Hi! I am currently a junior at Case Western Reserve University, studying to get a B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering with a focus in Biomechancis, as well as a minor in Mechanical Manufacturing and Design. I love creating things, from cooking new dishes to designing and constructing cool things! I have picked up some skills (like welding!) that you can check out in my Maker section below. I enjoy trying new things, and have dabbled in hardware and software, as well as technical and non technical skills! I'm looking for co-op opportunities this upcoming spring and summer!
This is all the things I've worked on!
This website, of course! Although this is a very simple website, made of just HTML/CSS, I wanted a place to showcase the things I had done and the things I had learned during the process. I was able to get this website relatively quickly, because of its simplicity! A version of the code will be up on my Github, and it will be updated as often as I can. Deploying it was quite easy, as I just used Azure's static website feature. Azure did give me a less appealing URL, so I used GoDaddy to buy a better website name (aanyanehalgarg.com), and rerouted it to come here. I have had some problems with the routing, so right now it doesn't display the url I want, but I will get it there eventually. I have already tried to use a custom domain through Azure and reroute it throguh there, but it can't seem to find evidence that I have ownership of the website and I thought a function website is better than a nonexistent one.
Hammer: Fall 2022
As I mentioned above, through one of my classes (EMAE 160), I made a hammer through our lab section. During this lab, we learned how to use the machines in the Sears Think[Box], which has prototyping and fabrication equipment, as well as how to read engineering drawing to manufacture an item. We used a horizontal bandsaw and mill to cut the metal, into a head and handle, before adding different kind of holes to the head with the drill presse, both for look and functionality. For the handle, we shaped it with the lathe to create room for the screw and add more of a grip to the bottom. We added fillets and polished them for style before assembling it. Through this all, we were reading different engineering drawings provided by the professors, and trying to keep the parts as accurate as they could be. I had a lot of fun with this class, and it was great intoduction to the tools that are available to use in the Think[Box]. It was a bit stressful, considering it was my first time using this equipment, but it taught me a lot in terms of the manufacturing process and the importance of precision.
3D Printed Dice Roller: Spring 2023
For my best friend's birthday, I 3D printed her a Dice Roller for Dungeons and Draagons, using a Desktop FDM 3D Printer, in the Prototyping center at the Think[Box] at my university. I was able to find the design online on Thingiverse, and downloaded the STL file. I loaded in the gold filament and played with some of the settings to get the Infill and Support where I wanted it to be. It took about 7 hours to print both parts, and cost about $30 of material, but was covered under the Student Maker Fund provided by the school! I would 3D print something again, but perhaps with their Indutrial FDM or Polyjet Printer for a real prototype. In the future I'd also like to design something myself to 3D print, and play around with the different materials I can use.
Weld Training
I've recently also been working on being certified to work with different manufacturing machines and methods through my school's Manufacturing and Prototyping Center, the Sears Think[Box]! I've already been certified to work with their lathe, drill press, all their saws and sanders, as well as their CNC laguna. I've also finished both of their Weld training, for MIG(Gas Metal Arc) and TIG(Gas Tungsten Arc) welding. They're a great way to be introduced to the tools that the Think[Box] has and to inspire new projects. I'm looking forward to getting my mill and table saw trainings. The photo to the left is one of the work station in the weld studio provided by Lincoln Electric. Welding is something I never thought I'd have the opportunity to try, and it's very exciting to be able to do it. It's certainly still intimidating, but I look forward to becoming more comfortable with it.
Pizza Peel: Fall 2023
Originally I was just going to make the part in Solidworks and then make it by hand using the jigsaw and various sanders to make it look like the model I had created, and then I realized I could make a model in VCarvePro, and use that to make the shape of it. So I look up a youtube tutorial and followed that and created a pretty basic version of a pizza peel with curved edges, a hole for hanging and a tapered edge. I bought a piece of hardwood for about $20, and went into the ThinkBox the next day to see how I could use the CNC Laguna to carve my piece. First, I checked my part with a worker, and we spent about an hour going over the part, the drill bits it needed, some of which we didn't have, and how to make the taper better. A worker helped to change the edge to a chamfer instead, though it was more steep than I had hoped. We played around with those settings, inside vs outside and which direction but we finally got it. I also had to edit the thickness of the piece to make sure the laguna didn't cut into the machine bed, but did cut through the piece entirely. Additionally, I had to change a setting to make sure the job started from the material bed and not the surface per the settings of the machine. Then, we went over to the laguna and got my piece of wood situated. I thought I was going to have to cut it since my wood piece was 18 inches by 48 inches and I wanted to start with a 16 inches by 24 inches piece. Since I had already specificed that in VCarve though, I didn't actually have to cut it for the piece to cut correctly. However, the hardwood piece wasn't flat, so the vacuum seal didn't hold it down correctly, so we tried to drill it into another piece of wood and vacuum seal that. That worked for most of it, but just at the end, the seal let go and the piece moved, causing the drill bit to go off course. Thankfully it didn't ruin the part and I just need to finish it by hand - fully cutting it out, smoothing out the sides, making the chamfer smoother, and adding food safe oil! I had some problems with the drill bits, since the ones I had seen, we just didn't have on hand, but it's nothing I couldn't fix myself with some sanding. I also now really understand the importance of having a good seal, even the smallest piece of wood can cause a bad seal, and your piece could shift mid job, like mine did. The pictures are the first rendering of the peel, a redid chamfer, the board on the laguna bed, it being cut out, and the final product at the end of day 1.
Floating Shelves:Summer 2023
My mom wanted some floating shelves above her desk so I decided to make two for her. She wanted them 3 feet long, 8 inches deep and 4 inches thick. I found a design online and then adapted it for the size she wanted. Each shelf was two pieces, the bracket that went into the wall(1), and the actual shelf that went over the bracket(2).
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Hood Hinges: Summer 2023
I accidentally rear ended someone lightly earlier this year, and it caused the hood of my prius to shift back, leaving a big gap between the bumper and the hood and misalignment on the sides. So, after consulting Dublin Collision Repair by my house, we decided to replace the hood hinges to help the hood sit more flush. I went in and they did the left side, and I copied them on the right side. After he took the cover piece on top, he took of the 2 top 12 mm bolts, then the two bottles ones, then the one 10 mm bolt in the back. He pulled out the old one and then replaced it and reinserted the bolts. Then I did the same, using the power tool they had, and different head attachements to get into the nooks before I swapped out the right side one. It was pretty straightforward since the bolts were self adjusting and didn’t have to loosened and retightened so the hood sat straight. There was also no ground like in the video I had seen, just a wiper fluid cord that was easily reattached.
The pictures are: The gap between the hood and the bumper before, the misalignment in the hood before, the new hinge, the new hinge installed, the gap after, and the misalignment after.
Marshmallow Shooter: Summer 2023
For my friend’s birthday, I made him a functional PVC marshmallow shooter, for about $10. I took a 2 ft pvc pipe, two end caps, 2 90 degree elbows, and 2 Tees, all with an inner diameter of half an inch for consistency. Then with a Stanley Hacksaw I cut the 24 inch pipe, into one 7 inch piece, and 5 3 inch pieces, with 2 inches of extra (This certainly would have been easier with a pvc pipe cutter, but a hacksaw was effective too). Since the edges were rough with plastic burrs, I sanded them down with some 100 grit sandpaper (whatever was laying around), and stuck them together. I decided not to use glue of any kind so it could be taken apart. It works perfectly with mini marshmallows, and you can create different end shooters.
The pictures are: the uncut pieces, the cut pieces, an unsanded cut, a sanded cut for comparison, the pieces laid out, and then put together!
Fill Valve and Flapper Replacement: Summer 2023
One of the toilets in our house was making a weird sound, a whining, so my mom asked me to replace the mechanism within the tank, the fill valve, to try to eliminate the sound. I agreed, and went to Home Depot and grabbed two Korky Fill valve and Flapper replacing kits (one for the other toilet as well), for about $20 each. I started with the problem toilet, and turned off the water below the bowl. I emptied out the tank, measured where the water level sat, and began by replacing the flapper. It took some adjustments to how my water it was letting in before I got the water level to what I thought was right. I set the chain accordingly and moved on to the Fill valve. I removed the water line from below the tank, removed the old fill valve, and then put the new one in. I placed it about half an inch above the water line specified by the tank manufacturer before turning the water on again. When I saw the water kept filling, I turned the water off again to figure out what I had done wrong. I saw that I was supposed to place the Fill valve’s water line half an inch BELOW the manufacturer’s line instead of above. I quickly unlocked it, shifted it down and relocked it, which stopped the water from coming in. I saw that the toilet was not flushing right though, and that the main issue was too much slack in the chain that connected the flapper and the handle. I adjusted it down and the toilet flushed easier, but still not perfectly. The flapper would slam down quickly instead of staying open long enough to let the bowl empty like it used to. To fix this I adjusted the water level down, tighten the flapper so it was ‘just’ closed, and also allowed more water to flow through the flapper per flush. I’m not sure which fixed the problem but it flushes properly so I’m happy. I then went to repeat it with the other toilet, but didn’t because I couldn’t physically twist the water supply knob off, and didn’t want to break it. So one is good for right now. Looking back, I think the problem was an old flapper that was letting water leak out, causing the water to refill a bit constantly hence the whining.
The pictures are the old fill valve, the older flapper, and the new Korky parts I put in. I couldn't take pictures of the tank because it was hidden by the bathroom counter above.
Embroidered Converse: Summer 2023
I found some green Converse in my best friend's size in great condition, so I bought them and put some drawings from Garfield on the sides, specifically Pooky and his bunny slippers. I love to embroider but it does hurt my thumb. From embroidering, I've learned the importance of planning well, and just relying on the plans, because I thought I would perfect my drawing as I was putting down thread but just followed what I had already drawn. Perfecting the plan would've meant perfecting the final product.
For the pictures, I have shown the plain shoes, the drawing I did, and the final product!
Embroidered Hat: Summer 2023
I thrifted this hat from Savers for a couple of bucks and wanted to embroider something on it to make it a bit more interesting. Here’s how I did it!
I found a reference photo that I wanted to copy. I thought of using a hoop to make sure the thread doesn’t stretch or shrink too much, but the area was too small, and I didn’t think that it would be a good idea. Funny enough I had the exact colors I needed to copy the reference photo, but I can tell that the one in the photo is machine made (or someone who is really good) because of the even-ness, so my exceptions weren’t quite as high. I used the colors: dark blue (3750), light blue(827), light green (469), dark green (890), and white (ECRU) from the brand DMC 25, which I got from Michaels for about $1 each. I didn’t have a white pencil on me to trace out the general shape onto the hat so I decided to eyeball it and try to create the best shapes I could in the beginning so I could just fill in the rest. I started with the white stump first, added grass with the dark and light green before outlining and filling in the top with the dark blue. For some reason I had a bunch of extra string on the right side making it look a bit unclean. I continued by filling in the middle space with the light blue, and then adding little balls in white to the top. I used one to secure the loose thread down and make it look neater. I noticed that the design was a bit right heavy and left it looking a bit lopsided. To counter this I added a little leafy plant to the left, centering the design more. Overall I’m super happy with how it came out, especially considering it only took me about an hour and half to embroider and less than $10 in supplies.
Guitar Pick Earrings: Summer 2023
It’s been nice to do quick little crafts like this because I get to find a new purpose for things I had lying around the house and I get to be creative! I took some old guitar picks I had, and removed the charms off of old earrings to make new ones I would wear. I took a thick needle which I heated up with my gas stove flame and then punctured holes either by the top or bottom to make room for the hook to slide through. I used some thin nosed Black and Decker pliers to bend the metal hooks open and close. I absolutely love them and look forward to gifting them to my friends!
Although I have taken many classes, here are the ones I have really enjoyed or found relevant:
The classes I am taking in Fall 2024 are Strength of Materials, a humanities course, Biomaterials with Lab, Biomedical Signals and Systems with Lab, and Computer Aided Manufacturing with Lab.
Computer Aided Manufacturing (EMAE 290): Although I'm only a few weeks into the class, I'm already getting better at Solidworks, and hope to be CSWP Certified after the class is over. I'm also excited to get more knowledge on MasterCam, and other general tools we'll use in the class, like the CNC machinery. We'll be designing and making three different projects throughout the semester!
Biomedical Signals and System with Lab (EBME 308/358): This class has also particularly caught my interest because of the way the professor said it would change my view of the world. He said that everything could be described as either a signal or a system, and that every signal is actually a sinusoid. I'm interested to delve more into that idea. The lab component is entirely Matlab based, but more in depth on plotting, and analysing signals specifically.
Computers in Mechanical Engineering (EMAE 250): In this class, we talked about algorithms on a basic level, how to work them out by hand, and how to code them with Matlab to handle a multitude of situations. This work would be helpful with data filtering and I learned how to successfully write and debug complex mathematical code. I enjoyed the theory of this class the most, seeing the different types of estiamtion we used, and how the compared to each other.
Mechanical Manufacturing (EMAE 160): A great mix of hands on manufacturing and online designing, this class taught me how the basic manufacturing process occurs. Through the Think[Box] fabrication resources, I was able to built a simple hammer made of low grade steel, following design requirements and learning how to use heavy machinery, such as lathes and mills. It was definitely a steep learning curve, especially since we moved so fast, but it was interesting to make things that seemed so simple but were more complicated than face value. It was insightful to see the importance of measurement, and how messing up in one place can cause a chain reaction that can make your part incredibly off margins. On the designing aspect, I learned how to use the Solidworks application to create engineering drawings for parts and assemblies, as well as creating parts in detail through the program. I got CSWA certified through the class, and plan on becoming certified on a Professional level during my junior year in EMAE 290, Computer Aided Manufacturing.
Mechanical Engineering Analysis (EMAE 350): This class explained the basis of many mechanical engineering problems, such as kinematic and statics problems. I learned the derivations of concepts such as Eigenvalues, Frobenius problems, and Fourier Series. This knowledge will be built upon in future classes as I learn the further application to specific engineering problems, specifically in classes like Strength of Materials and Statics.
Elementary Computer Programming (ENGR 131): Matlab was first introduced to me in this class, where I mostly importantly learned how it can be used in combination with Arduino and a GUI, to create a fully working product. I enjoyed this class, and how it taught me to communicate well with a group when working on a project with so many moving parts. We didn't work as efficiently as we could have, working hours a day trying to debug code all together, but it was satisfying to knock down bugs until the project was working they way we wanted. We were one of the few teams that got a fully working GUI, and I was proud of our determination in face of a program we had never used before.
Design and Manufacturing I (EMAE 260): This class was next in the design and manufacturing series, (160, 260, 360), and taught project management skills. I learned what makes a good team, a good team leader, and how to be successful within a project. This included going over requirements for a project, the technical and derived, in depth planing with dates, dealing with a budget, and the function of roles within a team. My team worked on a sit to stand device that would accommodate a large range of people, was cheap, easy to move, and satisfied the other requirements laid out to us. Throughout the semester, our group met regularly to draft documents, create slides, and design a device like this. We created things like a pugh chart, a bill of materials, a FMEA analysis, a Gantt Chart, a team charter and a responsibility matrix to mimic the breakdown of a large project into clear manageable pieces. Although doing the documentation felt repetitive, it was good to understand the communication aspect of the job and the need to follow the time, budget, and project requirements give to you, all while being effective within a team.
Of course I have also taken classes in Circuits, Statics, Physics, Chemistry/Thermodynamics, Biophysics and Math, all of which have helped me succeed in my more advance classes.
The main engineering club I am in is Robotics! I have been on the team for about a year, and enjoy the wide array of things I get to learn. I work with the NRC micromouse team, which competes in the NASA competition every year. NRC micromouse makes a small robot that can navigate a maze as quickly as possible. This includes designing the pcb and the robot, and writing the code. Here's a couple of things I have done while being on the team!
We were recently working on the circuit board for the robot, putting on the smaller components, like the LEDs, the capacitors and resistors, using solder. For many of the other components, which only get placed on the surface, we applied flux fluid using a template, and then placed them on with tweezers. It was an interesting process, I had never realized that each component had to be ordered separately and then hand placed. Some of the capacitors were incredibly small, but it was fun to work with them.
I am also currently part of The Board Meeting, the skateboarding club on campus, and hope to be a part of the climbing club this semester!
I'm currently a TA at my college, in ENGR 131, or Elementary Computer Pprogramming, and a Grader for EMAE 350, Mechanical Engineering Analysis. Although 131 doesn't involve Arduino like it used to, the content still interests me, and I'm enjoying the opportunity to connect with other engineering students who do too! I also worked as a math tutor for several years as a high schooler. I loved teaching other people and being able to help them understand the fundamentals of math, or teaching them more complication concepts in calculus and how they apply to the real world. 350 was also a class I enjoyed a lot, because of its heavy math components, and am happy to be a grader for this fall!
A ton of the experience I have working right now is within the food industry or retail! I have learned a lot from these jobs, and they have given me experience working with very different people, varying in ages, interests, and everything in between. It has taught me how to communicate with everyone, especially when in a high stress situation. I understand how to manage other people, and the importance of being clear. All I learned makes me better equipped to work in more technical roles since I have had to deal with adapting to a new workplace and learning a completely new set of skills that each of those jobs required. They all demanded a quick pick up, and high quality products or service, which made me a faster learner and taught me the importance of getting the job done.
The couple of workshops I have attended, specifically over my high school years, were integral to my understanding of engineering!
Spring Engineering Education Days: When a junior in high school, I attended these SEED days at Santa Clara Univeristy, where I was introduced to engineering as a whole. It was the first time I was exposed to the applications of engineering, specifically Biomedical Engineering. I fell in love with the idea of being able to create, design, manufacture medical devies or prosthetics, or anything that could help people. The fundamentals of problem solving and the excitement that came from that intial introduction have not left me since.
Bioinformatics of Cancer: Through the Rosetta Institute, I did a course talking about the microbiology of cancer, how it spreads, and how researchers are able to use identifiers to find and label genes that are connected to different cancers. From what was taught, I was given an unkown gene and had to research its connection to a cancer, going through online databases and collecting data. This course made me understand that my place was not in a lab, or as a researcher, and I am grateful to have understood that so early on.
The Perry Initiative for Women in Orthopedic Surgery and Engineering: This informative session showed me how doctors, specifically orthopedic surgeons, incorportate technology into their jobs, through means of impressive surgery tech, effective but simple tools, or imaging. It was interesting to see how engineers worked side by side with doctors to develop this tech.
If you want to reach me or want to see what else I'm up to, here are a few links for you!
Thanks for the visit! Have a great day!!