Projects

I am a practicing engineer; every day I work on amazing projects and products. Some of the projects I work on get released and while others get shelved and buried in an archival closet (I estimate that only half the projects I work on ever make it to release). Here, I share some of the projects I've worked on, mostly personal (commercial projects typically take years to complete and their inner workings are top secret).

I will NEVER share any details about an unreleased commercial project or describe the workings or design of a released commercial project that could not be learned by taking it apart and making basic observations.

How to Train your 3D Printer

How To Train Your 3D Printer (Series Introduction)

FDM 3D printers are very accessible. Diving deep into their architecture helps you become a better mechatronics engineer.

mechatronics.studioJonathan Bowen

Disassemble Your 3D Printer

To check the quality of a 3D printer, the critical basic components need to be disassembled and isolated for inspection.

mechatronics.studioJonathan Bowen

Tools to Inspect your 3D Printer’s Parts

To inspect the quality of our printer’s parts, we will need a few tools.

mechatronics.studioJonathan Bowen

Inspecting your 3D Printer’s Parts

Inspecting our 3D Printer’s parts helps us understand the fundamental limits of our printer’s accuracy.

mechatronics.studioJonathan Bowen

Assembling your 3D Printer

Taking the time to precisely assemble your 3D printer will dramatically improve part quality.

mechatronics.studioJonathan Bowen

Adventures in CNC Milling

I do personal projects on my MR1 vertical milling machine. Join me on my adventures using this amazing tool and learn something in the process!

Machining a Weight Block

I needed matched 6061 aluminum and PLA weight blocks for an article.

mechatronics.studioJonathan Bowen

How I Ruined a $55 End Mill (Embracing Failure)

Learn about how I ruined a $55 end mill, embraced failure, and hopefully never repeat my mistake yourself.

mechatronics.studioJonathan Bowen

Machining a Fidget Spinner

It would seem that machining a metal fidget spinner should be a simple mundane task, but in reality it’s anything but.

mechatronics.studioJonathan Bowen

Titans of CNC Academy Building Blocks for CNC Mill

Titans of CNC provides a great set of introductory parts for the learning CNC machinist. In this series, I will share my experiences and strategies for machining them.

Machining Titan-1M

I modeled and machined the Titan-1M part from Titans of CNC’s CNC mill building blocks course.

mechatronics.studioJonathan Bowen

Machining Titan-2M

I modeled and machined the Titan-2M part from Titans of CNC’s mill building blocks course.

mechatronics.studioJonathan Bowen

In the Workshop

Keeping a workshop organized, stocked, and efficient is a job in itself. Here I share some of my attempts to improve my own shop and workflow.

Improving a Portable Metal Stock Cutting Setup

I try and improve my portable bandsaw setup for cutting metal stock.

mechatronics.studioJonathan Bowen