Cam Douglas' Portfolio

Note: this portfolio does not contain any ongoing or previous proprietary product design work and is limited to sharable projects.

Brick Repointing

Rhino
Following previous design iterations, our team eventually settled on a small rotary hammer attachment to help with the process of brick repointing. The attachment guides the rotary hammer as it chisels away the top layer of mortar from the wall. I helped with the overall design and assembly process on top of machining the support tube and guide structures on the plate incident with the brick wall. The device is now patent pending in the United States. Fall 2017
Mason Frame Prototype
Based on learnings from sketch models and early prototypes, our team designed an updated version made from aluminum 8020. For my part, I helped design the custom wooden housing for the angle grinder and vacuum attachment on top of assembling the frame itself. The prototype worked well to guide a mason’s work across the bricks, but required difficult assembly and storage. Fall 2017
Crossbow 1
Moving from a full frame to a rotary hammer accessory, our team designed a 3-plane attachment that guided mason’s passes along mortar joints. For my part, I designed and machined the disposable rails that prevented damage to the bricks and the accessory. With the help of local masons, the design was eventually determined to be too heavy for all-day use and was refined. Fall 2017
Mason Frame Sketch Model
In order to understand the basic mechanical challenges and human factors associated with a guiding frame for repoint, we designed and constructed a basic sketch model/ pretotype with wood, PVC, and a basic housing for an angle grinder, a traditional tool for the job. Fall 2017

Ancient Greece Escape Room

Puzzle Room Tile Sketch
A small tablet designed for an Ancient Greece puzzle room. The tablet features internal LEDs that change color based on the state of the device and an embedded rare earth magnet to interact with electromagnets in the wall of the room. Spring 2018
Escape from Tartarus
A sketched storyboard depicting a small escape room where users must organize magnetic tablets in order to reveal a hidden exit from the room. Spring 2018
Final Poseidon Story Board
A digital storyboard depicting an escape room feature where players must work together to shoot down the tentacles of Poseidon’s deadly kraken. Spring 2018
Escape Room Wall
A feature in an Ancient Greek escape room, players must correctly place the small magnetic tablets in order to reveal and open a secret exit through a rotating column. Spring 2018
Slay the Kraken
Players use Zeus’s air cannon to defeat Poseidon’s kraken! For my part, I designed and constructed the pump-powered air cannon for players to launch foam balls at the moving and sensing tentacles on top of helping with overall theme and game design. Spring 2018
Gold Canon
Designed for an Ancient Greece adventure room challenge, this pneumatic cannon is pressurized with a manual pump and users fire foam dodgeballs at kraken targets. Spring 2018
Medusa's Gaze
In order to sketch model/ pretotype the sensing mechanism for a medusa statue that would sense players in an Ancient Greece adventure room, we tested the viewing angle of passive IR sensors using various 3D-printed eye sockets and various Fresnel lenses. Spring 2018

Custom Yoyo Design

The Yoyodeler
For a class project with a team of six, I helped to ideate, design, and manufacture 50 yoyos, leveraging the principles of mechanical engineering and manufacturing. Our yoyo design featured a singer in front of a full moon, that stood upon a thermoformed mountain. The body of the yoyo was injection molded and the final yoyos were hand-assembled. Spring 2016
Aluminum Injection Molds
For a custom yoyo design, our team designed and machined aluminum injection molds. Taking designs from Solidworks to MasterCAM, I used CNC mills and lathes to create a mold for a moon-like surface and the body of the yoyo. The molds were eventually used successfully for a short manufacturing run of 50 yoyos. Spring 2016
3D Printed Thermoform Mold
For a custom yoyo, I helped design and make 3D printed molds for a small thermoforming run. Printed using SLA and FDM techniques, both molds contain small channels throughout the interior to accommodate the concavity and high draw ratio of the design. Spring 2017
Yoyo Process Optimization
In order to tune the injection molding parameter selection and verify calculations, I helped to produce small manufacturing runs of yoyo body parts. Screw speed, temperature and other parameters were honed for a final manufacturing run of 50 yoyos, analyzed with Shewhart charts. Spring 2016

Aperio Automatic Door Opener

Door Opener Sketch Model
A prototype of an affordable automatic door opener with the cover removed. This device slides onto any door and uses a motion-activated, wheel-based system to provide cheap door automation in residential and commercial buildings. I designed and implemented the electronics, using an Arduino and a DC motor, and the wooden housing and sleeve mechanism for the prototype. Fall 2018
Aperio Door Opener Full Design
A CAD render displaying the internals of what could be an affordable, wheel-based automatic door opener. The model contains a complete gearbox and slipper clutch so the DC motor is not overloaded, and a variable suspension. Apart from the wheel components, motor, and electronics, every piece in the device can be injection molded and assembled using a combination of snap-fits and press-fits. Spring, 2019
Door Opener Sketch Model with Cover
For the outer case of the automatic wheel-based door opener, I designed and constructed a wooden cover made using kerf bending on a laser cutter. The cover was easily removable for electronics access and maintained a representation of a final product’s aesthetics. Fall 2018
Door Opener Concept Sketch
Used as a basis for guiding prototyping efforts, this concept sketch shows an open view of the inner wheel mechanism and some basic dimensions. November 2018
Automated Door Opener Prototype
With the cover detached, a photo of the automatic door opener attached to a residential door in a retirement home. The whole system measures roughly 9 inches in width and 4 inches in both depth and height. Fall 2018

Miscellaneous Design Projects

RunFin Testing
A runner testing a pair of sketch modeled RunFins, comprised of a custom thermoformed shape and sacrificed diving fins. I created solid models of the devices and helped run computational fluid dynamics simulations in order to then create and use custom thermoform molds from wood. Later prototypes moved towards velcro straps attached over and behind the foot, similar to a Teva sandal. The devices were tested and used by the MIT Cross Country team for rehabilitative and injury prevention purposes. Summer 2015
Stand Mixer Side View
Stand Mixer. November 2018
ESDL Logo Concepts
Logo concepts for an aerospace lab at CU Boulder. Fall 2018
Rollock Aviation Logo Colorways
Rollock Aviation Logo Colorways, Winter 2019
ITLL Logo Concepts
Logo concepts for the ITLL at CU Boulder. Spring 2019
Freehand Mixer Sketch
Freehand Mixer. Spring 2019
Freehand Sander Sketch
Freehand Sander. January 2019