Portfolio of Designs and Projects Created By Scott Qualkenbush
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Portfolio of Designs and Projects
Created By Scott Qualkenbush
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Table of Contents Solid Fuel Rocket Motor Project with Associated Equipment …………………………………………p-‐2 Designing for Fun …………………………………………………………………………………………………...……p-‐5 Foldable Tennis Ball Launcher…………………………………………………………………………..p-‐5 Precision Tennis Ball Launcher……………………………………………………………...…………..p-‐6 Combustion Powered Tennis Ball Repeater Cannon……………………….…………………..p-‐7 In Ceiling 5-‐Gallon Multi-‐Tank Water Reservoir for Keurig…………………………..……..p-‐8 Non-‐Destructive Clip-‐Lamp Hanging Fixture………………………………………………….…..p-‐9 Heavy-‐Duty 3D Scanner…………………………………………………………………………….….....p-‐10 Slim Ratchet Mechanism with Four-‐Position Toggle……………………………………..…..p-‐11 Patents Pending……………………………………………………………………………………………….…………p-‐13 Efficient Desalination Technology……………………………………………………………..……..p-‐13 Novel Dry-‐Erase Eraser / Marker Holder…………………………………………….........……..p-‐14 Temperature Foresight Technology……………………………………………………………..…..p-‐15
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Solid Fuel Rocket Motor Project with Associated Equipment I began a personal project in 2011 with the end goal of manufacturing my own solid fuel rocket motors, for less then commercial prices. After performing extensive research about solid fuel rocket motors, I gained a greater understanding of how and why they worked. I tested several fuel formulations and engine component materials before deciding on my prototype design. From this point, I built tooling that allowed me to construct engines and test them. After several rounds of prototype tests and consecutive redesigns, I was able to successfully develop 3 classes of motors and the associated tooling to manufacture them.
Below, you can see my first prototype design sketch in Figure 1. Figure 2 depicts an altitude measurement device that I fabricated using a crossbow frame, protractor, pendulum, and winch mechanism to lock the pendulum on the final altitude angle. Figure 3 is a test stand I built for static engine tests in order to analyze the thrust profiles of the motors. Figure 4 is a prototype Electromagnetic Rail Assisted Launch Device (EMRALD) I built for testing purposes with the intent of using future designs to augment rocket launches.
A two-‐minute video highlighting the projects progress including fuel tests, core tests, static tests, and flight tests can be found on YouTube by following this link: http://youtu.be/jEMeUA5hJJg
Figure 1: Prototype 1 – Solid fuel rocket motor
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Figure 2: Fabricated altimeter -‐ For flight performance analysis
Figure 3: Fabricated thrust analysis test stand
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Figure 4: Electromagnetic Rail Assisted Launch Device (EMRALD) prototype
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Designing for Fun
Frequently, I am presented with problems and situations in life that require a bit of design work and tinkering. Below, I have included a few images of these projects.
Figure 5: Foldable tennis ball launcher (65+ yards)
Figure 5 is a foldable tennis ball launcher, which can be fired at variable vertical angles. The range of the device is between 10 and 65+ yards depending on the angle from which the tennis ball is launched.
The innovative aspect about this device is it’s foldable arms. We were tasked with building a device that could fit within a 3’x3’x3’ space; however, the device did not need adhere to this guideline during its operation. I quite literally thought outside the box for this design and added foldable arms to increase its power. Needless to say, we placed first in the distance part of the competition. If I were to redesign this contraption I would have added a function to variably adjust the height of the back end of the device pivoting on the front. This would have allowed us to hit the targets at multiple distances with much greater accuracy instead of adjusting the triggering location on the central beam.
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Figure 6: Precision tennis ball launcher
Figure 6 is a precision tennis ball launcher capable of finite angle-‐of-‐fire adjustments in the horizontal and vertical planes. The power of the shot can also be adjusted depending on how many clicks the winch is wound up. Thus, the range of this device is between 1 to 45 feet. My team placed third among the finalists. The design was easily capable of taking first place. However, during the final round, the linkage between the surgical tubing and the slider got in the way of the balls trajectory upon release. If I were to redo this project I would insist that my team spend more time on testing and analyzing the design for possible failure modes. My project group created a short 1m 40s video of the project design process, build, and operation. Though I was responsible for the primary design of the machine, I worked in a team to model and build the launcher. The video can be found on YouTube using the following link: http://youtu.be/q55BCgVFKLo
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Figure 7: Combustion powered tennis ball repeater cannon
Figure 7 depicts a design I made for a multi-‐shot Ether powered tennis ball cannon. By pulling the loading handle on the top of the cannon back, a new tennis ball is loaded while the combustion chamber is filled with Ether. When the loading handle is pushed forward, the tennis ball is seated and the trigger is armed. The trigger is a simple electronic sparking device such as those found in electronic lighters. My friend made a Pokémon ball launcher for a Halloween costume and shared a picture; 15 minutes later I finished this design in Paint, on my computer, to show him a ball launcher with some oomph. I never built this design nor do I intend to; at least not after analyzing it’s feasibility and structural integrity to include very healthy margins of safety, because of the danger it could pose to a user or surrounding persons. I told him as much and made sure he understood the danger of such a design.
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Figure 8: Discrete (above ceiling) 5-‐gallon multi tank water reservoir
Figure 8 is a picture I took of my Keurig set-‐up after installing a 5-‐gallon multi tank water reservoir above my ceiling. I adapted my design to take advantage of existing sturdy support structures. I chose the tubing size so that I can open the flow valve at the beginning of the brewing process and shut it when the cup is done brewing; during that time, the water used to make my beverage is 100% replaced. The refilling tank operates on the basic principle of siphoning. I have saved myself quite a bit of time by utilizing this design instead of just refilling the included reservoir every 4 cups.
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Figure 9: Sketch of non-‐destructive clip-‐lamp hanging fixture
Figure 10: Fabricated clip-‐lamp part with lamp attached
I was disappointed with the lighting in my dorm room. The best locations to add lights were in the corners between the walls and ceiling (see Figure 8 for reference). However, we are not allowed to make and holes in our walls for any reason. Therefore, I inspected the ceiling tiles and the suspension system and determined that I could fabricate a fixture to do the trick. Figure 9 shows the design that I came up with and Figure 10 shows the part that I made with a lamp clipped on it for reference. I ordered the brass strip on McMaster and trimmed it with my Dermal. Bending was tricky, but I was cautious to place the correct bends in the correct locations; I also ordered an extra long strip of brass to make another in case the first became damaged. It worked exactly as designed, but I moved out of my room before I could take a picture of it in action.
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Figure 11: Heavy-‐duty 3D-‐Scanner
Figure 12: Resultant 3D Model
I lead a project team of 4 students in an organization I co-‐founded, Makers UIUC, to design and build a heavy-‐duty 3D-‐scanner to be fully operational in one month. This was an ambitious timeline considering the busyness of our schedules. The project was finished in time for the Engineering Open House event held on campus once a year. Out of the hundreds of exhibits, ours received 3rd place in the most innovative exhibit category and it was not even our intention to compete. We were able to scan over 100 people during the open house and we were able to raise funds for our organization by selling 3D-‐printed models of the scans to the individuals scanned. Figure 11 depicts the 3D-‐scanner with the adjustable scanner stand and motorized heave-‐duty turntable, capable of supporting at least 500 lbs. Currently; we are developing autonomous motorized modifications for the scanner stand and turntable. Figure 12 is a compilation of screenshots of an actual scan we made. You can see the level of detail captured by the system is acceptable but we are also developing modifications to increase the quality of our scans by at least 50%.
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My latest design is of a slim 4-‐position toggle ratchet mechanism for a tool that can be used as a hand tool as well as a drill attachment. The design process is ongoing and in it’s early stages; this is why the mechanism is depicted in Figure 13 as part of a pseudo wrench tool handle. My team is designing and building this multi-‐tool that will make use of a double universal joint, which will allow the tool to operate at any position between 0 and 90 degrees near the front end of the tool. In addition, there will be a cap at the back of the handle that can be pushed into the tool, which will lock the toggle switch into a position that allows the shaft to freely rotate in either direction so that one may transition the hand tool to a drill attachment. Please refer to Figures 14 and 15 to better understand the operation of the 4-‐position toggle ratchet mechanism. When the switch is in the back position, a cam is positioned between the two prongs; turning the green lever 45 degrees in either direction will cause one or the other of the ratchet prongs to disengage from the geared shaft. This state will only allow one-‐way shaft rotation as typically seen in ratcheted hand tools (the neutral angle position will restrict rotation in both directions). When the switch is pushed forward into the prongs, both prongs are forced to disengage from the geared shaft allowing it to freely rotate in either direction, which is a suitable feature for a drill attachment. The design depicted is the first iteration of the mechanism design and is expected to become more ergonomic, compact, and efficient in successive design iterations.
Figure 13: Pseudo wrench tool handle with 4-‐position ratchet toggle
Figure 14: Interior view of ratchet mechanism engaging shaft
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Figure 15: Side, bottom, and back views of ratchet mechanism within wire
frame assembly of pseudo handle
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Patents Pending
This category highlights some products and concepts that I created which are in the process of being patented. I have not included all projects or information about the highlighted projects below, due to proprietary and confidential purposes.
Figure 11: A sketch of a novel method I’m developing to desalinate seawater
The desalination process depicted in Figure 11 makes use of properties of capacitance, electric fields, and unique semi-‐permeable membranes to separate ions from salt saturated water thus producing clean and pure water. This was my first concept drawing that I put together in Paint; subsequent drawings contain proprietary information so they could not be included in this portfolio, which is released to the public.
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Figure 12: Dry-‐erase eraser / marker holder
Figure 12 is dry-‐erase eraser / marker holder that is designed to holds your markers in a unique way that may the whole whiteboard experience simple and refreshing. I would add more information, however the innovative design concept is very simple and would be easily given away if I did.
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