Controls

3D Printing with Drones

What if a drone could build structures humans can't reach? We investigate integrating underactuated multicopters with 3D printing for large-scale remote additive manufacturing — demonstrating aerial positioning accuracy competitive with ground-based …

Towards Online Monitoring and Data-Driven Control: A Study of Segmentation Algorithms for Laser Powder Bed Fusion Processes

An increasing number of laser powder bed fusion machines use off-axis infrared cameras to improve online moni- toring and data-driven control capabilities. However, there is still a severe lack of algorithmic solutions to properly process the …

GAIN Mechanical Engineering Department Award 2021

Awardee of the Mechanical Engineering Department Award for the 2021 Graduate and Industry Networking Event by the University of Texas at Austin for outstanding research.

First 3D Printing Attempt with a Drone

Unstable flight, premature extrusion, material that refuses to adhere — this is what aerial 3D printing looks like at the start. We document the first prototype test of a multi-year aerial additive manufacturing research program, including what went …

Predictive Iterative Learning Control with Data-Driven Model for Optimal Laser Power in Selective Laser Sintering

Building high quality parts is still a key challenge for Selective Laser Sintering machines today due to a lack of sufficient process control. In order to improve process control, we propose a Predictive Iterative Learning Control (PILC) controller …

Won Sandia National Laboratories Grant

Pitched and secured five-figure funding from Sandia National Labs for a novel laser pre-scan process that enhances part quality in selective laser sintering (3D printing).

Robot Control and Mechanism Design Projects

A portfolio of robot mechanism and control projects from graduate studies at UT Austin: a centralized-actuation 3-finger gripper, PD and inverse kinematics control of planar and 6-DOF arms, and a rehabilitation table prototype.

6DOF Robot Arm Optimization for Harsh Manufacturing Environments

ABB robots in Mercedes-Benz's OP-150 HD cleaning system were failing — the culprit: direct exposure to 600-bar water jets at 60–70°C. We applied Six Sigma root-cause analysis and redesigned the robotic cage with protective coverings, significantly …

Process Optimization for Laser Metal Deposition

Iron-aluminide alloys are lightweight, oxidation-resistant, and highly important for turbine blade applications. However, they are notoriously difficult to manufacture. At Fraunhofer ILT (RWTH Aachen), I was in charge of laser metal deposition …

Improving Process Control for Electrohydrodynamic Jet Printing

E-jet printing can deposit droplets as small as 240 nm — but only if electromagnetic noise does not drown out the signal. I diagnosed intrinsic and extrinsic noise sources and implement EM shielding strategies to enable precise droplet-charge sensing …