I’m Evan Soontiens, a Soon-to-Be-Graduated Mechanical Engineering Student
This portfolio showcases my mechanical engineering projects which were focused on design, manufacturing, composites, and robotics.
Capstone Project
The GridWinder is a product designed to eliminate waste during composite manufacturing. It also provides an option for a higher level of strength customization for engineers working with composite parts. The GridWinder lowers the barrier of entry for custom-made composite parts for startup companies.
Schulich Space Rover Team
The SSRT is a student-led engineering team that creates a rover which competes in the CIRC (Canadian International Rover Challenge) every summer in Drumheller. This competition tests the abilities of the rover in multiple real-world scenarios that mimic work on other planets, such as soil extraction or exploration, as well as work in dangerous areas on Earth, such as carrying out a human body from a nuclear meltdown zone or turning off a nuclear reactor.
More Projects
Lighter Study
During my third year of school, I was part of a group of students tasked to either analyze an existing product or create a new product and analyze it. We chose to investigate the mechanics of a traditional BIC lighter.
These studies consisted of two major sections:
Friction study between the flint and sparkwheel. This was first done by performing spring analysis to determine with how much force the flint was passively being pushed up into the sparkwheel with. The acceleration of the sparkwheel during engagement was then measured using slow motion video, and alongside a theoretical value of the coefficient of friction between the two materials, we were able to understand how quickly the flint would theoretically be used up during normal operation.
Static analysis of the sparkwheel guard (seen above), and determining how much force was required by the average person to depress the guard enough to engage the sparkwheel.
Locomotive Train
In a CAD class in my second year of school, we were tasked to create a complex assembly of parts using SOLIDWORKS. I decided to completely model a locomotive train. I studied how their motions systems worked, and was able to mate things together in a way to allow for typical motion of the wheels and plungers to be verified.
The following major systems were modeled and assembled into the train seen above:
Main body / coal burning zone with accompanying details on top such as a chimney and light.
Conductor area with ladder.
Cow catcher in the front.
Combustion chambers.
Rail systems driven by plungers inside the combustion chambers, used for turning the wheels.
Large main wheels attached by coupling rods on their respective counterweights.