As I began to venture into new engineering domains, such as 3d printing, micro-controller software development, and cad design, I documented my thoughts along the way. Here are some suggestions that I thought would be useful to share. Hardware Prototyping and 3D Design Custom machining everything is expensive and time…

As I look at the many components of the prototype, I wonder when “the whole became greater than the sum of the parts.” The inflection point might have been after I made the first cup of coffee, or perhaps it was when the software brought the machine to life with…

With a lofty vision to produce a great cup of coffee I quickly ventured into a place between trepidation and excitement. I remind myself this is where growth happens, suspend disbelief, and begin questing for parts. I started the quest by searching for what I called “anchor-parts”. Anchor-parts, by my…

After reading several books this summer I was inspired to share my story about an engineering and design exploration to build a custom coffee machine. This story starts with a trip to Europe. Unlike other trips overseas, I had started this one while on a brief hiatus from coffee. The…