AMBots Pellet Feeder
Sponsor: AMBOTS
With close supervision from AMBOTS, the current team was tasked with following up on a previous team’s system for conveying plastic pellet material into a 3-D printer. The new design must meet several requirements, including reliably distributing plastic pellet material to the printer at a rate of at least three pellets of filament per second to an external extruder. The current team has studied the previous team’s reports and tests, as well as conducted research on new, innovative ideas. The proposed system consists of a hopper where filament is stored; the filament then enters a throttle chamber, where the flow of filament can be controlled using a motor that operates quietly at a low RPM. After leaving the throttle chamber, the filament is dropped through tubing, where a constant airflow feeds the filament into the extruder. The team is currently prototyping a functional model and plans to conduct tests to identify ways to improve the design.
Students involved: Wyatt Elliot; Camden Boardman; Alex Davis; Carlos Reyes; Fabien Faustin
Core Brewing and Distilling Company
Our project focuses on designing and implementing an automated packaging system for Core Brewery and Distilling Co. to enhance efficiency, reduce manual labor, and increase production throughput. Currently, the brewery relies on manual handling, which slows down the process and requires significant labor, producing only 16 pallets per day. Our goal is to streamline this workflow by integrating automation, allowing the facility to achieve at least 20 pallets per day while maintaining cost-effectiveness and ensuring seamless compatibility with existing operations. By evaluating advanced cartoner machines and robotic packing solutions, we aim to reduce labor by up to 75%, minimize errors, and improve overall production speed. Additionally, optimizing space usage within the facility will allow for a more compact and efficient layout, enabling future scalability. With automation, Core Brewery can maximize output, meet increasing demand, and create new revenue opportunities by potentially expanding to 40 pallets per day with minimal supervision.
Team Members: Clayton Qualls, Andrew Burek, Asseer Sayed, Austin Shaunfield, Stratton Stephens
Lifting Device
Sponsor: Gerdau
We are developing a below-the-hook lifting device designed to enhance the versatility of a ladle crane. This attachment features a swivel hook that locks at 90-degree intervals and supports a 125-ton load with a 1.5 safety factor. Its key advantage is enabling dual-hook cranes to lift single-hook loads while allowing axial rotation or secure locking.
Team Members: Jose Sanchez, Ananda Trulley, Hunter Bjorneboe, Luke Tyson
Hand Brace
Sponsor : Biomedical Engineering Dept
We are working in collaboration with the University of Arkansas Biomedical Engineering team to co-design a hand brace that can be utilized in a physical therapy environment to treat patients with neuromuscular disorders. Our role in this project is to design a dial crank device that creates tension in strings on a hand brace. The Biomedical Engineering team is focusing on the design of the hand brace itself and system implementation with our device. The main components of the design are the ratchet and pawl, spring, individual winding tracks, and exterior casing with string entrance locations.
Team Members: Christopher Cuttler, Gabriella Reina, Grant Ressler, Jakob Beene, Kevin Oro
Lunar Dust Experiment Device
Sponsor Names: Dr. Min Zou – NASA Lunar Dust
The laboratory of Dr. Min Zou is working on a NASA-sponsored project investigating the use of specialized nanomaterials to passively mitigate the adhesion of lunar dust to spacecraft, spacesuit, and surface habitat components. To this end, they require a test bench that can apply simulated lunar regolith to their sample materials, providing precise control over the amount of regolith deposited and the orientation of their samples. Our test bench will allow for the efficient loading of multiple sample specimens simultaneously, enabling Dr. Zou’s lab to control the quantity of regolith applied, the orientation angle of their samples, and ultimately run these tests in a vacuum chamber environment similar to conditions found on the lunar surface.
Team Members: Ethan Ellis, Chloe Alderson, London Copelin, Ethan Williamson, Parker Petet
Off Road Wheelchair
Sponsor: OZASA – Ozark Adaptive Sports Association
The group’s objective is to continue the design and prototyping of an accessible wheelchair that allows people with certain disabilities to enjoy off-road trails. The vehicle should be cost-effective and competitively priced to compete with other, more expensive offerings. Major components of the design include a lightweight and sturdy frame, wheels and tires with adequate clearance and traction, safety features such as a secure seat and seatbelt, an accessible control system, and an effective braking system.
Team Members: Ammar Ibrahim, Michael Bautista, Erik Styslinger, Ryan Tabor, Caleb Fields
Reusable EpiPen
Sponsor: Biomedical Engineering Dept
The Reloadable Epinephrine Injector is a cost-effective, reusable alternative to traditional single-use epinephrine auto-injectors, designed to address the affordability and accessibility challenges in the allergy treatment market. Featuring a durable plastic body with a spring-lock injection mechanism, the device allows users to replace only the epinephrine cartridges rather than discarding the entire injector after use. This design reduces long-term costs, minimizes plastic waste, and ensures reliability in emergency situations. Targeting uninsured and cost-conscious consumers, the product aims to disrupt the monopolized epinephrine market while maintaining safety, efficacy, and ease of use.
Team Members: Mark Haven, Christopher Orellana, Christian Salazar, William Conway, and Gaven Peterie
UARK FAMA Cooling Tower Water Gate
Sponsor: UARK FAMA
The heating plant at the University of Arkansas has baths that sit underneath the cooling tower and collect water. A system of gates separates these baths of treated water. Currently, the gates use a screw jack lift, which requires extensive manual labor and time to operate. Our project aims to redesign the gate-lifting mechanism to eliminate the need for manual labor, increase efficiency, and ensure the mechanism is resistant to corrosion from the chemicals and water. The concept we are pursuing involves a pneumatic rotary actuator which, instead of lifting the gates, will rotate them 90°.
Team Members: Garrett Shafer, Lane Lambert, Matthew Noack, Caroline Pelton
ASGC Autonomous Vehicle Challenge – MEEG Subteam
Sponsor: Arkansas Space Grant Consortium
In collaboration with teams from the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering departments, the team has been tasked with designing an autonomous vehicle that can navigate and complete a track without human input or failure. On the mechanical side of the project, the focus was on improving the previous year’s design to prevent structural failure—especially during a required jump off a ramp for the ASGC competition. Design improvements included an upgraded front suspension, a redesigned chassis to better mount equipment with a lower profile, and an overhauled drivetrain, replacing the previous belt system with a more reliable direct drive and differential setup. The car was primarily fabricated through 3D printing—mainly using PETG and glass-fiber-infused nylon—to reduce costs, enable quick adjustments, and maintain the strength needed to complete the challenge.
Team Members: Bryan Sheehan, Gabriel Craig, Ty Toland, Jayden Hamilton, Grady Widener
SplatRBall
Sponsor: SplatRBall
This project involves working with SplatRBall to enhance their most well-known and purchased blaster model, the SRB400-Sub. We have been tasked with two main objectives. The first is to achieve a variable velocity profile that reduces parental apprehension by allowing children to adjust the blaster’s velocity. To accomplish this, we added a new part to the back of the blaster that enables the internal spring to fire from different lengths, giving kids the ability to use the blaster within their safety needs. The second objective is to improve the blaster’s water resistivity, allowing it to be submerged in water for short periods. This involves integrating flexible gaskets, O-rings, sealants, and newly shaped parts at key entry points such as the magazine well, trigger, barrel, and casing. Through rigorous brainstorming, planning, prototyping, and testing, we aim to deliver a more functional and reliable option for SplatRBall users.
Team Members: Kade Wasemiller, Devin Wood, Dylan Fletcher, Ryker Davis, Aaron Tidmore
Dassault Falcon Jet Project
Sponsor: Dassault Falcon Jet
Dassault Falcon Jet designs and constructs the interiors for top-end private jets.
The project we have been tasked with is to modify the process for the extension and stowing of the Dassault Falcon Jet F6X/F8X table so that it can fully extend without user assistance. The goal is to improve the design of this table to meet the luxurious standards of Dassault Falcon Jet and enhance customer convenience. The solution must be fully mechanical and ensure reliability, while maintaining sleek aesthetics and functionality.
Team Members: Garrett Wade, William Freeman, Diego Suarez, Daniel Curl
GateMate
Sponsor: Timothy White
The GateMate project aims to revolutionize the irrigation process within rice farming fields by introducing an automated, user-friendly, and durable levee gate system. Initially contemplated by rice farmers and refined through successive iterations by engineering teams, GateMate addresses critical challenges associated with traditional systems, such as weight, usability, and environmental resilience. Our project integrates innovative solutions such as a compact pulley-lift mechanism, solar-powered operation, and robust sheet metal construction. These enhancements ensure that GateMate not only meets but exceeds customer requirements for efficiency and ease of use.
Team Members: Abril Nina Mollo, Ayden Potts, Trevor Harris, John Siemens, & Maria Gomez Arteta
Go Baby Go
Sponsors: UAMS, Adventure Subaru
The Go Baby Go Project works to aid toddlers who have developmental and/or mobility issues, such as Cerebral Palsy. We redesign existing electric cars to include different options for control and comfort. This includes rerouting the throttle to the steering wheel and adjusting the seats to properly and safely support small children between the ages of 1–6.
Team Members: Dominic Davis, Ashley Osorio, Hidai Duhart, Nate Horn, Alfredo Ramirez
Under Water Propulsion
Sponsor: Jorell Laube
Our team set out to prototype a high-performance underwater propulsion device that is primarily manufactured from 3D-printed components. The goal was to create a device with the same or greater performance as similar propulsion devices on the market, while decreasing the final production cost. The main constraints of this project include water resistance at depths of up to 66 ft, a runtime of 30 minutes or more, and a design that is both lightweight and easily stored for travel. Additionally, the device is designed to be compatible with several different types of scuba tanks and features a mounting bracket for other uses, such as attaching the device to a paddleboard, kayak, etc.
Team Members: Dusty Willis, Madison Blossman, Asa Smith, Elizabeth
Garcia, Nathan Connor
Keo Fish Farm
Sponsor: Seth Summerside, Keo Fish Farms
Keo Fish Farms tests approximately 3,000 grass carp a day to ensure sterility for compliance with state and federal regulations. The current method, which requires significant manual labor, involves cleaning, sorting, and filling vials, known as accuvettes, by hand to facilitate blood sample testing. To enhance efficiency, reduce human labor, and increase testing capacity to 10,000 fish per day, this project focuses on making changes to the testing process and incorporating new devices. A filling machine will allow operators to fill 10 accuvettes simultaneously, while a redesigned washable testing tray will eliminate the need to wash accuvettes individually. By eliminating the accuvette sorting step, expediting cleaning, and largely automating the filling process, Keo Farms will be able to test more fish while reducing manual labor.
Team Members: Sam Beckett, Mei-Ling Godfrey, Raymond Lin, Brandon Hillier, Jason Harmon
Our Pharma Packager
Sponsor: Mechanical Engineering Dept
OurPharma requires a faster and more efficient method of packaging medical equipment. To address their current issue of slow throughput, an automated bagging device is being developed by our group. This device utilizes PLC-controlled components and a variety of functions to ensure precise and reliable packaging. By automating key steps of the packaging process, this solution will increase production speed, improve consistency, and reduce manual labor requirements, thereby enhancing efficiency in OurPharma’s packaging operations.
Team Members: Christian Bruce, Maxwell Cleveland, Mason Parette, Isabella Kattaviravong, Chase Barney
SpoolSafe
Sponsor: Biomedical Engineering Dept
UAMS is seeking enhancements to the current fall prevention devices employed in physical therapy. The primary concerns identified are the significant impulse forces experienced by patients during falls, which can lead to potential injuries, and the need for an effective emergency braking mechanism to prevent unintended movement. To address these challenges, our team is developing two distinct devices. The first is a plunger system that utilizes pressure force from compression to reduce the impulse force when a patient falls, thereby minimizing the impact experienced. The second device is a stopper mechanism that rolls along the track and locks in place, effectively preventing the trolley car from moving past it. Together, these solutions aim to enhance patient safety and improve the reliability of existing fall prevention systems.
Team Members: Michael Wesolich, Alexander Luter, Harrison Green, Carlton Davis, Elijah Rich
Tissue Processing Unit
Sponsor: Dr. Philip Ferguson
The purpose of the tissue processing unit (TPU) is to provide hospitals in low-income communities across the globe with affordable, on-site tissue processing, ensuring safe transportation of tissue samples. The goal for the 2024-2025 CPII TPU team is to improve on previous iterations of the TPU, focusing on reducing the overall size, weight, and cost of the unit, as well as improving durability and the assembly process for the end user. We have achieved these goals by improving the design of several key components, sourcing components from new vendors, and removing the need for nearly all post-purchase machining operations. Additionally, the Electrical Engineering department has provided a team of students to optimize the electrical system. With their help, we have increased the functionality of the unit to include a bucket locating system while reducing the overall footprint of the electrical system and further reducing the cost.
Team Members: Parker May, Casey Lutat, Nicholas Herring, Garrett Wegman, Kevin Gandhi