![Caden Kraft](/content/images/size/w1080/2023/08/2023-Headshot-Zoomed.png)
Caden Kraft
Mechanical Engineer
I am currently a mechanical engineering undergraduate at Iowa State University. I enjoy doing many personal projects that you can read about here as well as leading the PRISUM Solar Car club mechanical team here at Iowa State.
Work Experience
![](https://cadenkraft.com/content/images/2024/09/SpaceX_logo_black.svg.png)
Responsible Engineer
Developed Dragon latch qualification test that increased latch capability for AMS mission. Qualified solar adhesive saving 560k per year
May 2024 - Aug 2024
![](https://cadenkraft.com/content/images/2024/09/kcnsc-crop.webp)
Product Design Engineer
Engineered fixtures using SolidWorks that both constrained and electrically connected components to a plasma chamber
May 2023 - Aug 2023
![](https://cadenkraft.com/content/images/2024/09/Tesla_logo-2.webp)
Mechanical Design Engineer
Self led development of a new high voltage connector that reduced part count by 350% and cut costs by 42 million dollars per year
Jan 2023 - May 2023
![](https://cadenkraft.com/content/images/2024/09/husco_international_logo-1.webp)
Mechanical Design Engineer
Identified and solved issue plaguing solenoid production for over 6 years. Created a fixture to rework lost yield saving $120,000
May 2022 - Aug 2022
![](https://cadenkraft.com/content/images/2024/09/SpaceX_logo_black.svg.png)
Responsible Engineer
Developed Dragon latch qualification test that increased latch capability for AMS mission. Qualified solar adhesive saving 560k per year
May 2024 - Aug 2024
![](https://cadenkraft.com/content/images/2024/09/kcnsc-crop.webp)
Product Design Engineer
Engineered fixtures using SolidWorks that both constrained and electrically connected components to a plasma chamber
May 2023 - Aug 2023
![](https://cadenkraft.com/content/images/2024/09/Tesla_logo-2.webp)
Mechanical Design Engineer
Self led development of a new high voltage connector that reduced part count by 350% and cut costs by 42 million dollars per year
Jan 2023 - May 2023
![](https://cadenkraft.com/content/images/2024/09/husco_international_logo-1.webp)
Mechanical Design Engineer
Identified and solved issue plaguing solenoid production for over 6 years. Created a fixture to rework lost yield saving $120,000
May 2022 - Aug 2022
Featured Projects
3D Printed Dual Cycloidal Actuator
This project builds on my previous axial flux motor. To improve the torque output of the motor I designed a cycloidal gearbox that integrates into the current motor design allowing for more torque.
![3D Printed Dual Cycloidal Actuator](/content/images/size/w1462/2024/02/Title-Image.jpg)
Solar Car HV Bus Bar Distribution
I designed a high voltage distribution assembly for the solar car that centralizes all of our high voltage connections, contactors, and fuses into a centralized location.
![Solar Car HV Bus Bar Distribution](/content/images/size/w1462/2023/07/untitled.6.png)
The NTPixie, A WiFi Nixie Tube Clock
I've always wanted to make a nixie tube clock but wanted to make one that I could trust was accurate. This was done through syncing the time with NTP servers the same way phones and computers do.
![The NTPixie, A WiFi Nixie Tube Clock](/content/images/size/w1462/2023/06/nixie-tube-clock-render.3.png)
Ironless Axial Flux Motor
Building off my first motor project, I designed and tested an axial flux motor by mathematically calculating all of the motor parameters needed to meet the design requirements that I set.
![Ironless Axial Flux Motor](/content/images/size/w1462/2022/09/title-page-render-axial-flux-motor.16.jpg)
Solar Car GPS Tracker
For our 2022 solar car race, I designed a simple webpage that tied into our cars live telemetry in order to display the current speeds and location on a map. This allowed us to share our race progress with family and friends.
![Solar Car GPS Tracker](/content/images/size/w1462/2022/09/solar-car-tracker-image.png)
Creating a 3D Printed Brushless Motor
This was my first attempt at making a motor from scratch. This design is a simple brushless motor made with components I had on hand at the time and taught me quite a lot about motor design and magnetics.
![Creating a 3D Printed Brushless Motor](/content/images/size/w1462/2024/02/og-motor-render.jpg)
Solar Car Steering Wheel
This was one of my first projects on solar car where I designed a new steering wheel that had its own integrated PCB to minimize the wiring harness connecting it to the rest of the car.
![Solar Car Steering Wheel](/content/images/size/w1462/2024/02/steering-wheel-title-new.jpg)
Ghost Blog with Free Webhosting
This is an in depth guide on how I made this very website through locally developing the website and pushing changes to Github pages. This allows me to host this site while paying $0 in hosting.
![Ghost Blog with Free Webhosting](/content/images/size/w1462/2022/02/ghost-blog.png)
Single Part Raspberry Pi Compute Cluster
This is a Raspberry Pi cluster that I created where all of the Raspberry Pi's and networking gear can click into a single 3D printed component without the use of any fasteners.
![Single Part Raspberry Pi Compute Cluster](/content/images/size/w1462/2023/07/rpi-cluster.11.png)