User:Benjamin Chapman

Benjamin Chapman is currently in his fourth year of studying Mechatronics and Artificial Intelligence Systems Engineering at the University of Western Ontario. He loves designing and building things related to STEM/STEAM and enjoys various hobbies such as music, FPV freestyle drones, and carpentry. He has experience coding in several languages and CAD in various programs. He also has experience in 3D printing, laser cutting, automotive repair, and teaching/leadership. He thoroughly enjoys learning and strives for excellence in all subjects.

Mechatronics Systems Engineering + Artificial Intelligence Systems Engineering

• 2022-Present
• Cumulative Average: 94%
• Deans Honor List

Working on the development of an Open Source Heat Pump, using as many 3D printed components as possible. Current goals involve creating a functioning 3D printed rolling diaphragm compressor. For up-to date information on Heat Pumps, see Pumps for Peace. For 3D printed Heat Exchangers (HX's), see Polymer Expanded Heat Exchangers.

Assisting in the improvement of tensegrity-based sustainable solar racking solutions using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulations and Computer Aided Design (CAD). See Ballast Mounted Tensegrity Solar PV Racking.

Assisting in the development of a solar powered food dryer to be powered using a PVT (Photovoltaic Thermal).

Fabricated welded steel molds to be used in an HDPE press for the creation of OS surgical fracture tables.

Benjamin's team built this gem collection robot for a mechatronics design class.

The objective was to design a robot that could autonomously sweep an area, collecting glass gems. It would then need to sort these gems based on colour, and return only the green gems to a base station. The project utilized our custom built MSE-duinos assembled near the start of the course, an ESP-32 based microcontroller with additional I/O. The robot also made use of motors, encoders, servo motors, ultrasonic sensors, and IR beacons and sensors. Benjamin was primarily tasked with fine tuning the colour sensor, designing the majority of the robot in CAD, and 3D printing the chassis of the robot. In the teams tests prior to the showcase, the robot worked exceptionally and successfully delivered several green gems to the deposit bin.
See the WoeBot in action here:

Benjamin's team built this RC lunar rover to collect and deliver payloads for the Western Engineering Competition, securing second place overall.

The 2024 Western Engineering Competition (WEC) challenged participants in the senior design category to design and built a robot with the provided materials that could pick up and transport paperclips to and from raised platforms. Benjamin was primarily in charge of mechanical design and CAD for the robot (participants were required to submit a power point, CAD model of their design, and a code file). The robot was one of only a few that successfully collected and delivered the paper clips using a crane-boom system and an electromagnet. The teams solid performance won them second place overall in the senior design category, coming ahead of over twenty other groups.

A robot to travel through a predefined path, locate, and pick up a ping-pong ball using infrared technology.

In Mechatronics Design, students were tasked with assembling this robot and programming it to travel a predefined path, use an IR sensor to locate a ping-pong ball, use a claw arm to grab the ball, travel back along the predefined path, then drop the ball. Benjamin was one of the first students to figure out how to do this successfully, after which he taught other students how to accomplish the task.
A video of the robot in action can be viewed here:

A first year design project to assist elderly with mobility limitations in playing ball toss games.

The Mount Hope nursing home in London, Ontario, asked first year engineers at Western University to design and build a solution that would enable their residents with mobility limitations to participate in games involving tossing ping pong, tennis, and bocce balls. The system needed to be light weight, cleanable, cheap to build/purchase, and safe to use. Benjamin was in charge of the mechanical design for the project, and developed this tube based launcher. It utilized a custom designed 3D printed trigger mechanism, inspired by medieval crossbows, elastic workout bands, and a small section of ductwork. The CAD for the design can be found here.

While these Mini DC Generators may be a poor choice to generate power for useful purposes, it is a fun and "hands-on" way to teach youth about several important engineering subjects.

While volunteering at the STEAM Centre, Benjamin was often responsible for creating new workshops. One such workshop involved creating these Mini DC Generators. One of Benjamin's greatest passions after learning, is teaching, and passing on his knowledge to the next generation.

A multi-purpose configurable fuse box built with automotive lights designed to be used in testing newly built FPV drones.

This box can be connected in series between a LiPo battery and a newly built drone. One DPDT switch allow the user to determine if they want to utilize the low beams or high beams of each bulb, and the other DPDT switch allows the user to select if one or both bulbs are used. Additionally, either switch can be moved to the middle "OFF" position to break the circuit. When the drone is powered on with this device connected, if there are no short circuits and the drone was built correctly, the drone will pull a small amount of power out of the battery and no lights will turn on. If the drone was built incorrectly and has a short, the drone will pull a large amount of power out of the battery, but instead of burning out components, the lights in the smoke stopper will turn on, absorbing most of the current and protecting the drone. The main benefits of this system are that it protects expensive drone components from most user-errors in construction while remaining reusable. This was inspired by Joshua Bardwell's Ultimate Smoke Stopper. Note: a YouTube tutorial for this project can be found here.

A rustic and budget friendly keyboard stand.

This keyboard stand can be built from budget materials and is fully customizable. It also looks a lot better than store bought ones. Scrap wood was utilized in the building of this project that was left behind from previous projects, making it even cheaper and more sustainable. The design was inspired by this website. Note: a video on how the base design was changed can be found here.

Benjamin has built and worked on several drones, developing useful soldering, programming, and problem-solving skills.

• London ON — NSERC USRA
• May 2025 - Present
• Working on the design and development of an Open-Source (OS) 3D printable rolling diaphragm R290 heat pump compressor. This compressor will be used in the construction of a 3D printed 2-ton heat pump which aims to reduce the initial investment cost and increase availability of sustainable and equitable heating and cooling solutions.

• London ON — Mechanical Team Member
• Dec 2024 - Present
• Assisting with the design, development, and construction of a 3U "Cubesat" satellite, which will enhance wildlife tracking through the collection of space-based data on migratory songbirds, waterbirds, and shorebirds. The project aims to contribute to a better understanding of animal movements and support conservation efforts while testing student developed technologies such as the MOTUS amateur radio hardware.

• London ON — Senior Instructor
• May 2024 - August 2024
• Led STEM and Engineering themed summer camps and school workshops for Western Engineering Outreach (WEO). Taught and mentored students from SK to grade 12 in London, Sarnia, and Woodstock, including workshops at the Aamjiwnaang Binoojiinyag Kino Maagewgamgoos Early Learning Centre, where STEM topics were blended with Indigenous teachings to create unparalleled educational experiences. Assisted in running the Western Engineering Summer Academy (WESA), where high school students learned to use various tools (such as CAD in Onshape, or programing in the Arduino IDE) before designing and building their own robots.

• St. Thomas ON — Workshop Design and Instruction
• August 2018 - June 2020 (200+ Volunteer Hours and Two Unpaid Co-op terms)
• Created and led workshops on a variety of topics such as energy production (through the creation of DC generators) and aerodynamics and flight (through the creation of laser cut foam-board gliders).

• Remote — Promotional Video Editor
• September 2020 - November 2020 (Unpaid Co-op term)
• Used Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro to create promotional videos for several companies.

• March 2025
• The team placed second overall, and received the award of "Best Performing Model", competition-wide. Competed in a team of four to develop a practical, AI-driven solution to parking congestion. Through an intensive, weekend long challenge hosted by Western Engineering in partnership with the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network and General Motors, real world problem solving dynamics, and team based collaboration, were used to develop an elegant and high performance solution to the given problem. This was achieved through the use of programming and AI based data analysis.

• November 2024
• Placed second place overall in the senior design category after building a “lunar robot” that could successfully use an electromagnet to pick up and transport cargo from various elevated platforms in an obstacle course.

• September 2023 - January 2024
• Assisted in the development and implementation of aerostructure subsystems through the use of carbon fiber manufacturing techniques.

• September 2019 - Present
• Performed in over a dozen concerts (including two solos) featuring a great variety of pieces from indigenous works such as the world premiere of Mîskanaw by Sherryl Sewepagaham to the Road to Freedom concert featuring several famous pieces in celebration of Black History Month.

• September 2015 - June 2023
• Achieved “Gold Ribbon Honor Role” indicating exemplary leadership in the choir and the ability to sight read music and lead a part without assistance.

• CAD in Fusion 360, Solidworks, and Onshape
• FEA in Solidworks and Fusion 360
• Intermediate Java, Python, C++
• Basic SQL, LaTeX, Markdown
• Soldering
• Carpentry
• Automotive Repair
• Video Editing
• Problem Solving
• Attention to Detail
• Highly Motivated

- The program aims to nurture students interests and fully develop their potential for a research career in the natural sciences and engineering and to encourage the recipient to undertake graduate studies by providing research work experience that complements their studies in an academic setting. NSERC offers a USRA to candidates on the basis of their academic excellence, research potential and expected quality of the training and mentorship to be received. This federal support for research is an investment by the people of Canada. By demonstrating the social, economic and cultural value of their natural sciences and engineering research, NSERC award recipients help strengthen public understanding of and support for NSERC-funded research.

- For academic excellence and leadership qualities as shown through volunteer and extracurricular activities.

- For achieving one of the top 250 highest entrance averages.

- For Academic Achievement.

- For graduating with the highest average school-wide.

- For achieving the highest average across six grade 12 university level courses.

- For achieving the highest average in grade 12 university level chemistry.

• Standard First Aid and CPR/AED level C
• Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate
• SOLIDWORKS Simulation Associate