M1.01 The Lighthouse of West Texas - Press Automation
Sponsor: Center for High Performance Systems (CHiPS) Lab
Student Team: Owen Coyne, Adalberto Lozano
Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Davidson
West Texas Lighthouse creates manufacturing careers for the visually impaired. The team has been tasked with improving efficiency and operator safety. Our goal is to include automation modules like a vibratory feeder, conveyor system, and other new work stations.
M1.02 3-Axis Composite Winding Machine
Sponsor: Ingram School of Engineering (ISoE)
Student Team: Sandy Hernandes, Hunter Kelly, Everest Sweet
Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Davidson
MFGE Team 1.02 will be developing a low-cost Composite Filament Winding (CFW) machine using recycled parts from 3D printers for the Ingram School of Engineering. This machine will enable students to manufacture high-performance composite parts for use in teaching, research, and further our pursuits in High-Powered Rocketry. By prioritizing the use of commercial components and 3D printing, we aim to make a durable and easily repairable machine for use in all manner of engineering disciplines.
M1.03 VR & Digitization Experience
Sponsor: Ingram Hall Makerspace (IHM)
Student Team: Tyler Babin & Roberto Rios
Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Davidson
This project is a Virtual Reality (VR) training simulator for a 3-axis HAAS CNC milling machine, designed to provide hands-on experience in a safe and immersive environment. It replicates the real-world set up operations of the machine. Trainees can interact with the machine using VR controllers, gaining practical skills without risking equipment damage. The simulator aims to enhance learning efficiency, reduce training costs, and improve user confidence before transitioning to physical machines.
M1.04 Modeling & Simulation of Academic Makerspaces with AnyLogic
Sponsor: Ingram Hall Makerspace (IHM)
Student Team: Noah Richardson, Junior Segura-Ontiveros
Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Davidson
Develop a risk-free virtual environment to analyze and experiment with makerspace operations, to solve important decisions about resource allocation and future layouts. This will assist in management issues, long student queues, increased user workflow, and insufficient use of facilities space. Produce various “what if” scenarios to predict possible changes in future layouts of the facility.
M1.05 Digital Twin Foundations for the Ingram Makerspace
Sponsor: Ingram Hall Makerspace (IHM)
Student Team: Luke Frederick , Will West
Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Davidson
This project is building a foundational "digital twin" for the Ingram Hall Makerspace, which replaces manual equipment tracking with a real-time data system. The team is instrumenting a drill press for two-way control and pulling read-only data from a HAAS CNC machine. All data will feed into a live dashboard that displays the current status and usage highlights for the machines. The ultimate goal is to use this information to perform maintenance more accurately, flag costly machine misuse, and create an expandable system for digitizing more equipment in the future.