Design Engineering

Design engineering is a core research and education theme in the AMCODE Lab. Our work focuses on translating open-ended engineering problems into manufacturable, testable, and mission-relevant systems. We emphasize aerospace systems, aircraft design, space systems, design automation, manufacturability, and design-for-advanced-manufacturing.

The AMCODE lab’s design engineering work connects conceptual design, structural layout, manufacturing constraints, automation, prototyping, testing, and technical communication. This theme supports both research-driven engineering development and hands-on student training.

Research and Development Focus Areas

Aerospace Systems and Aircraft Design

A major component of our design engineering work is aerospace vehicle and system design. This includes fixed-wing aircraft, UAVs, advanced air mobility vehicles, suborbital systems, high-altitude balloon payloads, and student-led aerospace design-build-test projects. Topics include:

• Aircraft conceptual and preliminary design.
• Aerospace systems engineering.
• UAV design and prototyping.
• Advanced air mobility vehicle design considerations.
• High-altitude balloon and satellite payload concepts.
• Rocket, rover, and payload delivery systems.
• Design-build-fly project mentorship.
• Trade studies for mission, configuration, manufacturing, and performance.

This work provides a bridge between engineering fundamentals and integrated aerospace system development.

Space Systems and CubeSat Design

The lab supports the development of student-driven space systems, including CubeSat mission concepts, ground station development, payload integration, and small satellite education. Topics include:

• CubeSat mission concept development.
• Additive manufacturing concepts for small satellite operations.
• Ground station architecture and implementation.
• Space weather sensing using nitrogen-vacancy diamond quantum magnetometry.
• Payload design for event detection and aerospace demonstrations.
• Small satellite education and workforce development.

These projects combine mechanical design, systems engineering, mission planning, electronics integration, software, communications, and verification planning.

Design for Advanced Manufacturing

The lab develops design methods that account for manufacturing constraints from the beginning of the engineering process. This includes design for additive manufacturing, design for composite manufacturing, design for repair, and design for robotic automation. Representative topics include:

• Design for multi-axis additive manufacturing.
• Design for continuous fiber reinforcement.
• Manufacturability analysis for additive manufacturing.
• Build-orientation methods for multi-material deposition.
• Tool-path mapping for non-native or damaged workpieces.
• Design of composite repair workflows.
• Design of tooling for composite manufacturing.
• Design of robotic and automated manufacturing systems.

This work addresses a central design engineering challenge: engineered systems are only useful when they can be manufactured, inspected, repaired, and scaled.

Design Automation and Digital Engineering

AMCODE research includes automation methods for design, manufacturing, inspection, and repair workflows. This includes computational design tools, digital manufacturing infrastructure, sensing, data acquisition, and design-to-manufacturing pipelines. Representative topics include:

• Automated reconstruction of robotic motion from G-code.
• Digital industrial lab networks.
• Manufacturing data monitoring.
• Programmable logic controller integration.
• Computer vision for quality control.
• Hybrid digital twins for additive manufacturing.
• AI-enabled defect tracking in thermoplastic automated fiber placement.
• Closed-loop manufacturing and repair workflows.

This area supports the transition from manual design-build practices toward more repeatable, data-informed, and automated engineering systems.

Design for Repair, Sustainment, and Fieldability

A distinctive part of the lab’s design engineering work is the integration of repair and sustainment considerations into aerospace and composite systems. Rather than treating repair as an afterthought, the lab develops workflows and hardware that make repair more automated, repeatable, and practical. Representative topics include:

• Automated scarf repair.
• Hard-patch design for composite structures.
• Contact-based tool-path mapping for damaged components.
• Cold spray repair concepts.
• Patch repair for complex composite surfaces.
• Robotic repair tooling.
• Damage assessment and residual strength analysis.

This work is particularly relevant to aircraft sustainment, advanced air mobility, composite structures, and field-deployable maintenance technologies.

Representative Project Areas

Student Design Training

Design engineering is deeply integrated with student training. Students work on open-ended engineering problems that require requirements definition, trade studies, CAD, analysis, manufacturing planning, prototyping, testing, documentation, and presentation. Student projects have included:

• Aircraft design projects.
• AIAA Design/Build/Fly aircraft.
• CubeSat and ground station development.
• High-altitude balloon and satellite design.
• Suborbital rocket and payload systems.
• Reentry rover and aeroshell concepts.
• Redbird flight simulator documentation and aviation procedures.
• Composite tooling and manufacturing fixtures.
• Robotic large-format additive manufacturing systems.
• Automated repair tooling and process development.

These projects provide students with design experience that is closer to professional engineering practice than narrowly scoped classroom problems.

Publications and Technical Outputs

Design engineering work in the AMCODE Lab has contributed to journal papers, conference papers, posters, patents, student competition outputs, and public-facing technical demonstrations. Representative technical themes include:

• Multi-axis additive manufacturing design methods.
• Build orientation for multi-material deposition.
• Manufacturability analysis for additive manufacturing.
• Automated robotic motion reconstruction.
• Design for continuous fiber additive manufacturing.
• UAV and aircraft design.
• CubeSat mission development.
• Automated repair tooling and workflows.
• Composite tooling and design-for-manufacturing.

The emphasis is on design methods that are not purely conceptual but tied to physical manufacturing, experimental validation, or deployable aerospace systems.

Application Domains

The lab’s design engineering work supports applications in:

• Aerospace vehicle design.
• Aircraft structures.
• Advanced air mobility.
• CubeSats and small satellites.
• Composite manufacturing.
• Additive manufacturing.
• Robotic repair and automation.
• Aerospace workforce development.
• Design-build-test education.
• Digital manufacturing systems.

Strategic Direction

The long-term objective is to develop design engineering methods that connect early-stage concepts to manufacturable and maintainable aerospace systems. Current and future work emphasizes:

• Integrating manufacturability earlier in aerospace design.
• Developing design rules for multi-axis additive and composite manufacturing.
• Building digital workflows that connect CAD, automation, sensing, and repair.
• Expanding CubeSat and aerospace systems design capability at USC.
• Training students through high-fidelity, project-based aerospace design experiences.
• Developing repair-aware and sustainment-aware design methods for composite structures.

Through this work, the AMCODE Lab aims to advance design engineering as an integrated discipline spanning concept generation, manufacturing, automation, testing, and lifecycle sustainment.