Passionate about helping people with design and engineering.
My name is Sam, and thanks for taking the time to look at my website. I am a Mechanical Engineer with a focus on robotics, medical devices and product design.
I am highly motivated about designing products that help people live their lives to fullest, be it exoskeletons for rehabilitation, or portable air pollution sensors.
When I am not developing high-performance robotic actuators or designing myolectric prostheses, you can often find me in the local Fablab where I like to build a variety of interesting devices in my free time.
I particularly enjoy building mechatronic devices that intersect user-orientated and attractive design with technological innovation, such as the Internet of Things or Additive Manufacturing.
You can check out my personal projects here
Work Experience
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia - Rehab Technologies Lab
Jan 2018 - presentMechanical and Robotics Engineer
Lead mechanical engineer commercialising a robotic prosthetic hand and developing a robotic prosthetic wrist and elbow system for the Italian National Health Service.
Part of team that received the Compasso d’Oro for the Hannes Prosthetic Hand, the most prestigious industrial design award in Italy
Extensive experience of working within ISO13485, led all mechanical design optimisations during the successful medical device approval process and subsequent clinical trial for Hannes
Listed as co-inventor on 2 pending patents related to improvements in underactuated prosthetic hands, and 2 pending patents related to improvements in high-performance robotic actuators
Contributed to the design of an upper-limb exoskeleton for shoulder rehabilitation
Co-creator of a MATLAB algorithm to compare the workspace of theoretical exoskeleton designs, using inverse kinematics and collision estimation
Lead designer of an innovative virtual 4-bar mechanism that minimises patient’s shoulder discomfort and greatly reduces device cost
Possess very strong experience in designing robotic actuators using first principles and mathematical analysis
Extensive knowledge in designing and manufacturing highly effective and completely custom planetary, cycloid, worm-gear & friction-drive reduction mechanisms
As lead mechanical engineer have designed and overseen manufacturing of several hollow-shaft robotic actuators that combine strain-wave reducers and high-performance BLDC motors
Designed multiple test-benches to characterise robotic actuators for peak performance, efficiency and durability during long-term operation
Possess strong MATLAB and Simulink skills, including;
Using simulated trajectory planning to analyse and optimise mechanical robotic actuators
o Analysing power-train efficiencies via theoretical equations and test-bench data
o Calculating optimum cycloidal gear profiles for use in high-performance gearboxes
o Using the Robotics Toolbox Inverse Kinematics functions to define and optimise the DH-parameters of an upper-limb exoskeleton
Work extensively with patients and focus-groups in a clinical setting to analyse customer needs and create design specifications
BMW Group UK
March 2016 - Jan 2018Launch and Change Co-ordinator
Lead co-ordinator for a large product end-of-life project. Reduced the initial £3.5 million cost estimate by one-third by careful co-ordination of several departments and analysing alternative business scenarios
Led the co-ordination of all series-vehicle design changes for engines assembled at BMW Hams Hall. In addition, I was the project lead for the launch of a new engine for the BMW i8 hybrid sports car
My main tasks involved the creation of project timing and budget plans, co-ordinating changes to assembly-line capabilities, liaising with customers and suppliers, and attending product improvement meetings
Education
The University of Sheffield
September 2011 - August 2015MEng Mechanical Engineering with German, 1st Hons
Final year project conducted on the design and manufacture of a low-cost CNC milling-machine, now used for rapid prototyping at the UoS composites laboratory
Third year design project focussed on designing an open-source 3D-printer, using optimisation tools to reduce volume of 3D-printed parts. Other significant design projects included a 3D-printed bicycle helmet concept, prototyping a pedal-powered irrigation pump and designing a water-purifying stove
Year abroad in Germany at the Technische Universität Dresden with a combined module average of 76%. Awarded 84% and the prize for best research contribution for my third-year language project
Awarded the Boeing Undergraduate Scholarship, a 3-year bursary and development programme, the Daniel Doncaster Travel Bursary and the Laverick-Webster-Hewitt Research Fellowship