Michael Saggese

MECHANICAL ENGINEER

BSME- Cal Poly SLO

FEATURED PROJECTS

1/10

Fused Integrated Naval Network (FINN) Pod

Airborne Communications Node

Integrated a multi-radio communications payload into an AdamWorks AgilePod 26 airframe for flight testing on a SAAB 340 aircraft. The pod integrated MIDS-JTRS, CDL, and supporting radios into a strongback-mounted rack system.

Flew five flights on the SAAB 340, successfully establishing communications links on every flight.

Thermal Management

The pod's two internal bulkheads divided the airframe into three isolated zones with no direct airflow path between them.
The only penetration in the forward bulkhead large enough for airflow pointed into the backbone structure rather than the equipment bay.
- Designed a right-angle plenum in PEEK, 3D printed for complex geometry and chosen for dimensional stability under heat, to redirect airflow from that penetration into the mid section.
A second exhaust plenum on the rear panel completed the front-to-back flow path through the tailcone.
Equipment cooling fans in the center section were oriented to maintain flow from front to rear of the pod.
The nose antenna array, a high-wattage heat source, was positioned to receive cool inlet air directly from nose cone hole.

MIDS-JTRS LRU Cooling Tray

Designed a custom LRU tray with plenums sized to the MIDS-JTRS specified air inlet geometry.
Specified fans to meet required flow rates.
Hold-down fastener design allowed quick installation and removal by a cleared operator while meeting AgilePod vibration requirements.
MIDS-JTRS is a cryptographically controlled module, so the tray design accommodated secure handling requirements.

Cable Management and Bulkheads

Designed a bulkhead penetration system, routing all cable runs (power, RF, and ethernet) into the strongback, so any rack could be pulled independently without disturbing the rest of the system.
Replaced standard pod access panels with custom bulkheads featuring MIL-DTL-38999 circular connectors and a ground stud, with covers to protect connectors and maintain pod aerodynamics.
Connectors allowed the system to be serviced on the flight line without removing the pod skin.

Weight and CG

Component placement was driven by a CG requirement to balance the fully loaded pod between the BRU hook attachment points.
Final CG verification performed by lifting the approximately 500-pound loaded pod on a forklift with two scales attached to the BRU hooks.

1/11

Hydraulic Suspension Locks- Leidos MLX

Heavy-duty hydraulic suspension locking system for mobile X-ray scanner trucks.

Designed a hydraulic suspension locking system for the Leidos MLX mobile X-ray scanner truck, used at ports and border crossings. When the X-ray boom arm deploys off the side of the truck, the resulting moment load requires the suspension to be locked rigidly to the chassis to maintain level operation.
Designed all three locks (left suspension, right suspension, and source lock) from concept through production.
Locks are deployed on Leidos MLX scanner trucks operating at ports and border crossings worldwide.

Structural Design

Designed to hold 15,000 pounds including a factor of safety of 2, driven by the moment from the deployed boom arm.
Hook engages the existing OEM U-bolt saddle geometry, eliminating the need for new U-bolts.
Hook is 4140 chromoly steel at the engagement point for strength, mated to a 7075-T651 aluminum saddle to minimize weight.

Over-Center Mechanism

Locking mechanism uses an over-center geometry so the weight of the truck holds the locked position without hydraulic pressure.
Hydraulic cylinder only actuates to retract, so a hydraulic failure defaults to locked, not unlocked.

Assembly Adjustability

Eccentric pivot bolt combined with an 8-position bolt pattern on the mount allows leveling height to be set during assembly by clocking the pivot.
Eliminates shims and field adjustments after installation.

Prototype Testing and Design Iteration

Testing revealed the original hook geometry allowed the pivot arm roller to slip under sustained tension.
Machined a larger inside radius on the hook to create a positive mechanical catch preventing disengagement under load.
Fix implemented before any field deployment.

DFM and Parts Commonality

Left and right suspension locks share the maximum number of components.
Handed parts maintain identical overall geometry so the same machine setups and CNC programs can be used mirrored.
Source lock reuses the same pivot components as the suspension locks with a different frame and hook engagement.
Source lock includes two-axis adjustability in X and Y to accommodate variation in source cart position between trucks.

1/6

Truck Cab Workstation

Rapidly deployable operator workstation for Leidos MLX X-ray scanner truck used at ports and border crossings

Under 100 pounds, deploys in seconds, supports 30-pound desktop load, and accommodates keyboard, monitor, X-ray controls, and emergency stop within compact truck cab.
Designed with separate lower cubby and upper desk modules for modularity and future configuration options.
Lower assembly contoured via 3D scanning to match engine cover.
Double parallel 4-bar linkage (inspired by fishing tackle boxes) keeps desktop horizontal throughout deployment while maintaining stable stowed position.
Horizontal slides with ball detents enable extended reach without increasing height.
6061-T6 aluminum linkages with shoulder bolts and self-lubricating Oilite bushings eliminate rattles.
Gas strut offsets 30 pounds, reducing deployment effort.
Corian desktop with ergonomic chamfer and 27-inch COTS monitor arm support 8+ hour operator shifts

Results:

Achieved 15 pounds under weight limit, deploys in under 20 seconds, and supports field modularity for different customer configurations.

Key design lesson:

Initial detent design insufficient for positive positioning; more robust latching would improve stability.

1/7

EV Conversion Battery Modules

30.7 kWh high-voltage pack for classic car EV conversion

Transitioned design from packaging study to production.
12S configuration with two layers of six modules and dedicated cold plates for thermal management.

Key technical decisions:

Friction stir welded 6061-T651 aluminum cold plates, copper busbars with dielectric epoxy insulation (34kV rated), and modular architecture with common components across 4/8/12 module variants.
Designed per IEC 60664-1 for high-voltage safety with multi-layer insulation strategy, thermal runaway protection, and fail-safe connector design.
Crash simulations revealed sheet metal mounting brackets were insufficient
- Implemented billet aluminum mounting bracket design.
8 and 12 module designs share components to reduce tooling and simplify low-volume assembly.
Demonstrated at SEMA 2025, now production-ready with all manufacturing documentation complete.

1/8

MUDLAN Pod

Alternative communications infrastructure in a "day without space" scenario.

High-altitude airborne pod integrating Link-16, CDL, and Fuse CORE processor with phased-array and directional antennas for military communications.
Flew to 50,000 feet on NASA WB-57 platform and successfully established communications links on first flight.
Designed gigabit ethernet system combining copper and fiber lines.
- Fiber routed through aircraft wings to eliminate EMI and simplify TEMPEST compliance.
TEMPEST compliance required physical separation, double-shielded cables, and cross-domain solution hardware with careful grounding to prevent ground loops.
Designed and built ground test platform to rotate the complete rack to multiple angles for mountainside validation without requiring flight time.
Replaced aluminum pod panels with composite radomes transparent to antenna RF frequencies.
Responsible for network design, cable harness design, mechanical mounting, and hands-on assembly and testing.
Met all NASA WB-57 requirements for center-of-gravity location and total weight.
Used low-smoke zero-halogen cable throughout for aerospace safety compliance.

Results:

System successfully validated with all performance requirements met on first flight.

1/7

Twelveair Wheels

Full custom design of 3-piece centerlock wheels from customer sketch to CAD model.

Hidden fasteners inside the tire to eliminate visible hardware.
Integrated brake rotor hats and custom rotors designed as part of the wheel assembly.
Centerlock interface designed for quick wheel changes without conventional lug nuts.

Built for Kindig-it Design's Twelveair- winner of the 2024 Ridler Award, the most prestigious in custom car building. Hot Rod Magazine cover March 2024

1/4

Volkswagen Vanagon EFI System

Launched a complete replacement electronic fuel injection system for the Volkswagen Vanagon.

Redesigned coil mounts to solve a fatigue failure issue in the original design, reducing the number of bends from 6 to 2 and eliminating the stress concentration at the original bend geometry.
Designed a bolt-on crank position sensor mount requiring no permanent modifications to the engine.
Tuned EFI software maps across different engine displacements to optimize throttle response and fuel delivery.
Validated air/fuel ratio targets across the operating range through dyno testing.

PROJECTS

WORKSHOP
Personal projects outside of the office

PDU-16: 16-Channel Smart Power Distribution Unit
Work in Progress

Overview

A solid-state power distribution unit that replaces automotive fuse and relay boxes with software-controlled switching.

I am designing this end-to-end: requirements, component selection, schematic, PCB, firmware, and production BOM.

Four channels at 20A continuous, twelve at 15A, each with independent PWM, soft-start, current sensing, and overcurrent protection.

The system is targeted at automotive and motorsport applications, but the core problems (power distribution, fault protection, thermal management, crash-safe shutdown, bus integration) are common to any battery-powered system that requires smart power distribution.

Design Decisions

Channel switch selection -

Moved from discrete half-bridge motor drivers to Infineon PROFET+2 smart high-side switches.
The integrated parts eliminated 4 external comparators, 8 reference divider resistors, and 4 dedicated enable GPIOs while providing better diagnostic feedback in a smaller package.

Power architecture -

Restructured so the ideal-diode reverse-polarity protection only carries the logic supply (~300 mA) rather than routing all channel current through a single FET.
Each channel uses the switch IC's internal reverse-polarity protection instead.
Eliminated a thermal bottleneck without sacrificing protection.

GPIO budget management -

The design uses all GPIO available on the MCU with zero headroom, so every feature addition required an explicit trade.
Adding a dedicated crash-detection interrupt meant dropping USB-C and moving to polled ADC fault detection.

SPI bus isolation -

The crash/rollover IMU runs on a dedicated SPI bus, separate from the current-sensing ADCs.
Added after identifying a failure scenario where a crash interrupt could be delayed by an in-progress ADC scan on a shared bus.

Overcurrent protection -

I²t energy accumulator per channel rather than simple current thresholds, defined in firmware.
Distinguishes between acceptable inrush transients and sustained overloads that would overheat wiring.
Instant trip at 3x rated as a hard backstop.

Status

Power input, CAN transceiver, IMU, MCU, and all 16 channel output stages are schematic-complete and verified.
ADC and connector pages in progress.
Firmware runs on FreeRTOS dual-core with a hardware watchdog, 200Hz sensing, CAN telemetry, and browser-based configuration.

Live configuration and monitoring interface (Click for full view)

Controls all 16 output channels, displays real-time current draw and fault states, and manages load shedding, thermal derating, and safety lockouts. Works on any phone or laptop with no app install required.

1/10

Blacksmithing

Currently taking Level 1 classes at the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum in Vista

Skills:

Drawing / tapering
Hot cutting
Bending / twisting
Upsetting
Forge welding

1/4

Rotary Subwoofer

Targeting infrasonic frequency reproduction from 5 to 25 Hz

A rotary subwoofer generates sound by modulating airflow with rotating fan blades driven by a woofer voice coil through a pushrod linkage, converting linear motion into blade pitch

3D printed custom fan blades and bearing holders.
Designed laser cut steel frame using tab and slot construction for precise weld alignment.
Performed structural analysis to validate frame stiffness.
Replaced plastic pushrod ball ends with machined aluminum for fatigue life under continuous cycling.
Motor to rotor attachment in progress.

1/9

Model A Speedster

A study in precision metalwork and classic automotive form.

Hand-shaped aluminum body built with traditional sheet metal techniques.
Completed a sheet metal shaping class at Flying Dutchman Industries and designed all gusset brackets to support the structure.

1/7

Falcon Drone - WIP

Autonomous high-speed quadrotor concept derived from peregrine falcon geometry.
Modular body-of-revolution airframe.
12S propulsion architecture.
Camera / RF sensor fusion.
Targeting low drag performance for high top speed.

1/5

Pullmax Die Tooling

Custom tool holder for Pullmax machines with interchangeable die profiles.
A shoulder bolt and four set screws per side allow quick swaps between different forming shapes without reconfiguration.
Made from laser cut steel with tab and slot design for precise alignment while welding

WORKSHOP

CAREER

CAREER

Product Engineer

October 2023- Present

Design, analysis, and documentation of sheet metal, CNC-machined, and 3D-printed components for high-voltage battery systems
Coordinated with international teams to develop and manage complex CAD models and engineering drawings, ensuring design accuracy and manufacturability
Collaborated with purchasing and manufacturing teams to resolve sourcing challenges

Michael Saggese Résumé.pdf

DOWNLOAD RÉSUMÉ

Lead Designer

June 2023 - October 2023

Custom one-off components for high-end cars
Created highly accurate 3D models using 3D scanning with customization based on customer design sketches
Developed a novel design for 3-piece center lock wheels with hidden fasteners and integrated brake hat for 2024 Ridler award-winning Twelveair show car

Mechanical Engineer

August 2021 - May 2023

Design of hydraulic actuators and workstation for X-ray scanner truck

Designed and conducted FEA analysis on sheet metal and CNC machined components to withstand harsh operational environments while minimizing weight
Developed heavy duty hydraulically actuated suspension locks and X-ray source locks
Engineered a deployable operator workstation desk, maintaining OEM design aesthetics
Conducted failure analysis and implemented design improvements to enhance durability

Mechanical Engineer

Jan 2021 - July 2021 (Contract)

Design of components for heavy duty electric truck drivetrains

Designed sheet metal and machined components to mount electronics in Power and Control units
Designed high voltage cable runs with bracketry and documented low voltage control harnesses