Design / Prototyping / Engineering

Sample Portfolio

Patrick A. Pickerell

Blood Glucose MeterBattery contact & mounting plate assembly design

Problem / Solution• Customer needed a custom conical compression

spring battery contact which would clear their enclosure design

• Original design called for riveting of the springs to the plate

• Provided customer with a prototype design which staked springs to plate, thereby reducing cost and increasing ease of assembly

• Worked directly with tooling department to develop tool for permanent attachment of springs to plate (via staking)

• Assembly prototype has been tested and released for production

Spectrophotometer High Voltage Pin Holder

Designed to maintain electrical contact in an extreme operating environment

Problem / Solution• Original customer design not manufacturable due

to part distortion from excessive material coining

• Part design changed to curved ‘finger’ design for increased manufacturability and part durability

• Application required a material which would be stable and retain the pin in a high voltage, 1000°F environment

• Selected A286 S.S. for raw material due to excellent high temperature performance & corrosion resistance

• Pin must be held securely with 10oz. weight suspended from pin with part in a vertical orientation while at 1000°F

• Heat/weight test passed: part now in production

Networking Cable Management“Carabiner” spring design

Problem / Solution• Customer had already decided upon a

“carabiner” spring design for user-friendly cable management but did not know how to design a spring that would achieve functional objectives for the product

• Used a rapid prototyped sample of customer’s product to develop a spring which would have the desired amount of “pop” when released without overcoming sample’s spring retaining detent

• Pre-plated music wire specified for its excellent performance in spring applications requiring high force and corrosion resistance

Server Rack Slot Door SpringCustom double torsion spring design

Problem / Solution

• Customer required high spring force to open a server rack slot door fully and rapidly but product design had very little space available in which to fit a spring

• Provided customer with a double torsion spring design that exceeded product performance requirements by using customer provided assembly solid model and spring analysis software

Endoscopic Needle Trocar PointMedical device reverse engineering

Problem / Solution

• Customer provided sample of the trocar geometry they desired but did not yet have solid models, production drawings, or measurements

• Customer asked that models & drawings be developed to match the sample’s point geometry and their requirements

• Point geometry (Lancet & Bevel angles) accurately measured using a combination of vision measuring machine, optical comparator, and fixtures

• Solid models & production drawings developed in 12 & 14g sizes including insertion depth laser marked bands

Brass Pawl for Prosthetic Hand

Assisting in the development of the Ellen Meadows Foundation’s LN-4 Prosthetic Hand

Problem / Solution

• Customer wanted to try a series of slightly different design geometries to achieve the best hand-opening action possible

• Worked directly with customer to create solid models and drawings for each revision and released drawings for prototype production

• Customer experimented with prototypes until a design with excellent action in the finished product was found

Bicycle Seat Post Quick Release Clamp

Problem / Solution

• New customer wanted a limited run of high-end titanium seat post clamps for an industry trade show but had no design

• Created an assembly design which used mill-turn, EDM, and screw machine operations to showcase in-house manufacturing capabilities

• Customer found prototype design to be lightweight, attractive, and functional

Assembly Animation