Make It / Make Sense Rick Clark

Personal Builds & Creative Fabrication

Custom glass awning redesign and installation

With Pentillion Construction, I delivered a custom glass awning replacement where the design intent was clean and visually simple, but the existing building made the installation much more complicated than the drawings suggested.

The project replaced existing vinyl awnings with a suspended glass canopy system supported by steel outriggers and diagonal tie rods. The challenge was making that system work on the real building, with the right tolerance, alignment, drainage, serviceability, and installation sequence.

The hidden structure did not match the clean drawing

The upper tie-rod anchors were intended to connect back to the structural concrete spandrel beam, but that beam was hidden behind exposed-aggregate precast architectural panels with an inconsistent air gap behind them.

That changed the problem. The anchors could not simply be fastened as drawn, and the inconsistent gap made it difficult to scan the structure and confidently locate reinforcing steel before drilling. The installation needed enough field tolerance to avoid reinforcement while still leaving the finished awning visually aligned from the street.

Making the anchorage adjustable without looking like a fix

I helped investigate the existing condition and separate what was architectural cladding from what was part of the structural load path. That understanding shaped the redesign of the upper anchorage.

The detail needed to bridge through the architectural panel, connect back to the structure, and still allow the installer to shift final anchor locations where needed. The exposed cover plates then had to conceal that adjustment zone without looking like an afterthought.

The tie rods also had to stay visually aligned even when the hidden anchors had to move. The connection evolved toward a more adjustable arrangement using clevises and paired plates, with practical details such as wrench flats and opposite-handed threading so the rods could be adjusted in place.

Letting the glass layout respond to the building

The lower outriggers created another coordination problem. Their locations needed to avoid likely reinforcement while still supporting the glass layout. With the architect’s approval, the glass panel widths were allowed to vary within a controlled range so the steel supports could respond to the real structure instead of forcing a layout that was difficult to install.

The glass support detail also had to be reconsidered. A more fixed pressure-plate approach would have made installation and future service more difficult, especially if individual panels ever needed to be removed. Working with the installer, we moved toward a more serviceable approach that better suited how the glass would be handled, installed, and maintained.

Designing the corner so it could actually be fabricated

The corner conditions added another layer of practical design work. The corner framing had to coordinate glass sizes, steel fabrication, galvanizing, fit-up, and installation sequence.

I raised concerns about field welding galvanized steel and helped move the approach toward details that could be fabricated and installed more predictably. When galvanizing distortion became a concern, I helped look for a simpler framing approach that better matched the typical outriggers and reduced the risk of a distorted corner assembly.

Turning layout into a repeatable field process

A major part of my contribution was turning the layout problem into something the installer could repeat in the field. Because the outrigger and standoff locations varied along the building, there was no simple continuous datum for every cored opening.

I designed and 3D printed a positioning jig that sat on the installed outrigger and held a laser-cut template board for the core-hole locations. The template allowed the layout to shift when needed to avoid reinforcement while maintaining the relationship between the outrigger, standoff, and tie rod.

Dealing with drainage after the slope changed

The project also had to respond to drainage requirements. A late requirement changed the awning slope so water drained back toward the building rather than away from it.

That meant reviewing tie-rod geometry, glass slope, flashing, and gutter details so the finished system could manage water without creating maintenance or building-envelope problems. I helped develop a custom gutter approach that could be installed with the completed steel and glass while remaining serviceable and cleanable.

Keeping the work moving on site

Alongside the design and coordination work, I supported day-to-day site execution. That included coordinating with the architect, structural engineer, fabricators, glass contractor, sheet metal contractor, crane company, tenants, and site team; helping maintain scaffold access; developing site-specific safety procedures; removing existing awnings and flashing; coordinating electrical and signboard-related work; reviewing layout; resolving field discrepancies; and checking installation details as the work progressed.

A clear vision

The finished awning looks clean because we solved a lot of messy problems before they became visible. Hidden structure, reinforcement risk, anchor tolerance, glass layout, galvanizing, drainage, installation access, and future service all had to be handled together.

This project shows how I work between drawings and the field. I ask how an idea will be located, fabricated, adjusted, installed, drained, maintained, and handed off.

 

Mechanical R&D for ocean aquaculture

During an eight-month UVic mechanical engineering co-op with AgriMarine, I contributed to early-stage R&D for a commercial-scale floating closed-containment aquaculture system.

The work took place in a real marine context, where equipment had to be considered around water, biofouling, large composite structures, site access, maintenance, and the practical realities of operating in the ocean.

Designing around a 30-metre floating tank

The main system was a large floating fiberglass tank used for closed-containment fish farming. The tank was roughly 30 metres in diameter and held about 3,000 cubic metres of water.

My work supported practical engineering questions around how equipment would be built, tested, maintained, and improved at that scale.

Testing a cleaner for underwater tank walls

One major task was developing prototype equipment to clean the inside wall of the tank. Biofouling on the tank wall could affect fish health, water movement, drag, and maintenance effort, so the system needed a practical way to remove growth from the submerged surface.

The concept used high-pressure water jets and a spinning disk to help the cleaner stay against the curved tank wall while it moved through the water. I worked on alpha and beta prototype development, testing, and design refinement.

The testing process challenged the original assumptions about how the cleaner was working. Some of the cleaning effect appeared to come from contact and rubbing rather than only from the water jets, which meant the design theory had to be corrected before the prototype could be improved.

Improving the design after the test changed the theory

The next version focused on making the cleaner safer, easier to assemble, and more controlled in how it contacted the tank wall. That included simplifying parts of the assembly, improving the way the device interacted with the surface, and thinking through how the design could eventually become more repeatable and less dependent on manual handling.

I also explored a future semi-autonomous cleaning concept that used the circular flow inside the tank. The idea was to take advantage of the constant water movement, a tether, a spar, and a sail-like element so the cleaner could move around the tank in a more controlled way.

Redesigning the oxygen diffuser for lower-cost manufacture

A second piece of work involved redesigning an oxygen diffuser component. The existing approach relied on a more expensive machined stainless component.

I redesigned it as a waterjet-cut assembly using acetal and stainless plates, with the goal of reducing material and machining cost while keeping the function practical. Based on the estimates available at the time, the redesigned assembly reduced the expected material and machining cost by roughly 58 percent.

Modelling the site and learning from fabrication

Beyond the individual prototypes, I also built SolidWorks models of the site and equipment to help communicate and coordinate the system. That included modelling the tank, barges, bathymetry, pilings, mooring elements, and related equipment layout.

I was also partly involved in early thinking for a newer 30-metre tank and how manufacturing or transport decisions could reduce the cost and complexity of getting large composite structures to site. The co-op also exposed me to composite marine construction through work connected with Blackline Marine and the Quadrant Marine Institute.

Teach a man to fish

This early-career work connected design theory to testing, manufacturing, cost, and environment. A mechanical idea changes once it has to operate in water, be built by real fabricators, be maintained by real people, and survive the constraints of ocean aquaculture.

I still approach design that way: test the assumption, watch what the prototype does, and let the next version respond to reality instead of defending the first theory.

 

Photo frame guessing game

I designed and built a custom photo-frame guessing game as a personal gift. The idea was to take the familiar logic of a face-guessing game and turn it into something more personal, using real photos of family, friends, and pets instead of generic characters.

The finished piece was built from layered 1/8 inch plywood and laser cut so it could function both as a playable game and as a framed display object when it was not being used. That dual purpose shaped the design. It needed to feel like a finished object worth leaving out, not just a novelty game that would disappear into a closet.

The physical design took more iteration than it first appeared. The flipping photo tiles needed to move smoothly, sit cleanly in the frame, and be easy enough to use without feeling fragile. The plywood layers had to align properly, the tile spacing had to work with the photos, and the matching card set needed somewhere to live so the game stayed self-contained.

I designed integrated storage for the photo cards so the object could hold all of its own pieces. That small detail made the project feel more complete: the game, photo frame, and storage all belonged to the same object rather than becoming separate parts that could be misplaced.

Preparing the photos became its own workflow problem. The source images were inconsistent: different crops, orientations, face sizes, lighting, and backgrounds. To make the game work visually, the faces needed to be prepared in a consistent format and arranged efficiently for printing.

To solve that, I built a small browser-based crop tool. The tool let me crop the source photos into consistent portrait squares and arrange them onto printable 4 by 6 layouts. That made it easier to prepare both the flipping tile images and the matching card set without manually rebuilding every layout by hand.

The project is personal and playful, but it reflects the same kind of thinking I use in more technical work. A simple idea became a product-design problem, a fabrication problem, and a workflow problem at the same time. The final result connected a physical object with a small digital tool so the whole process could be made more consistent, repeatable, and polished.

Parametric espresso tools

After switching to a bottomless portafilter, I ran into two small but persistent workflow problems that did not have good off-the-shelf answers for my setup.

The first problem was cleanup. The spent espresso puck would not always come out cleanly, even with a knock box. I designed a flexible TPU ejector that seals against the bottom of the portafilter basket. A quick smack creates enough air pressure to push the grounds out cleanly into the compost.

The second problem was fit. I wanted a tamping station that actually matched my portafilter, but many printable holders online describe compatibility by brand or general size without exposing the dimensions that matter. In practice, the fit depends on details like basket diameter, ear geometry, handle angle, saddle height, and counter clearance.

To make the design more adaptable, I created a parametric OpenSCAD tamper station. Instead of remodelling the holder for every variation, the key dimensions can be measured, entered, and regenerated for a specific portafilter setup.

This is a small project, but it captures a useful design pattern: solve the immediate problem, identify which dimensions actually control fit and function, and turn the solution into something adjustable enough to be reused instead of rebuilt from scratch.

Fridge door closing magnet

My fridge door would sometimes stop just short of closing fully. It was a small problem, but the result was annoying: the door could look almost closed while the seal had not fully taken over.

I considered a few possible fixes, including tipping the fridge back slightly, adding an alarm, or designing a retracting magnet mechanism. Those options would have added complexity or solved the problem after it happened rather than helping the door close properly in the first place.

The simpler answer came from looking more carefully at the fridge itself. I noticed an unused feature from the reversible-door design: a spot where the door hardware could have been mounted if the hinge direction were changed. That gave me a clean place to attach a small helper without modifying the main door or cabinet.

I designed and 3D printed a small holder for rare earth magnets. The magnets provide just enough pull to bring the door through the last bit of travel so the edge gasket can take over and seal the door normally.

It is a small project, but it captures a useful design pattern: look at the actual object, notice the features that are already available, and choose the simplest physical intervention that solves the real failure mode.

Fridge circulation fan

My Danby all-fridge was freezing food on the lower shelf while the rest of the cabinet stayed at a normal temperature. The drain was clear, and the fridge appeared to be operating normally, so the problem was not obvious from a standard check.

I used a thermal camera to look at what was actually happening inside the cabinet. The images showed cold air pooling near the lower back of the fridge. The unit relied mostly on natural convection rather than a built-in circulation fan, so the coldest air was not mixing evenly through the cabinet.

The fix was a small targeted airflow improvement rather than a major appliance modification. I added a low-voltage fan on a custom 3D-printed bracket to gently circulate air through the cabinet. I also added a small thermal switch attached to the compressor so the fan only runs when the fridge is actively cooling.

The result was a more even temperature distribution and a practical fix for a frustrating problem. It is a small project, but it shows a useful pattern: diagnose the actual system behaviour, avoid unnecessary complexity, and make a targeted physical improvement that matches the real failure mode.

And now I have no excuse not to eat my vegetables.