PortfolioJoseph Flaherty

These pages contain images and information concerning my extracurricular experience. At the end, I’ve included samples of my work.

The full mechanical design for the NASA SL competition, in progress (left) and in CAD (right)

NASA Student Launch Competitionwith American Institute of Aeronautics & AstronauticsOngoing since November 2014

OVERVIEW-- Component designs presented in following pages

Objective:

• Create a robot to find, capture, and load a payload into a rocket, then safely launch the rocket

Design Challenges:

• All components must be stowed inside sealed box

• Disassembly must be fast for transportation

• Must maintain the design features originally proposed

Skills Developed:

• Presented and wrote technical reports on design for NASA

• Managed large assembly (400+ bodies) while supporting frequent redesigns

• Selecting compatible components and creating bills of materials

• Modeling with Weldments and creating belts in SOLIWORKS

• Optimizing SOLIDWORKS performance using Speedpak, Large Assembly Mode, and rigid subassemblies

CAD Model of Rocket Weldment model of 80/20 base structure

NASA Student Launch CompetitionSOLIDWORKS Model vs. Current BuildRocket Snap Feature

Objective:

• Create snap features for quick closure of rocket payload section

Design Challenges:

• Snap hooks must be strong enough to hold under impulse of parachute

• Minimize the force required to close the rocket

• Snap hooks needed to be replaceable due to fatigue

Skills Developed:

• Choosing materials and fabrication methods for reliability & ease of replacement

• Multibody part design & using global variables to update material thickness

Build of final snap hook design

Section view of initial concept Render of final design Exploded view of components

Joseph Flaherty - Portfolio

NASA Student Launch CompetitionSOLIDWORKS Model vs. Current BuildCamera Mount and Nosecone Closure System

Objective:

• Mount vision system camera for locating payload

• Shut the front end of rocket using a simple, reliable mechanism

Design Challenges:

• Camera needed adjustable angle and filter switching capability while remaining lightweight

• Nosecone will not close correctly if misaligned with body tube during closure

• Closure arms experience strong torque during operation

Skills Developed:

• Working knowledge of gear and servo motors

• Designing for strength with a given material

Joseph Flaherty - Portfolio

NASA Student Launch CompetitionSOLIDWORKS Model vs. Current BuildSliding Ramp and Rake Arm

Objective:

• Create system that slides along a 10’ length, pivots to match payload orientation, then rakes in and retrieves payload

Design Challenges:

• Major design elements fixed since design proposal in December

• One way bearing was used to allow one motor to raise conveyor arm and move belt driven rakes

• Assembly slides and pivots while supporting its own weight

• Must fit inside volume of closed box

Skills Developed:

• Brainstorming multiple solutions to mechanical problems

• Working around motor capabilities

• Designing for ease of assembly & fabrication

Rocket Component Designwith American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronauticsduring September 2014

Objective:

• Capture video of rocket flights using a GoPro stowed in the nosecone

Design Challenges:

• Minimize print volume & support material

• Minimize aerodynamic profile & vibrations

Skills Developed:

• In context part design, surface modeling, basic skeleton/master model

• Estimating 3D printer tolerances & designing for ease of assembly

Render of full rocket assembly

Complete 3D printed partsExploded view of design Assembly coupled to nosecone

• Teaching student-run SOLIDWORKS class since Spring 2014.

• Preparing fellow mechanical engineering students for CSWA certification exam

• Conducted 3D printing workshops for high school students

A photo of me demonstrating a Full Round Fillet to my ASME class on 2/4/2015

CSWA Prep Course & Workshopswith American Society of Mechanical EngineersOngoing since Spring 2014

3D printed pencil toppers designed and printed during a 3D printing workshop in May 2014

• Planned & led rocketry field trip for Boston 7th

grade students

• Created stomp rocket activity to introduce concepts behind rocket stability

• Taught high school students about CAD assemblies, rendering, and animations

• Organizing outreach events for American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Students watch a custom stomp rocket soar during their field trip on 2/13/2015

STEM Outreachwith American Institute of Aeronautics & AstronauticsOngoing since November 2014

I help students build their stomp rockets on 2/13/2015

Introducing rendering to high school students using a GrabCAD airplane and a movie poster

• Proficient with Epilog Zing 30W laser cutter after cutting plywood components for rockets

• Used SOLIDWORKS to create laser etched acrylic iPad stand as a Christmas gift

• Designed a star shaped, spin stabilized, low power rocket with channeled fins

I examine the baseplate of my iPad stand design after laser cutting & etching in December 2014

Laser Cutter ProjectsIndividualOngoing since Fall 2014

Top and bottom views of a spin-stabilized rocket, designed for 5 low power engines, with hollowed out fins to direct airflow

Finished iPad Stand

• Won 1st Place in AIAA Battle of the Rockets Target Altitude Competition

• Designed rocket to reach 1,500 feet precisely and reached 1,502 feet in competition

• Tested several fin designs and shock chord attachment methods

• Learned the basics of model rocketry

The Northeastern team poses after winning AIAA Battle of the Rockets

STEM Outreachwith American Institute of Aeronautics & AstronauticsDuring Spring 2014

Prototype 3D printed fin modulesallowing for on-site fin replacement

Rocket sits on the pad before a test launch

Sample: Surface Split OptionsThe next page is a sample of my writing in the currently published SOLIDWORKS 2015 Help documentation. As an intern at SOLIDWORKS, I wrote this page in response to a user complaint about a lack of documentation on the Split Surface feature. I also created the example images used on the page.

Sample: ASME Class HomeworkI distributed the following dimensioned drawing to my SOLIDWORKS class for homework. The assignment was to produce a model with the specified dimensions, which could be verified by comparing the part’s mass to the one given in the drawing. I independently created both the model and drawing.

300

25°

20

300

80 30

R15

60°

20

30

10

A

A

50

50

30 80

R15 (TYP)

65 (TYP)

20

(TYP

) 5

SECTION A-A

Material: Delrin 2700 PlasticMass: 3272.96 gAll units in MMGS

Notes:The last step is to shell away the top face (5mm•thick)The revolve cut wraps around 300 degrees of the•cylinderThe part is symmetric across the section plane AA•