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Aug 17, 2021
Boca Bearings
Matt Santora is an avid fisherman and owner of Finbomb, a fishing and diving apparel company. He holds 2 California State Records for fishing, and he truly loves all aspects of the sport, from reading signs of the birds overhead, to finding the boiling tuna, to choosing the best lure, to angling and cooking the fish.
Aug 10, 2021
Tyler Gilley
At the shop today I started by redesigning the Turbine housing the water turbine will sit inside. The problem I encountered with my first design was that the turbine did not sit centered.
Jul 30, 2021
Boca Bearings
At Boca Bearings we believe all hobbies are great, especially RC Aerobatics. As a matter of fact one of our team members, Jonathan, has been flying RC planes for over 30 years! But not only does he fly RC planes, he also has a private pilot’s license for real planes! How cool is that?!
Jul 29, 2021
Boca Bearings
Bikes and music go together like peanut butter and jelly! At least that’s what we believe here at Boca Bearings. Our friend Gerardo Martinez can wholeheartedly back us up on this since he is the General Manager for Nuclear Blast Records (Meshuggah, Testament, Slayer, Exodus, Rob Zombie) and a BMX fanatic!
Jul 28, 2021
Carmen Riggs
We recently changed directions from a waver energy conversion system to a Flow Hydro Conversion system due to some time constrains. However, the concept remains the same and the same materials will be used.
Jul 21, 2021
Dylan Butera
Here is my first entry for the humanoid Otto. Previously, I put together and coded the standard Otto DIY robot. For this project, I will be putting together the Otto Humanoid robot. The humanoid version has arms, a touch sensor, a sound sensor, an LED matrix to show emotions, metal gear servos as opposed to plastic, and a Bluetooth module, all of which the standard Otto does not have. I have started by printing out the shell, and now I’m ready to start assembling the robot.
Jul 07, 2021
Marc Tobel
For our next project James and I decided to do something a bit more ambitious than the previous projects we have worked on.
Jul 05, 2021
James Laumeyer
The intern team at Boca bearings is always busy turning out new and creative ways to showcase our bearings, as such we are always looking for ways to build upon our past experiences and leverage those skills to new projects.
Jul 01, 2021
Tyler Gilley
Upon receiving this kit, I was informed that the OTTO robot did not work outside of its USB port connection. For example, the OTTO DIY Robot has a USB connection that gives it the ability to import code into an Arduino circuit Board, once properly connected to a computer or laptop.
Jun 28, 2021
James Laumeyer
Over the past few weeks, the team at Boca Bearings has been working on revamping the workshop in the warehouse as the space was proving to be difficult to work in due to an inefficient use of space that caused tools to get lost or straight up not have
Jun 25, 2021
Dylan Butera
Now that the robot is fully assembled I have been using the Otto Blockly program to code the Arduino. This robot is only capable of doing simple actions like walking or dancing using servos, making it a great starter project for me. The eyes are ultrasonic sensors(the part is the HC-sr04) which can be used to make the robot perform an action when something comes within a certain range of them. I have programmed Otto to do a dance once something comes within about 10 cm of his face. This can also be used to make Otto avoid obstacles while he is walking. This project has introduced me to robotics and programming, and I look forward to working with the more complex options offered by OttoDIY.
Jun 23, 2021
Dylan Butera
For this project, I will be building and programming starting with the basic builder kit from Otto DIY. The goal is to program this robot and use the motion sensors
Jun 22, 2021
Boca Bearings
We value and support small businesses, thus we love to hear about their passion, commitment and innovative ways. Today we had a conversation with Trey Harpel, the owner of Thkustoms.
Jun 17, 2021
Tyler Gilley
This past week Carmen and I collaborated ideas on how the wave tank should be constructed. Carmen created a spreadsheet that compared and contrasted parts to be used in this project. At first we came up with the idea to use plexiglass, but we came to the conclusion that we are going to need steel bracing to
Jun 04, 2021
Boca Bearings
The internship at Boca Bearings has many objectives from fostering an ecosystem of local talent to community involvement. However, one of the paramount objectives for our engineer interns is to explore new talents and hone in on preferred skills.
May 24, 2021
Carmen Riggs
The purpose of the wave energy converter project is to demonstrate the wide range of applications which wave energy can hold for the modern world and future energy projects
Apr 28, 2021
Carmen Riggs
When I joined the skeeball project, I was tasked with the complete development and design of the electronic components. I started with the understanding that there were 3 LED displays which needed to be controlled by a main power switch.
Apr 14, 2021
Marc Tobel
I’ve been wanting to build a drift trike for a while now as a personal project and finally got the chance at my internship with Boca Bearings.
Apr 12, 2021
James Laumeyer
Congratulations, you have decided to make a Pinball machine based off the Boca Bearing Design! Now before you get into this project an important thing to note is that our machine has a material cost of about $7-800, pinball electronics are expensive.
Apr 06, 2021
Michael Rudinsky
This project is a 3D printed model Volkswagen Beetle. The download from the 3D Sets website includes an easy to follow assembly guide and a list of all non-printed parts. This model requires about 3kg of filament, PLA is recommended
Mar 30, 2021
Boca Bearings
Teddy Mullins one of Boca Bearings longest-term team member joined the company some 22 years ago! He heard about Boca Bearings through an agency. He was told the company was family-owned by some kind-hearted people.
Feb 02, 2021
James Laumeyer
Keeping up with the arcade theme, my next project is a Skee-ball machine
Jan 13, 2021
James Laumeyer
These past couple weeks I all but finished up the pinball machine, completing the ball return system, tuning the launchers and finishing the wiring. This leaves the only things left being to install the legs and cover glass.
Jan 06, 2021
Marc Tobel
Got the PVC sleeves on the rear tires but it took a lot more effort than I thought it would. In order to get them to slide on I had to grease up the tires and deflate them, cut the pvc to the correct width and begin sliding them over the rear tires of the trike
Dec 08, 2020
James Laumeyer
This week I have been working on getting the wiring taken care of and dealing with some of the problems in the design of the pinball machine. And while I can see the end in sight the last few problems are making it a slower finish that I would like.
Nov 16, 2020
James Laumeyer
The last couple weeks a lot of progress has been made on the pinball machine and the home stretch is very near. Notably in my last report I showed the wooden box was completely built. Since that update the box has been stained black and then lacquered to give it a nice shine.
Oct 27, 2020
James Laumeyer
Over the last couple weeks I have been working to meet the deadline of the end of October to have this thing finished and although I have made tons of progress I have hit some setbacks that will inevitably push the finish date closer to the end of November.
Oct 21, 2020
Marc Tobel
After sourcing the bike that I wanted for the front end of the trike, I began to cut the frame of the bike to fit onto the rear trike frame. I also wanted to remove most of the paint that was originally on the bike so I could weld supports in. Sanding off the paint also leaves room down the road to put a fresh coat of paint on it, which I plan on doing
Oct 06, 2020
James Laumeyer
This week I finished up the CAD designs for the entire machine, and while there are a couple of minor parts that I the gears are going to take about 32 hours to print all five of them so hopefully, they don’t fail mid-print
Sep 25, 2020
James Laumeyer
This week I worked on finishing up the play field designs. To finish off the play field I added the guides for the ball return system, designed the caps for the slingshots, laying out a twin tunnel obstacle to score points in, and designed a spinning pillar obstacle that uses a gear box and one motor to spin five pillars and fling the pinball all over the board.
Sep 16, 2020
James Laumeyer
This week I focussed on the ball return system and working out the layout of the new playfield. Additionally I stumbled across the reason the relays had been acting incorrectly, the last person to work on this project used 12v relays on a 36v system and while the current of a 12v 30amp system is the same as a 36v 10amp system there is an issue with the internal resistance of the two in the coil windings.
Sep 09, 2020
James Laumeyer
This was my first week taking over the pinball machine from where the previous intern left off. To start off I had to get my bearings about what the state of the machine is, what was wrong and what still needed to be done. Then, I had to assess how to fix the problems at hand and create the components that are still needed to make this a fun and functional machine.
Sep 08, 2020
Marc Tobel
For the next step I wanted to make a battery mount so I could utilize the electric start feature this motor comes with. I began with a piece of steel plate and welded it to the frame, using scraps to create a boundary for the battery.
Aug 31, 2020
Marc Tobel
After I got the engine plate mounted and welded to the frame I lined up the mounting holes and drilled accordingly to make sure the engine would sit where I wanted
Aug 21, 2020
Marc Tobel
For my next project I decided to do something a bit more ambitious than an r/c car: a project that combines a lot of skills and something that I could really learn from. I decided to build a drift trike.
Jul 29, 2020
Boca Bearings
We had the pleasure of having a conversation with Amos an accomplished and incredibly talented metal sculpture
Jul 22, 2020
Marc Tobel
Once I had the frame assembled I began to work on the electronics. I used a brushed 52 tooth motor with a crawler esc.
Jul 03, 2020
Marc Tobel
The first print that I did consisted of the dashboard and differential components. I’m using hatchbox PLA (1.75 mm) for the dashboard and Hatchbox ABS (1.75 mm) for the differential, silver and black respectively.
Mar 26, 2020
Boca Bearings
Boca Bearing in an effort to support our local academic ecosystem offers paid internships to STEM students from the local colleges.
Feb 17, 2020
Michael Rudinsky
This replica of the Bugatti 35 is a 1/10 scale 3D printed R/C model.
Feb 13, 2020
Boca Bearings
We had the great pleasure of visiting 4 Reel Services, a local reel repair shop owned and managed by Captain Peter Bilardello.
Feb 06, 2020
Boca Bearings
As we all probably know a YoYo is a toy made up of an axle connected to two disks with a string looped around the axle.
Jan 30, 2020
Violet L
While there are more than 30 welding processes ranging from simple oxy-fuel to high-tech processes, here at Boca Bearings we use a MIG Welding process for its easiness of use.
Dec 26, 2019
Marco Leo
The obstacle avoidance autonomous vessel is complete.
Dec 17, 2019
Andrew Potenza
This week I have been focusing on combining all the elements that I have worked on separately together.
Dec 17, 2019
Andrew Kaye
This week has been a busy one as I have created multiple designs for the metal encasing of the electronics and mechanisms.
Oct 14, 2019
Andrew Potenza
This week I have focused on the playfield. I knew that manufacturing the playfield would be a challenge due to the fact that it is too big for our CNC cutter
Oct 01, 2019
Andrew Potenza
Testing the flipper and bumper relay
Sep 09, 2019
Marco Leo
Nearing the end of this project. All that is left is to finish fabricating the top portion of the hull and attach it.
Aug 30, 2019
John Praleston
The original mounting bracket for the bottle cars (black) was a bit unstable down the track due to the short length. The new mounting bracket (white) is much more stable down the line due to its longer length.
Aug 30, 2019
John Praleston
Final gas pedal prints installed. Gear is installed onto the potentiometer with throttle arm pressed against it.
Aug 28, 2019
Marco Leo
This week I did some more tweaking with the code and electronics. I added the hall sensor switch, so now it rune only when the presence of a magnet is near the hall sensor.
Aug 27, 2019
Andrew Potenza
This week I mainly worked on the support structures of the pinball machine and the extra detail before constructing the full playfield.
Aug 20, 2019
Andrew Potenza
I am making a completely custom-built Boca Bearings pinball machine.
Aug 20, 2019
Andrew Kaye
The project is coming along very nicely.
Aug 15, 2019
Marco Leo
I have sanded the hull and started to paint it. Now all that’s left for the main part of the boat is to print out the top portion, put it all together, sand it down, and attach it to the bottom portion of the hull.
Aug 01, 2019
John Praleston
After a few weeks off, some lengthy rewiring, and a week and a half of learning Arduino coding the Audi car is operating correctly.
Jul 31, 2019
Andrew Kaye
This week, I made a decision to no longer use the arduino uno and xbox 360 controller for this project due to time constraints.