DANIEL CAMPOS

SDSU LUNABOTICS COMPETITION TEAM

ATHENA is a competitive lunar rover built for the NASA Lunabotics program and ran in the highly abrasive regolith (lunar soil) at the Exolith Lab and Kennedy Space Center Swamp Works lab. Despite being a completely new, first-year team with zero returning members or prior competition experience to lean on, we placed 5th out of 73 teams nationwide.

As the Lead Engineer for the excavation system, my job was to design, manufacture, and integrate the physical hardware that digs the regolith. I ran simulations in SolidWorks and Onshape to ensure our load-bearing linkages could withstand extreme torque spikes, specifically basing our factors of safety around a worst-case belt jam scenario where the motors would attempt to over-tension and collapse the sidearm. I manufactured the components in-house at the SDSU machine shops using waterjets, manual mills, and lathes. On the electromechanical side, I routed the wiring for the actuators and control electronics and spent our physical testing sessions tracking down system brownouts and fixing hardware failures when the rover was pushed to its limits.

EXPERIENCE

    • Spearheading the following efforts: Restoring 24/7 Access to the SDSU Library. Resolving issues between RSOs and university departments. Making official College of Engineering merchandise available for students, families, and alumni. Raising the most money for Aztecs Rock Hunger out of all councils, student organizations, and university divisions. Operational excellence for the board, including obtaining sdsu.edu emails and improving the maturity of the council's task tracker.                                                                 

    • Coordinated college-wide events, such as a pumpkin drop competition and engineering week, to support and celebrate engineering students, clubs, and organizations. 

    • Hosted the largest to date Order of the Engineer Ceremony at SDSU, with a record-breaking 300 attendees, plus more joining via livestream broadcast.

    • Received the Most Outstanding Council Award and Best Social Event Award from the National Association of Engineering Student Councils.

  • This description is soon to come.

    • Initiated a study to reduce spending on firing tape used in cofiring. 

      • Utilized automated dimensional data acquisition with 3D profilometers ensuring parts remain within specifications across various tests. 

      • Achieved an average savings of ~80% from original spending, saving upwards of $50k a year - Lean of Lean Six Sigma

    • Conducted foreign material analysis within the greenside cleanroom to improve defect loss. 

      • Issues test strips to determine sources of FM inside and outside machines. Eliminated and issued repairs for problematic items. 

      • Wrote and created illustrations for detailed work instructions depicting proper cleaning methods for various machines and processes in the cleanroom. Worked with production, plant engineering, and the plant technology center to ensure sustainability, safety, and efficiency of the work instructions.  - Six Sigma of Lean Six Sigma

    • Collaborating with graduate students to research manufacturing methods of foamed metals using the Powder Compact Metal Foaming process.

    • Preparing mixed powders via tumbling and ball milling, optimizing particle size distribution, and performing powder compaction through uniaxial dry pellet pressing in a hydraulic press, utilizing diamond suspension polished dies.

    • Analyzing green body surface morphology and grain size via microscopy and image processing with ImageJ.

    • Conducting metal foaming and quantified density changes using Archimedes' principle.

    • Providing Tier 1 technical support to clients via phone and email, resolving a wide range of issues related to managed services and cloud deployments.

    • Utilizing Veeam to manage both on-premises and off-site data backups, ensuring accuracy and data integrity.

    • Maintaining company data integrity and accessibility by importing, organizing, and updating information on IT Glue, Datto, and SharePoint.

    • Managing and distributing software license keys, ensuring compliance, and optimizing resource allocation.

    • Troubleshooting remote desktop servers and basic QNAP server configurations.

    • Building and configuring client-ready computer systems, demonstrating attention to detail and efficient workflow.

    • Successfully managed all aspects of the business from contract negotiations and invoicing to price discussions, ensuring a seamless experience for clients.

    • Captured and edited a diverse range of projects including assignments for esteemed clients like the Hal Marcus Gallery, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, and multiple memorable weddings, delivering high-quality, personalized visual content that exceeded expectations

    • Proficient in surveying and photogrammetry using Pix4D, with a strong capability in acquiring and analyzing aerial data

    • Skilled in operating and maintaining flight equipment, including flight controllers, electronic speed controllers, soldering, BetaFlight programming, and adept at troubleshooting technical issues.

    • Achieved excellence by designing and racing FPV drones, placing first place in both State and National competitions for SkillsUSA and the Technology Student Association (TSA).

AIRCRAFT ACCESSORY GEARBOX

Packaging 4 Systems Under a 260 lbf Limit

Modern commercial aircraft engines pack massive power into tight, curved spaces. Integrated directly beneath the compressor casing, this accessory drive gearbox takes 750.3 in-lbf of input torque at 8400 RPM from the turbine transfer shaft and splits it to drive four vital flight systems simultaneously.

Specs:

  • Input Power of 750.3 ± 0.5 in-lbf delivered at 8400 RPM

  • Total Weight of 248.72 lbf achieved against a 260 lbf maximum ceiling

  • 15 meshing spur gears and 1 input bevel gear forged from Nitralloy 135 M

  • Shaft made of AISI 1050 steel Q&T sized for infinite fatigue life

Spatial Packaging

Fitting a 4.75-inch wide gear train inside the curved profile of an engine compressor casing required compounding three sets of gear shafts. The system was tuned to hit four distinct component target speeds:

  • Oil Pump: 259.5 in-lbf delivered at 8500 RPM

  • Fuel Pump: 252.1 in-lbf delivered at 7504 RPM

  • Electrical Generator: 193.9 in-lbf delivered at 6503 RPM

  • Hydraulic Pump: 270.1 in-lbf delivered at 3500 RPM

Gearbox Validation - AGMA Stress & Neuber Shaft Analysis

AGMA Gear Stress Validation

All 16 gears were designed to AGMA No. 10 quality standards under moderate shock loading. Nitralloy 135 M was selected across Grades 1 through 3 to optimize contact and bending strength post-nitration. Gear 9 exhibited the lowest bending safety factor at 1.36 against a 1.30 project requirement. Gear 9 also represented the primary pitting risk, clearing the allowable contact threshold with a 3.07 safety factor.

Shaft Fatigue & Stress Concentrations

The assembly utilizes twelve uniform 1-inch outer diameter shafts to standardize bearing depths. The main input drive shaft absorbed the most severe compound loads:

  • Retaining Ring Grooves: Achieved a 1.639 safety factor calculated via Neuber shear and bending constants.

  • Keyway Joints: Cleared dynamic loading with a 1.987 safety factor.

  • S-N Life Assessment: Plotted onto the 1050 Steel Q&T 400°F curve, proving the shaft operates strictly in its infinite life zone.

HIGH-LOAD TORSION BAR SUSPENSION

Suspension Design for a 5,750 lb SUV

Designed to handle rough terrain on a heavy passenger SUV, this 4130 steel torsion bar acts as a compact, high-torque spring. Sweeping across a 4-degree lever arm range, the shaft absorbs an average 1,700 lbf dynamic wheel load while protecting its root splines from shear failure.

Specifications

  • Target Vehicle is a ~5,750 lb SUV (e.g., Ford Bronco) supporting 1,500 lbf static weight per wheel

  • The Shaft is a 145-inch hollow bar with a 2.15-inch inner diameter and 2.751-inch outer diameter

  • Factor of safety of 10.41 in static torsion against a 1.15 baseline requirement

  • Spline Interface has a ANSI B92.1 20-tooth involute profile with a 30° pressure angle

Spline & Fitting Optimization

Because the system relies on a fixed steel shear modulus, the bar's inner and outer diameters strictly dictate its travel suspension. Tuning those dimensions allowed the bar to absorb 889.6 lbf at its 47° minimum operational angle and 2,511.6 lbf at its 51° maximum bottom-out angle.

Torsion Bar Validation - Goodman Fatigue & Joint Stiffness

Dynamic Fatigue Failsafes

To protect against severe highway washboarding, the shaft was modeled against a fully reversed modified Goodman fatigue criterion rather than standard unidirectional cyclic loading.

  • Surface Finish Salvage: Specified a precision ground finish (a = 1.34, b = -0.085) to preserve the bending endurance limit.

  • Fatigue Margin: Cleared the critical fatigue threshold with a 2.71 factor of safety at 99.9% reliability.

  • Spline Tooth Shear: Sized the outer shaft diameter down to 2.673 inches to minimize polar moment of inertia, clearing tooth shear at a lean 1.058 safety factor.

  • Bearing Support Lug: Machined from a single 0.5-inch thick block of 3003-H16 aluminum to resist offset loading, yielding a 4.16 safety factor.

  • Joint Separation: Sized SAE Grade 2 mounting bolts to hold a 2,862 lbf preload, maintaining a joint separation margin of 4.46.

 Personal/Academic Projects

Self-Hosted Secure File Server (to replace Google Photos & Google Drive)