Paintball Turret
This was my first personal mechatronics project. It featured a pan-and-tilt mechanism, continuous 360-degree motion, and controlled firing. Through this project, I learned the basics of Arduino coding and CAD modeling.
PID Controlled Kiln
This project was intended to melt aluminum for at-home casting. The kiln was built from an electric oven and used a PID controller to toggle the heating elements through an SSR.
Solar Powered Kiln
Undergraduate Research Experience
This project explored using a Fresnel lens powered kiln as a lower-emission approach to firing clay. It combined thermal design, testing, and automated sun tracking.
Custom Engraved Pencil
This pencil was custom engraved using an SVG of my dad’s handwriting. Two were made, with the original given as a gift to my friend. To complete this project, I designed and 3D-printed a jig to support the pencil in the laser engraver.
William Nixon
will.ra.nixon@gmail.com | (605) 484-3896 | www.linkedin.com/in/will-nixon11 | willnixon.me
Education
University of Denver
Expected May 2027
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
GPA: 3.93/4.00
- Enrolled in the Honors program
- Initiated into Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honor society in Junior year (top ⅛ of the engineering class)
- Relevant coursework: Machine Design, Introduction to Aerospace, Machine Shop, Thermodynamics 1 and 2, Heat transfer, Biomedical Engineering, Intro to SolidWorks
Experience
Materials Engineering Intern, Hydrolyst - Rapid City, SD
June 2025 – Aug 2025
- Contributed to a provisional patent application for a crutch with a retractable tip with embedded metal spikes to reduce the occurrence of slipping on icy surfaces
- Designed and built automated roll-to-roll line for patented coating process which uses plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings
- Tested lightweight metal / metal ceramic composite body armor systems with various ammunition calibers
Undergraduate Student Researcher, South Dakota Mines - Rapid City, SD
June 2024 – Aug 2024
- Constructed, tested and iterated a solar-powered kiln with a goal of 1,000 °C with the constraint of using a Fresnel lens
- Ran tests for peak temperature reaching an ultimate temperature of 669 °C
- Attempted to partially automate the firing process with use of an Arduino board and servo motor to track the sun
- Delivered a cumulative presentation and final report along with weekly updates
Landscaper and Laborer, Enviroscapes and Sunny Side Farms - Rapid City, SD
May 2023 – Aug 2023
- Trenched, installed, activated and repaired sprinkler systems
- Laid sod, planted and removed various plants and trees
- Performed hardscaping including brick pathways, concrete forming, rebar tying, and pours
- Fenced pasture for cattle and wired electric fencing
Projects
Paintball Turret
- Designed a pan-tilt assembly in CAD for 3D printing that uses stepper motors to aim the paintball gun and a solenoid to fire it.
- The mechanism was controlled by an Arduino Giga with code that took a user input from a joystick for positioning and firing.
- It's capable of continuous 360-degree rotation utilizing a slip ring and angles 30 degrees positive and negative.
PID controlled Kiln (second kiln)
- Converted an electric oven into a kiln by adding ceramic insulation, firebrick and refractory mortar; rewired all of the heating elements to optimize current draw (70 A limit)
- Controlled with a SSR (solid state relay) and PID (proportional-integral-derivative) controller with a thermocouple to control the temperature
- Intended to melt and cast aluminum using lost PLA casing and for powder coating metal parts
Custom Engraved Pencil
- Imported an SVG of cursive writing into Fusion to generate tool paths for a CNC Laser engraver to follow
- Modeled an adjustable jig to 3D-printed for the pencil
Skills
CAD/CAM: Proficient with Fusion, experience in SolidWorks
Technologies: Experience with Laser Engraver, 3D printer, Stick and MIG Welder, Arduino, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), experience with Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote), MatLab
Languages: C++ and Python