Elija Peters · Mechatronics
Purdue University · Mechanical Engineering

I build systems that track, move, and hold tolerance.

I design the mechanism, wire the electronics, write the control loop, and print the parts — then capture it on video. Each project below is a working system, not a slide.

ProgramPurdue ME (MET→BSME)
DisciplineMechatronics
ToolingSolidWorks · KiCad · C
TargetingSU’27 Internship
[ 01 ]

Project Index

6 Systems Logged
PRJ-01 Operational

Face-Tracking Servo Turret

ElecComputer VisionControlsFirmware

Two-axis pan/tilt platform that locks onto a face in real time. Python/OpenCV runs detection on the host and streams a 4-byte serial packet to an Arduino driving a PCA9685 servo controller. Proportional control with exponential smoothing and a deadzone kills servo jitter; a sentry scan sweeps after idle timeout.

Gain / SmoothKP 0.03 · α 0.35
Deadzone25 px
Travel20–160° both axes
Sentry Scan0.6°/frame @ 7 s idle
Demo video · PRJ-02
Embed here
PRJ-02 In Development

Auto-Targeting Turret

MechElecComputer VisionControls

Vision-guided gel-blaster turret with a full requirements & safety specification. OpenCV detects and tracks a target; a PID loop drives high-torque steppers through slewing bearings to keep it centered while a MOSFET-switched trigger fires on lock.

ActuationNEMA 17 + slew ring
VisionPython / OpenCV
ControlPID, 2-axis
DocsReq/Safety spec v0.1
Demo video · PRJ-03
Embed here
PRJ-03 Planned

Six-Wheel Steerable Rover

MechGD&TElecControls

All-six-wheel independent steering rover. Each pod carries a drive gearmotor, a steering servo, and a bearing pivot — the pivot is the GD&T centerpiece, toleranced and inspected against drawing. RC control for v1, with GPS/IMU waypoint navigation staged for v2.

Drivetrain6× 37 mm gearmotor
Speed≈2.3 mph @ 65 mm wheel
Steering6 pods, independent
LinkFlySky FS-i6 (v1)
Demo video · PRJ-04
Embed here
PRJ-04 Operational

Custom Motor Driver PCB

ElecPCB DesignFabrication

Purpose-built board designed in KiCad to replace a stack of breakout modules — schematic capture, footprint selection, layout, and fab-house handoff. Consolidates power distribution and motor drive onto a single board sized to the chassis it mounts in.

EDAKiCad
ScopeSchematic → layout → fab
AssemblyHand-soldered SMD
ValidationBench-tested in system
Demo video · PRJ-05
Embed here
PRJ-05 In Development

Desktop CNC Router + Firmware

MechFirmwareMotion PlanningC

300 × 200 mm 3-axis router running motion firmware written from scratch in C — no GRBL. Trapezoidal acceleration profiles, native arc interpolation, and a curvature-aware lookahead planner that pre-computes junction speeds so the machine holds feedrate through corners instead of stalling at every segment.

Work Area300 × 200 mm
MotionTrapezoidal accel
PlannerCurvature lookahead
SteppersNEMA 17
Demo video · PRJ-06
Embed here
PRJ-06 Operational

Printed Mold · Foam Car Body

MechCADToolingManufacturing

Multi-part mold modeled in CAD and printed on a Bambu Lab P1S to cast a polyurethane foam car body. Iterated on draft angles, parting-line placement, and split strategy across successive prints — a tooling-design exercise as much as a printing one.

ProcessPU foam casting
ToolingFDM, Bambu P1S
Design ForDraft · parting line
IterationsMulti-revision
[ 02 ]

Capability

Verified by Build
MECHANICAL

SolidWorks, Fusion 360, AutoCAD — multi-year. GD&T applied to real toleranced assemblies. Design for FDM, mold tooling, drivetrain and bearing selection.

ELECTRICAL

KiCad schematic and layout, hand SMD assembly. Steppers, servos, gearmotors, MOSFET switching, PCA9685 and driver ICs, power distribution, serial protocols.

SOFTWARE

C for bare-metal motion firmware — accel profiles, arc interpolation, lookahead planning. Python/OpenCV for vision pipelines. PID tuning on hardware, not in simulation.

[ 03 ]

Contact

Open · SU’27 Internship
Email elijajp07@gmail.com LinkedIn /in/elija-peters GitHub /YOUR-HANDLE