Blog Posts

Final Blog Post (FDR)

Published:April 23rd, 2026
Category:Spring Semester

As we reach the final week of our senior design journey, we are proud to reflect on everything we have accomplished this semester. This week marked the conclusion of our project with IPPD’s Final Design Review held on campus at UF. Teams had the opportunity to present their work to faculty, peers, and other industry representatives.

Although many sponsoring companies attended the event to watch their teams present, our sponsor was unable to be there because we had already completed our official presentation to them the week prior. We were grateful for the chance to share our progress directly with them earlier and receive their feedback before the final showcase.

The Final Design Review gave us one last opportunity to present the hard work, problem-solving, and collaboration that defined this project. Throughout the semester, our team focused on developing a solution that challenged us technically while helping us grow as engineers and teammates. From the earliest planning stages to prototyping, testing, revisions, and final delivery, every milestone helped shape the final result.

In addition to our presentation, we also completed two major final deliverables: our project poster and team video. These pieces summarize our project goals, design process, challenges, and final outcomes in a clear and engaging format. They represent not only the technical side of our work, but also the story of how our team came together to bring this project to life. This especially showcased our teams ability to function through various disciplines, something we just aren’t used to.

Project Video:

Project Poster:

Electroflow Poster-compressedDownload

As we close out this chapter, we want to thank our liaisons, sponsor , classmates, friends, and families for their support throughout the project. This final week is more than the end of a project it is the celebration of months of hard work and a reminder of how much we have learned along the way.

Thank you for following ElectroFlow’s journey.

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Week 13 (FDR Presentation at Arthrex)

Published:April 17th, 2026
Category:Spring Semester

Our team had the opportunity to visit Arthrex for our Final Design Review (FDR) on Tuesday, where we presented the culmination of months of hard work, iteration, and collaboration. During the in person review, we showcased our three identical final prototypes of ORCA. This project challenged us to think creatively, solve real engineering problems, and refine our designs through every stage of development. Presenting our prototypes in a professional setting was an exciting milestone and a rewarding way to see how far the project has come, especially when compared to the competitive device.

We were proud to receive highly positive feedback and encouraging remarks on all three ORCA prototypes. The responses from the reviewers validated the time spent designing, testing, and improving each concept. Hearing recognition for both our technical progress and problem solving was especially meaningful, and it gave us confidence in the quality of the work we have produced as a team.

One of the most valuable parts of the visit was the opportunity to participate in a Q&A session with 3 engineers from the department as well as the director. Their insights into product development, teamwork, and the realities of working in engineering gave us a broader perspective on the field and the many paths our futures could take.

Overall, our Final Design Review at Arthrex was an unforgettable experience that celebrated the progress of ORCA while opening our eyes to new possibilities ahead. We are grateful for the hard work from our liaisons, thoughtful feedback, and valuable guidance we received. We look forward to carrying these lessons with us into the next stages of our engineering journeys.

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Week 12 (Preparation for FDR)

Published:April 10th, 2026
Category:Spring Semester

Over the past few weeks, our team has reached a major milestone in the design process. Our final prototype builds that will be brought to our sponsor company are fully completed. After multiple design iterations, testing cycles, and refinements, we now have fully assembled the functional devices that we will be bringing to Arthrex for our final design review and in person lab demonstration.

Our device, ORCA (Orthopaedic Radiofrequency Coagulation Applicator), represents the culmination of everything we have worked on throughout this project. The final builds incorporate all of the improvements identified during testing, including refinements to the mechanical design, assembly process, and overall usability with the end user in mind. Each prototype has been carefully evaluated to ensure it meets our design requirements and performs reliably under expected operating conditions.

3 of the final prototypes (also known as ORCA).

With the prototypes complete, our focus has shifted toward validation and presentation. We are finalizing documentation, preparing demonstration procedures, and ensuring that each device is ready to clearly showcase its functionality during the review. This includes not only performance, but also ease of use and overall design intent. In addition, our team hopes to have all assembly instructions complete for the engineering team to replicate our design.

As a fun sidenote, we thoroughly enjoyed making the promotional video for our product. We are still in the draft phase but it has been a good use of our creativity!

Week 11 (Testing and Final Designs)

Published:April 4th, 2026
Category:Uncategorized

With testing wrapping up, we’re now shifting focus to what feels like the most tangible phase of the project so far, building the final prototypes. Starting this weekend, we’ll begin assembling the builds that we’ll bring to Arthrex. Going from analysis and validation into physical builds is a big moment for our team that we are excited to begin in this final stretch!

Earlier this week, we also had a major checkpoint, our Final Prototype Inspection Day on Tuesday. This was an opportunity to walk through our design in detail, show the progress we’ve made, and demonstrate that the probe is ready for final production. With great feedback from all the judges, we have a better idea of what final touches need to be made at least in a presentation sense.

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Week 10

Published:March 27th, 2026
Category:Spring Semester

This week we returned from Spring break and moved forward with the necessary steps to completing our final prototypes that we will be bringing to Arthrex and FDR. We started off performing crucial leakage current testing on our probes to make sure they comply with the IEC standard. After that we ordered the stock, and finished part tips from an external vendor that we will use for our final builds. We plan on building 4 final prototypes. One will be used for testing the other three will be brought to Arthrex for them to continue and take over the project. We also made the finishing touch alterations to the Arthrex handle so that we could integrate our parts with their handle for the final prototype.

Week 9

Published:March 13th, 2026
Category:Spring Semester

This week we got the opportunity to assemble prototypes 4 and 5 as a team during the class time work session. These will likely be our last prototype iterations we make 🙁 and after testing we will make a decision on what probe we will manufacture as our final design to bring to Arthrex.

We were also able to complete functional testing on build 4. We performed the same testing that we have on the previous probes and we also added an additional drag testing on the steak to mimic clinical uses of the device. After spring break we will perform testing on build 5 and perform an analysis to decide which one of the builds will be selected as final.

Week 8

Published:March 6th, 2026
Category:Spring Semester

This week was largely focused on manufacturing builds 4 and 5 and establishing processes for our final designs. On the manufacturing side we cut the hollow electrodes and solid tips needed for the two new builds and then we machined the tips for build 5 with the necessary chamfers.

The team also completed work in terms of 3D printing the spacers for these new builds, creating silicon molds that will be used to subassembly the electrodes, spacer, and PCB (which was ordered this week), along with progressing steadily on our FDR outline.

Week 7

Published:February 28th, 2026
Category:Spring Semester

This week was largely focused on QRB 2 preparation while keeping momentum on the technical side of the project. On the hardware planning side, we continued organizing the coagulation data collected from earlier builds so we can begin a clean comparison across prototypes. The hollow electrode configuration is now fully assembled at the distal interface, and the next step is to validate its performance once additional testing time is scheduled. We also confirmed that the latest PCB order has been placed with expedited shipping, which keeps our electrical integration timeline intact.

Build 3, orange, on top and build 1, brown, bottom.

There were a few logistics items to track this week as well. We discussed material needs from Arthrex, particularly additional i90 components and the specific tubing interface required to mate with the pump line. We also followed up on CNC coordination for upcoming parts and began lining up the next round of handle and silicone mold work once the mechanical pieces are ready.

The close up image of the tip of build 2 and show the tips surface roughness. The bottom image is how we do testing with steak and label them and measure.

Next week the focus will be on deeper data comparison between builds, early integration work with the new clip based PCB approach, and preparing the next prototype variations. Team remains on schedule and in a solid position heading into the next phase.

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Week 6

Published:February 21st, 2026
Category:Spring Semester

This week was a big push toward getting our next builds fully assembled and tested. Build 3 is officially finished, and we completed coagulation and depth testing for both Build 2 and Build 3. A lot of the work this week revolved around making sure the electrical and mechanical pieces actually came together reliably in hardware.

The conductive epoxy on the electrodes and tape to keep it tight and in place. This for Build 3

On the electrical and integration side, conductive epoxy was applied using a taped compression method to improve bond quality between components. We also added heat shrink to the saline tubing connections to reinforce the seal and improve overall robustness of the fluid path. These small process improvements are already making the assemblies feel more repeatable compared to earlier prototypes.

We also moved forward on the electronics pipeline. The team placed an order for the next batch of PCBs after reviewing cost and vendor constraints. There was some back and forth on sourcing since we are currently limited on which vendors we are allowed to use, but we were able to identify an acceptable supplier and proceed. These boards will support the newer clip based electrical approach we plan to integrate into upcoming builds. We got 9 PCBs.

The left one (Blue shaft) is build 2 and the right one (Brown shaft) is build 1. The black area on the tube is the heat shrink

From a testing readiness standpoint, we coordinated additional materials and logistics for continued validation. Requests were prepared for more i90 handles from Arthrex since our current inventory is becoming a bottleneck for parallel builds. The next focus is to compare the data collected from Builds 2 and 3, begin integrating the new PCB clip method into the handle models, and start developing a silicone mold for epoxied handle components.

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Week 5

Published:February 13th, 2026
Category:Spring Semester

This week was very build focused, with the team pushing forward on hardware progress and preparing for the next round of functional testing. We completed Build 2, which uses a larger diameter electrode, and continued refining the mechanical and electrical integration between the probe, PCB, and handle assembly. Alongside that, we finalized the design of our new two button PCB with fuse clips, which will help improve reliability and protection during testing

This is the PCB with the buttons and fuse clips to hold and have a stable connections to the electrode rods. Will order about 50 of them.

This is an alternative to connect to the rods for the mean time. Using thin copper tape then soldering wire onto it and soldering it the PCB.

From a team workflow standpoint, we spent time coordinating lab schedules, wiring order, and assembly sequencing to keep builds moving efficiently. One risk we are monitoring is the delivery time of conductive silver epoxy, since that material is required to complete Build 3. If it is delayed, we will adjust assembly order but continue preparing for testing so we stay as close to schedule as possible. Next week, the main goals are finishing Build 3, beginning coagulation testing on steak for Builds 2 and 3, and printing the updated handle that includes the new PCB holder. We are also confirming scheduling details for the final sponsor presentation to make sure our timeline aligns with sponsor expectations.

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