Clayton Haight

During my time in school I worked on a origami creasing CNC, an easy to manufacture ventilator during COVID-19, a custom CNC router, a cycloidal robotics actuator, an ultralight robot meant to be slingshotted and locate a target, as well as a final capstone project which is currently in progress. Check out my projects section for details.

Zipline designs, manufactures, and operates the world’s largest instant logistics and delivery system. Starting with medical deliveries via fixed wing autonomous drones in Africa, and now branching into a VTOL/fixed wing hybrid for more urban environments, Zipline aims to make teleportation of goods a reality. During my internship I worked on the Shipper Integration team, working with clients on how to integrate Docking stations with their stores and facilities. Owning the serviceability side of Shipper Integration, I developed a service cart to move Drones and Docks between client sites and maintenance facilities. I also worked on the Dock mounting system, allowing for them to be accurately positioned even while manually installing on uneven ground.

Tesla's mission is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. While working at Tesla I completed many projects, mostly to do with the Tesla Semi as well as other next gen projects. My biggest project was redesigning the Tesla Semi differential cover from stamped steel to an aluminum casting to improve sealing, NVH, and corrosion. I also performed tolerance stackups on multiple different products to ensure deviations were tolerable, saving $150,000 from being scrapped. Worked on multi-sourcing parts for Model 3/Y/S/X from NA suppliers and validating using test plans. Finally, my most fun project was prototyping and designing new transmission breather concepts to de-risk oil spillage problems in high lateral G scenarios on next-gen drive units.

Neuralink is developing ultra-high bandwidth BCIs through the use of cranial implants. I took ownership on 8 different projects, mainly focused around the implant charger, and the charging coil inside the implant. Most of my projects involved machine design for manufacturing, as a lot of our processes are highly customized and niche. I also co-led a project to bring up manufacturing in a new location, with the capability to make units at 100X the current rate. In terms of product design, I led the development of a new internal charger for use in manufacturing and for charging animals, as well as preliminary design for the next N1 implant revision charging coil. Overall, I gained a ton of experience for designing things for scale, designing manufacturing equipment, and even laying out the manufacturing line itself.

Matician is focused on building autonomous robots for consumer use at home, and I worked on pre-production prototypes to try to finalize the company's first robot for manufacturing. I took ownership on 5 different projects, focused on improving the functionality, reliability, and manufacturability of the robot. This included overhauling designs, integrating new sensors, and making the robot more reliable by life cycle testing components. I was also responsible for the first couple parts transitioning from 3D printing to injection molding. I talked to suppliers directly, ran mold simulations, made drawings, and went through many design iterations.

As one of the only engineers on the team, I got to do a lot of important work that directly affected the final product. I worked on many different projects, mostly pertaining to automating cooking appliances, integrating subsystems, and designing the kitchen of the future with new industrial technologies. Check out a demo of our prototype.

Following in the steps of many people I look up to, I joined Waterloo in the Mechatronics program. During my time at school I worked on the UWFSAE team, designing the suspension system for the 2021-2022 seasons.

I spent most of my time in highschool working on FRC robots as part of Inverse Paradox, in the offseason working on R&D projects as well as design training. When I wasn’t busy with FRC I worked on a (almost) fully 3D printed BLDC motor, a sports car body, and an autonomous 3D printer capable of clearing and cleaning its bed.

As the design lead in grade 11 and the captain in grade 12 I helped lead the team through many successful seasons. Now as a mentor I teach members skills that I have learned, and spread the core values of STEM. More details on the work that I did on Inverse Paradox can be seen in my projects section.

In middleschool I became obsessed with microcontrollers, starting with Arduino and then Raspberry Pi when it came out in 2012. I made tons of little gadgets, and handheld video games like Pong. I pooled together cash from Christmas and my Birthday to buy my first 3D printer in 2013. I made my own version of Google Glass in 2014 and got covered by Make, Time, and the Discovery Channel. I attempted to turn it into a company via a failed Kickstarter dubbed "AirGlass". The next year I worked on a custom full body exoskeleton using pneumatic McKibben muscles as actuators. I drained my bank account buying hardware and funded the remainder of the project with a Kickstarter.

Something in me has always wanted to create; to build. But when my grandfather got me a Popular Mechanics subscription and I started to read more I eventually found Make Magazine - a fantastic magazine of nerds and tinkerers alike. Promoted in one of their magazines was a textbook called Make: Electronics which taught me about the magical world of electrons. After that, my curiousity for engineering and science took off.