BendU

We started out with the goal of creating a machine that would produce wires ready for the breadboard. As a team we sought to create a highly finished and integrated project with a focus on precision. After the first sprint we decided to pivot from the previous idea to a CNC wire bender because our team consisted of members with a focus on areas other than mechanical engineering and felt that we lacked the expertise and knowledge to build something cool by the end of the semester that had too many mechanical systems.

Our team structured the project work to best facilitate our individual learning goals from the project. These learning goals included: improving mechanical design, 3-D fabrication, working with stepper motors, developing firmware and software, facilitating team dynamics, and designing electrical and mechanical systems for integration.

By the end of the project we had gone through multiple iterations of our idea, with each iteration improving on the previous by refining a component to be more finished or precise and adding more complexity to our product. In addition we had all reached our learning goals and learned through the work had done over the 4 sprints. An important lesson we all learned was the necessity to test integration early and often and scaling the project work to allow for sufficient time to test the integrated product.

Our Team

Franton Lin

A sophomore studying Electrical and Computer Engineering, Franton has always enjoyed fiddling with electronics. For this project, he focused on precise stepper motor control and communications. In his free time, Franton thoroughly enjoys various hobbies, including digital photography, baking pies, and road cycling.

Personal Portfolio

Chris Beck

Chris is studying Mechanical Engineering and Software at the Olin College of Engineering. He worked primarily on systems integration and the user interface, creating the GUI and computer program, collaborating with Franton to send commands from the GUI to the Arduino Outside of class, Chris mentors FIRST Robotics teams from his home town in Florida and sleeps.

GitHub Profile

Wilson Tang

Wilson is a pre-med studying Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Olin College of Engineering. He worked on organizing the project work and assisted in designing the electrical and mechanical systems to be able to quickly integrate prototypes, iterating towards a finished prototype. In his free time he works on hacking the medicine to make it better through hackathons and side projects.

Thuc Tran

Thuc is a second year engineering student from Olin College of engineering, and is somewhere between mechanical, electrical, and self-designed aerospace engineering. He worked on the mechanical, integration, and facilitation for the team. In his free time, he works on rockets, goes climbing, and plays sports.

Gordon Haag

Gordon Haag is a Mechanical Engineering student. He is interested in aerospace and manufacturing. For this project, he worked on mechanical design and integration.

Budget