Hey! I'm Melody Leung

Hey! I'm Melody

I'm a Second Year Mechanical Engineering student at UBC, focused on hands on design and practical implementation. My interst in engineering began with my time in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets Program, where earing my Pilot License sparked my passion for mechanical systems. I actively seek hands on growth, particpating in both the UBC AeroDesign and UBC Biomedical Student Design Teams to develop essential technical skills such as CAD modeling, technical analysis and hands on manufacturing. In my free time, you can find me playing frisbee or going on sunset drives :) This portfolio documents the pratical lessons and progress made through my projects!

Design Team Projects

UBC AeroDesign

View UBC AeroDesign Projects

UBC Aerodesign competes in the annual SAE Competition in both Micro and Advanced Categories. Within the Micro class team, our goal is to create and design a plane solving a challenging set of conflicting requirements: maximizing payload capacity while simultaneously minimizing wingspan, aircraft empty weight and takeoff distance.

UBC Biomedical Student Team (BEST)

View UBC BEST Projects

UBC BEST consists of multiple teams that work on various projects. As part of project Enable, the goal is to develop solutions that are affordable and designed for clients. In addition to creating a device that is accessible and meets the clients need, the device is also entered in the Simon Cox Design Competition.

UBC AeroDesign Projects

As a fuselage team member, I created a watertight payload container for the 2025 SAE Aerodesign East Competition, contributing to our second place finish. This year, I am responsible for designing and manufacturing the transition region between the fuselage and wings for our blended wing body aircraft. I am also working on manufacturing the main and nose landing gears for our test flight aircraft.

Payload Design (2024-2025)

For our 2024 - 2025 plane, Barbie, I was responsible for designing and manufacturing a payload that was fully watertight and capable of holding 67 fl oz of water. To meet all SAE aerodesign rule sets, I created a 6in by 8in payload container that was fully watertight via epoxy sealing. I also performed Center of Gravity (CG) analysis using Excel models and SolidWorks mass properties, guaranteeing stability with a loaded payload, a key aspect for our design report.

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Transition Region (2025 - 2026)

Currently, I am working on designing and manufacturing the critical wing to fuselage transition region. I was responsible for creating a region that would provide smooth transition between the wing and fuselage airfoils while prioritizing weight savings. I started with printing prototypes with ABS for strength validation, then printing with Lightweight PLA (LW-PLA) for further weight savings. To prevent warping from heat, the final design utilized balsa wood panels on the key curvature surfaces to ensure a consistently smooth aerodynamic transition region.

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Landing Gear Manufacturing (2025 - 2026)

As part of the manufacturing process, I was in charge of manufacturing and assembling the main and nose landing gear as per engineering drawings given from other team members. This involved cutting music wires according to the drawing and ensuring proper assembly. To assist in bending the wires, I manufactured a wire bending device using a drill press and 3D printing integration components.

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UBC BEST Projects

As part of the mechanical team this year, my work consists of creating a housing and ergonomic design for a finger and toe physiotherapy design.

Finger and Toe Physiotherapy Device

For the device this year, our team has partnered with Technology for Living to address an assistive technology request from a quadriparetic client. The goal is to develop a finger and toe physiotherapy device that can automate their stretching routine.To ensure stakeholder satisfaction, we evaluated stakeholder needs and requirements through interviews and reviewing the client’s stretching routine.

As part of the mechanical team, within our preliminary design phase, I focused on creating conceptual CAD models to showcase various designs for our client. This involves developing and modeling mechanisms for abduction, adduction and wrist rotation for client feedback and iteration.

UBC MECH Course Projects

Magnetic Levitation (Maglev), MECH 220

A comprehensive project focusing on the fabrication and control of an electronically-controlled Magnetic Levitation device. This process involved machining components to strict tolerances (with mill and lathe), precision soldering and assembly of a circuit board following detailed diagrams and mechanical assembly.

Key Skills: Machining (Mill/ Lathe/ Drill Press), Engineering Drawing Interpretation, Electronic Prototyping (Soldering, Breadboarding), Real- Time System Control

Autonomous Claw, APSC 101

A team based mechatronics challenge to design, build and program a semi- autonomous mechanical claw capable of grasping and transporting objects of various sizes, materials and weights. This project required coding for arduino, integration of sonar senators and mechanical design for the claw. Key Skills: Programming (Arduino), Hand Tools, CAD Modeling (SolidWorks)

Rainwater Harvester, APSC 101

A technical design and analysis project focused on creating a sustainable, cost effective rainwater harvesting and filtration system.The work involved comprehensive systems analysis using Excel to determine optimal design parameters, including required tank size, pump selection, filtration stages, and power provisioning based on detailed water consumption data. Key Skills: Excel, Constraint Optimization, Fluid Dynamics Principles, Sustainable Engineering Design

Cardboard Chair, APSC 100

A structural design challenge to build an ergonomic, full scale and family friendly chair for use in evacuation centers only using cardboard. Success required optimizing the design for structural integrity and ergonomics under strict material constraints, validating the theoretical design through rigorous physical testing. Key Skills: Material Constraint Optimization, Design for Manufacturing, Team Collaboration

Contact

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