition. By utilizing empirical testing and complex fluid simulations we have developed the optimized arrow vanes for broadhead flight听for use in both the target and hunting archery market.

Team 21: Miniature HAZMAT Crimp and Seal Tool

In conjunction with Los Alamos National Lab, the team designed a handheld crimp and seal tool to allow HAZMAT teams to quickly seal tubes leaking hazardous materials. We characterized crimping forces and associated leak rates by developing precise testing systems which informed our 4-bar linkage design. This design creates a high mechanical advantage and effectively seals to a desired leak rate.

Sponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory

Project Poster

Team 22: Low SWaP Dust Tolerant Interface

The resurgence of humanity's presence on the lunar surface calls for fresh ideas. Lockheed Martin鈥檚 Team 22 has developed a dust-tolerant mechanical and electrical robotic interface, a robotic arm, and an end effector for use on the Artemis Lunar Terrain Vehicle. The team's solution allows for reliable autonomous connections between the arm and interface despite the hostile lunar environment.

Team 23: Cordless Monopolar Smoke Attachment

Surgical plume is a hazardous byproduct of electrosurgery and is typically captured using large, cumbersome smoke evacuation systems. Our team has innovated a hand-held solution, eliminating the trip and entanglement hazards of traditional plume evacuator tubing. The final design is an ergonomic, functional, and all-in-one monopolar surgical pencil attachment capable of plume capture and filtration in the OR.

Team 24: The Vibe Table

Our team has designed and built a vibration table for small-scale testing of constant vibration loads experienced by components utilized in the flow meters made by Micro Motion. The design utilizes a slip bearing composed of a granite base, oil circulation system and magnesium test plate, with a custom control system to generate accurate acceleration and frequency for vibration profiles.

Team 25: Adaptive Fishing Device

The Adaptive Fishing Device is a versatile, intuitive, and robust product that provides people with spinal cord injuries independence and a return to normalcy. Our advanced mechanical design gives users complete control over the therapeutic fishing experience and can adapt to accommodate different disabilities, settings, and equipment.

Team 26: Pressure Sensors

To enhance the communication between practitioners and patients during the diagnostic fitting stage of prosthetics, our system is designed to visualize high-pressure areas causing discomfort. The spider-like design is integrated between the inner liner and outer diagnostic socket and transmits data, representing true pressure values, to a 3D model to optimize the prosthetic socket fitting process.

Team 27: Smart Aviation Cupholder

Our team has developed a smart cup holder designed to enhance the private aircraft travel experience, integrating heating, cooling, and beverage level measurement into a compact package. The system recognizes standard cup-ware via RFID, automatically activating set functions and notifying flight staff when a beverage is low.

Team 28: Automated Optical Fiber Alignment for Trapped-Ion Quantum Computing

One approach to creating a quantum computer is to use trapped ions, which rely on lasers delivered by optical fibers for quantum control. Our robust feedback control system uses a six-axis stage to autonomously align optical fiber arrays with micron scale precision. Using a final epoxy connection, we have streamlined the coupling process 鈥� paving the way for the quantum computing revolution.

Sponsored by Sandia National Laboratories

Project Poster

Team 29: Project R.O.C.K. - Remote Observation and Covert Kinetics

With support from the US Army Research Office and Practical Scientific Solutions, this project aims to minimize operational risks to military intelligence gathering and surveillance. Project R.O.C.K., a geologically camouflaged autonomous system, will be deployed in the field to detect and verify the presence of an approaching vehicle and, subsequently, launch a sensor onto the vehicle in motion.

Sponsored by United States Army Research Office鈥�

Project Poster

Team 30: Collegiate Wind Competition and Multipurpose Wind Tunnel

Designed to meet the test metrics of the Collegiate Wind Competition, our wind tunnel serves a range of student needs previously not met on campus. The wind tunnel features a 4鈥檟4鈥� cross-section, sensors for wind speed, and provides high-resolution near-laminar flow up to 36 fps, allowing students to get hands-on with aerodynamics. Its modular design allows for easy maintenance or relocation.

Sponsored by Design Center baby直播app鈥�

Project Poster

Team 31: Collegiate Wind Competition

The fourth annual CU Wind Team will compete in the Department of Energy鈥檚 Collegiate Wind Competition to design a small-scale prototype offshore wind turbine that utilizes advanced controls; create a detailed financial analysis and timeline for a hybrid offshore wind farm site; and conduct outreach activities with local K-12 and collegiate students to promote the future of wind energy.

Sponsored by Collegiate Wind Competition

Project Poster

Team 40: LegUp

MobilUS addresses inaccessibility issues a person may face while recovering from a lower-leg injury. Existing solutions cause discomfort and restrict mobility. The Leg-Up solution elevates the injured leg above the ground with a flexible composite blade to prevent pressure from being applied to the foot while enabling normal walking, traversal of stairs, knee mobility, while being cost effective.

Team 41: Click Changer

Team Dextrous has developed the 鈥淐lick Changer鈥�, a mechanical device revolutionizing the speed, safety and accessibility of changing drill bits. Easy to use and comfortably worn on the belt, the Click Changer allows drill and driver bits to be changed using one hand, in any environment, such as on the top of a ladder or crawling under equipment. Electric drills have been around for a long time - it is time for such innovation! Team Dextrous is looking forward to revolutionizing the drill industry and making similar innovations.

Team 42: Talon Tech Ski Bindings

Over 15,000 US skiers injure their knees every year. Many of these expensive injuries are caused by industry-standard ski bindings failing to release during falls. Talon Tech has invented a new style of ski binding with specialized releases that allow users to release from their skis in high-risk falls. This will disrupt a 50-year-old industry to keep our users skiing safe, not slow.

Team 43: Air Quality Monitor

Air quality affects health today significantly, but is often neglected since we can鈥檛 see what鈥檚 in the air we breathe. We address this problem through an air quality monitor that informs users when air quality is poor using an LED and speaker, as well as how to improve it. This kitchen countertop device ensures the user is always breathing heathy air.

Team 44: wAIste

wAIste, our innovative waste management solution, employs artificial intelligence to ensure waste stream purity. Its modular and customizable system categorizes waste in real time, guiding users to the correct disposal bin category. This streamlined process eliminates the need for man-hours spent on hand-sorting waste, reducing contamination and diverting recyclables and compostables from landfills, thereby cutting unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions. wAIste not only promotes education and awareness but also facilitates compliance with climate change initiatives. By adopting wAIste we ensure businesses, municipalities, and organizations can prioritize environmental sustainability and compliance in their waste management practices.

Mechanical Engineering Graduate Design

Team 52: Full Motion Flight Simulator

We've collaborated with Boeing Global Services, a division of The Boeing Company, to create, develop, and implement a full-motion flight simulator for the Denver Simulation Lab. Incorporating high-fidelity human factors scenarios alongside diverse flight simulations and real-time motion on the 6 Degree of Freedom platform, this setup will closely emulate actual flight conditions, showcasing the future of aircraft technologies.

Team 53: Electromagnetic Hold-Down and Release Mechanism

This hold-down and release mechanism (HDRM) utilizes an electro-permanent magnet and ferrous plate to attach a Cube Satellite to a deployable. The HDRM provides secure attachment of a deployable during launch and controlled release once powered. Flight performance was verified by exposure to NASA's General Environmental Verification Standards for vibration, thermal, and vacuum conditions.

Team 54: Smart Prosthetic Cooling System for Amputee Patients (SPC system)

Our team addresses a critical need for adjustable cooling in prosthetics to prevent heat buildup. We're developing above-knee/below-knee prosthetics with thermo-electric devices to absorb heat from the liner. Additionally, our innovative flexible heat sink efficiently dissipates heat from these devices, ensuring user comfort and temperature regulation.

Team 55: Pump-Fed Space Vehicle Propulsion System

Traditional propulsion systems are not viable for smaller space vehicles, therefore it is necessary for innovative solutions. An electric pump-fed system would allow multiple benefits. The goal of this project is to design and build a bench-top fuel pump system to simulate flight operations and perform data collection and testing to characterize critical components.

Team 56: Free-Piston Linear Generator

In partnership with Woodward, Inc., a global leader in controls in Fort Collins, CO, the team is developing a free-piston linear generator as an alternative internal combustion technology. It utilizes a magnetic piston oscillating through copper coils to generate electricity. The FPLG removes many traditional and costly engine components, making it a direct competitor to hydrogen fuel cells.

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