I'm a mechanical engineering graduate, now working in engineering and building passion projects on the side. I like taking an idea from a hand sketch to CAD to something that floats, drives or spins — then finding out, on the bench or in the bathtub, whether it actually works.
I've sized gear trains for an e-bike gearbox, a hospital delivery go-kart and a 3D-printed elastic car. The one that taught me the most was the one that didn't work: PLA gears that were fine in CAD softened under load once they were actually meshing.
Arduino and LabVIEW builds where sensors decide what the motors do: a solar panel that chases the light, a kart with four ways to drive it, a plant that waters itself, and a servo tuned from a bump test all the way to cascade control.
Electrifying York's campus heating, a hand-crank generator for a community centre, a −20 °C cold room, and a life cycle study of olive oil bottles. I like it when the numbers settle the argument, like a heavy glass bottle costing more carbon than its recyclability saves.
I studied mechanical engineering at York University's Lassonde School of Engineering. Most of my school projects were team builds, and I led five of them, from a gearbox to a campus energy plan.
These days I'm doing engineering work for a living, like the stair, septic and heating work here, and picking my own projects for the rest. The journal is where everything else goes. I'm still happiest when a project ends with something physical to test, even if the test rig is a bathtub and four pool noodles.
and when something breaks, I write down why
want to talk about any of this?aldrichkylevalloyas@gmail.com
