Ironic Chameleon
Personal Statement
I have been making and creating things for as long as I can remember. This began with rooting around in the kitchen recycling bin for plasict and cardboard to tape together, and has evolved into a passion for engineering and design. I use tools to craft things out of wood and resin and modelling mechanisms and sculptures to 3D print. I always knew I enjoyed creating, mathematics, and science and so I strive to become an engineer.
I am currently a final year student studying at the University of Bath, United Kingdom. My course is Mechanical Engineering Integrated Master’s Degree with Yearlong Industrial Placement (5 years). I am on track to complete my degree in summer 2025 having spent 4 amazing years at university meeting the best people and learning every day. I spent my industrial placement working at Nissan Technical Centre Europe in the R&D exterior design department learning how the automotive industry works and improving my professional skills with the help of great team.
This is my portfolio, a collection of projects and work I have completed so far.
Engineering Projects
Below is a collection of some of the engineering projects I have worked on. Many of these are university assignments so I have attach their project reports as downloadable files for more detail.
Bath Rocket Team GBDP
I designed a Payload Bay for a large model rocket capable of ejecting a 1 kg payload 2 metres away from the rocket at an altitude of 3000 metres. I designed a sprung hinged bay door system controlled by a solenoid to enclose the payload in the rocket during launch; a payload ejection system to eject the payload once the door had opened using a bed of compressed springs which the payload would sit upon; and a latching system driven by a solenoid to hold the bed in its compressed state during launch, and release to allow the payload to be ejected. In order to design these systems to various constraints (such as weight, size, and safety), I used CAD, FEA, and static and dynamic mechanics, among other skills. I also did a small amount of prototyping using 3D printing for visualisation purposes.
This group business design project (GBDP) was completed in the final semester of my penultimate year at University and entailed a group of 20 students designing a large (3 metre) model rocket to fly up to 3000m altitude with competition standards and regulations (for the annual EuRoC competition). To do this we divided the rocket into sections and assigned each section to a person or group, I was solely responsible for the Payload Bay of the rocket. Since our payload was to be ejected, this section involved three main movements: Bay Doors opening, Payload released from restraints, Payload ejected.
For a full explaination of the project as well as detailed drawings, design process breakdown, and calculations, please download to full technical report using the button below.
Machine Design G39 - Heat Exchanger Assembly
In this second-year group project, I was in a group of four students tasked with designing a machine to assemble a heat exchanger. This involved the task of inserting several tubes between two end plates (with pre-drilled holes to accommodate the tubes). This had to be done autonomously and in a batch quantity. We decided on the following sub-functions for the machine: storage of tubes and plates, transportation of tubes and plates to assembly area, aligning all components, inserting the tubes, and releasing the finished heat exchanger. In this project, the concept and development processes were done by the group as a whole, and other elements of the design process (such as costing and sourcing) were divided between us. I was primarily responsible for the CAD work in this project, pictures of the final CAD design and drawings are shown below.
I consider this a very successful group project as all members worked excellently together with positive attitudes and we produced a final design and report that we were exceptionally pleased with.
Public Transport Accessibility Design Project
In this group project, we were tasked with designing a new product that would improve accessibility for elderly people on public transport. Our group chose to design a new method of storage on busses. This was based on an investigative paper from Loughborough University which researched the current issues elderly people face the most when using public transport. Some important parts of the paper highlighted the need for more control and free movement on busses and stated, ‘older adults struggle to move about on public transport as their path is often blocked by obstacles on the floor'.
To overcome this storage issue, we designed a box that would be stored underneath the seat with a controller on the arm rest. When the user needs to store items (such as luggage) during travel, the box is moved by actuators and levers out from underneath the seat into the aisle and then up to become level with the arm rest. This solution clears the aisle of luggage and doesn’t require any strain to be put on the user meaning it is accessible to all.
Ping Pong Ball Launcher
As a first group design project in the first year of university, this project almost couldn’t have gone better. The project brief was to design a machine to launch three ping pong balls across a table in three different directions repetitively. We were restricted to using only motors (a maximum of two), so we explored different ways turn rotary motion into linear motion to feed the ball into the launcher, to launch the ball from the tube, and to rotate the machine to fire in different directions. Once we had drawn concepts by hand, we created a full moving CAD model of the ping pong ball launcher. Then we wrote a bill of materials and made technical drawings for all bespoke parts that needed to be LASER cut, £D printed, or machined. These were given to the university engineering department technicians who prepared the parts for us. Once this was completed, we spent a day assembling the prototype and troubleshooting any problems that arose. Due to the nature of the project, we were not able to create any further iterations of the ping pong ball launcher, however we were nevertheless happy with the outcome we achieved.
On top of this, the group worked brilliantly together which led to an efficient workflow with a variety of ideas and suggestions, as well as a thoroughly enjoyable few weeks working together. Please see below for the project Report.
3D Printing
I began learning CAD modelling in my first year at the University of Bath (2020) with modules centred around this skill for engineering design purposes. In 2023, I purchased my 3D printer and started creating CAD sculptures as a form of art. I have since designed and printed mechanical systems as well, these include a lock that can be externally attached to any door without creating damage to the door (ideal for student homes’ bedrooms) and a clock that tracks the days of the week.
I have downloadable STL files for many of these models available on my page (Ironic_Chameleon) on Maker World (makerworld.com).
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Art
Art is a hobby of mine, the following are a combination of pencil, pastel, and pen drawings; paintings; and airbrush and spray paintings.
Woodwork Projects
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Contact
I am currently looking for graduate roles to start summer/autumn 2025, please contact me if you have any mechanical or design engineering positions available.
Email: laniwiddeson@gmail.com
Linkedin: Lani Widdeson (www.linkedin.com/in/lani-widdeson)
Download my CV below