STATUS: HARDWARE ITERATION ACTIVE LOS ANGELES

Print. Test. Fly.

Co-founder of MAPC Technologies, specialized in advanced 3D CAD design, 3D printing, and physical prototype development for aerospace and robotics.

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INSTITUTION

CSUN / B.S. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

TEAM

MAPC TECHNOLOGIES / CO-FOUNDER SINCE 2021

METHOD

BUILD. TEST. REDESIGN.

ROBOTICS / MECHANICAL SUSPENSION

NASA Perseverance Rover Model

ROBOTICS / 20-DOF MECHANICAL DESIGN

Humanoid Robot

AEROSPACE / FLIGHT-TESTED HARDWARE

Ehécatl LCC-3

ITZANMA III EHÉCATL LCC-3 CTS-4 CAPSULE TVC ROCKET ENGINE CTS-2 CAPSULE CTS-1 & EARLY PATHFINDERS AUTONOMOUS MODEL CAR HUMANOID ROBOT NASA PERSEVERANCE ROVER MODEL

Projects

[ AEROSPACE & PROPULSION HARDWARE ]

ENTRY 01 // LATE 2025 – 2026

Itzanma III

Fully redesigned and fully autonomous atmospheric research capsule. Fully 3D printed with PA6-CF (carbon fiber nylon). Features a completely re-engineered active descent control assembly relocated to the base of the vehicle, integrating 3 independently controlled aerodynamic stabilization surfaces for precise trajectory and attitude control during descent.

SPEC SHEET

[ STATUS: GROUND TESTED ][ PEAK THRUST: 47.1 N ][ WEIGHT: 3.01 LBS ][ MATERIAL: PA6-CF ][ CONSTRUCTION: 3D PRINTED ][ STABILIZERS: 3 INDEPENDENT ][ CONTROL: FULLY AUTONOMOUS ][ DESIGN: FULLY RE-DESIGNED ]

ENTRY 02 // 2024

Ehécatl LCC-3

Fully autonomous, flight-tested experimental research vehicle. Achieved milestone as a pioneering 3D-printed cargo capsule to successfully flight-test. Features a fully integrated mechanical payload door release system, precision drogue parachute deployment architecture, and a three-solid-rocket-motor landing integration system for controlled landing and reuse.

SPEC SHEET

[ STATUS: FLIGHT-PROVEN ][ PEAK THRUST: 47.1 N ][ WEIGHT: 4.85 LBS ][ SYSTEMS: PAYLOAD DOOR / DROGUE CHUTE / SOLID ROCKET LANDING ][ CONTROL: FULLY AUTONOMOUS ][ CLASSIFICATION: EXPERIMENTAL CARGO CAPSULE ]

ENTRY 03 // 2023

CTS-4 Capsule

Lightweight foam-board and fiberglass capsule featuring an apogee-triggered, mechanically deployable flap system designed to increase aerodynamic drag and reduce terminal descent velocity.

SPEC SHEET

[ STATUS: GROUND TESTED ][ MATERIAL: FOAM BOARD + FIBERGLASS ][ RELEASE: FLAPS @ APOGEE ][ MILESTONE: FIRST CAPSULE WITH COMPOSITE MATERIAL ][ GOAL: DEVELOP FLAP RELEASE SYSTEM PROTOTYPE ]

ENTRY 04 // 2023

TVC Rocket Engine

A compact experimental solid rocket motor engineered to prototype thrust vector control capabilities. Built entirely from accessible workshop components, the system features a flexible-membrane TVC assembly actively controlled via an onboard Arduino microcontroller. Validated through 5 rigorous static fire test campaigns to evaluate vector actuation, structural resilience, and thrust management.

SPEC SHEET

[ STATUS: GROUND TESTED ][ ARCHITECTURE: SOLID ROCKET MOTOR / TVC ][ CONTROL: ARDUINO ][ VALIDATION: 5x SUCCESSFUL STATIC FIRE TESTS ][ FABRICATION: ACCESSIBLE PROTOTYPE HARDWARE ]

ENTRY 05 // 2022

CTS-2 Capsule

A $50-budget experimental flight capsule and a major milestone as the first vehicle in the program to integrate active electronics. Controlled via an onboard Arduino, the system successfully demonstrated braking engine activation during flight. Validated through two pre-flight static test campaigns.

SPEC SHEET

[ STATUS: FLIGHT-PROVEN ][ PEAK THRUST: 10.8 N ][ BUDGET: $50 PROTOTYPE ][ AVIONICS: ARDUINO-CONTROLLED ELECTRONICS ][ MILESTONE: FIRST ELECTRONICS-INTEGRATED FLIGHT CAPSULE ][ VALIDATION: 2x STATIC TESTS / 1x FLIGHT TEST ]

ENTRY 06 // 2021

CTS-1 & Early Pathfinders

The first prototypes were built at age 12 from foam board, metal tape, and hot glue, then advanced to fiberglass, and then to 3D printing. Together they show my progress over the years and my learning curve.

SPEC SHEET

[ MATERIAL: FOAM BOARD + METAL TAPE + HOT GLUE ][ PROGRESSION: FOAM BOARD → FIBERGLASS → 3D PRINTING ][ YEAR ONE: 2021 ]

[ ROBOTICS & MECHANICAL SYSTEMS ]

ENTRY 01 // 2025 – 2026

Autonomous Model Car (In Development)

A custom 1/10-scale 4WD mechanical chassis engineered for outdoor autonomous navigation, powered by a Raspberry Pi 5 and BTS7960 high-current motor drivers. Features custom structural mounting brackets integrating an advanced sensor suite: a NEO-M8N GPS for real-world route navigation, an MPU9250 IMU for precise heading and orientation, and a COIN-D6 LiDAR dedicated to real-time environmental mapping and obstacle avoidance.

SPEC SHEET

[ STATUS: IN DEVELOPMENT ][ WEIGHT: 11 LBS ][ SCALE: 1/10 ][ DRIVE: 4WD ][ COMPUTE: RASPBERRY PI 5 ][ MOTOR DRIVERS: BTS7960 ][ NAVIGATION: NEO-M8N GPS ][ ORIENTATION: MPU9250 IMU ][ PERCEPTION: COIN-D6 LIDAR ]

ENTRY 02 // 2025

Humanoid Robot

Designed in Fusion 360 in one week and assembled in four days. Features 20 degrees of freedom (DOF) with a modular joint architecture actuated by MG996R servos, 3D printed entirely in carbon-fiber engineering filaments.

SPEC SHEET

[ STATUS: FULLY BUILT & TESTED / SOFTWARE IN DEVELOPMENT ][ WEIGHT: 8 LBS ][ CAD: FUSION 360 ][ DOF: 20 ][ ACTUATORS: MG996R SERVOS ][ MATERIAL: CARBON-FIBER FILAMENT ][ BUILD: 1 WK DESIGN / 4 DAYS ASSEMBLY ]

ENTRY 03 // 2023

NASA Perseverance Rover Model

Designed from scratch in under two months while teaching myself Fusion 360. Features a fully functional, 3D-printed mechanical rocker-bogie suspension system accurately mimicking NASA's rover geometry. Engineered with autonomous self-driving capabilities utilizing onboard sonic sensors for real-time obstacle avoidance, alongside live data transmission telemetry loops.

SPEC SHEET

[ STATUS: GROUND TESTED ][ WEIGHT: 20 LBS ][ CAD: FUSION 360 ][ MECHANISM: ROCKER-BOGIE ][ AUTONOMY: SONIC SENSORS / OBSTACLE AVOIDANCE ][ TELEMETRY: REAL-TIME DATA TRANSMISSION ][ DESIGN TIME: < 2 MONTHS ]

Skills

[ PROTOTYPING ]

Rapid prototyping

Fast conceptualization, iteration, and physical prototype development for complex hardware.

[ CAD ]

2D to 3D design transformation

Efficiently converting 2D concepts into precise, functional 3D digital models.

[ CAD ]

3D model creation (Fusion 360)

Extensive experience modeling intricate mechanical assemblies, structural chassis, and aerospace components from scratch.

[ ADDITIVE ]

Advanced additive manufacturing

Multi-material 3D printing utilizing PA6-CF (carbon-fiber nylon), PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS, and resin, powered by hardware like the Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo.

[ COMPOSITES ]

Composite material handling

Hand-layup and structural fabrication using high-strength composite materials like fiberglass and carbon fiber.

[ INTEGRATION ]

Aerospace & robotics hardware integration

Designing, assembling, and structural-testing complex mechanisms, descent control systems, and mechanical linkages.

[ ITERATION ]

Efficiency under pressure & creative problem solving

Diagnosing physical structural failures and rapidly executing design iterations under tight deadlines.

Leadership, sponsorships & grants

CO-FOUNDER & TEAM LEAD // 2021 – PRESENT

MAPC Technologies

Co-founded a student aerospace team at age 12 to design, build, and test experimental flight capsules, pathfinder rockets, and recovery systems.

SENIOR BOARD // 2025 – 2026

Grover Cleveland Charter High School

Senior Board member and chair across two different committees, including leading the Senior Class Apparel Committee (managing end-to-end design, ordering, and distribution of custom class wear).

2025

Industry sponsorships & equipment

SUNLU: PA6-CF and PA12-CF nylon
AMOLEN: PLA Carbon Fiber & High-Speed PLA
ANYCUBIC: Kobra S1 Combo enclosed 3D printer and 6 spools of assorted materials

Grants received

Bagel Fund Grantee

$450 // 2025

Medici Project Grantee

1517 FUND // $1,000 // 2024

Astrophotography

OUTSIDE THE WORKSHOP // SINCE AGE 7

Pointing the telescope up.

I started astrophotography at age 7, when I received my first telescope. At 12, I moved on to deep sky targets like the Andromeda Galaxy and the Orion Nebula, while also capturing Saturn, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, the Moon, and the Sun.

TARGETS

ANDROMEDA GALAXYORION NEBULASATURNJUPITERMARSVENUSMOONSUN

PROCESSING

Deep sky images are built from long-exposure image stacking (integration): many individual exposures, aligned and combined to pull faint detail out of the noise. Planets are captured as video and stacked from only the sharpest frames, a technique known as lucky imaging.

SOFTWARE

PIPPAUTOSTAKKERT!DEEPSKYSTACKERREGISTAXPHOTOSHOP

[ GALLERY: PLANETARY ]

Gas giants, rocky planets, and Venus, stacked from video.

[ GALLERY: MOON ]

Lunar surface detail.

[ GALLERY: DEEP SKY ]

Long-exposure stacks of galaxies and nebulae.

About & honors

[ EDUCATION ]

California State University, Northridge (CSUN)

B.S. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING / MINOR: ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Grover Cleveland Charter High School

GRADUATED WITH HONORS

Relevant AP coursework: AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Computer Science, AP Physics, AP Lit, AP Spanish Language & Lit, AP European History, APUSH, AP Government.

[ HONORS & AWARDS ]

HSF Scholar2026
AP Scholar with Distinction Award2026
Graduated high school with honors2026
State Seal of Biliteracy for Spanish2025/2026
Bagel Fund Grantee2025
1517 Medici Grantee2024
Invited Scholar, National Youth Leadership Forum: Engineering2023, 2024, 2025

Let's build something.

EMAIL: dmarin0013j@gmail.com

LINKEDIN: linkedin.com/in/marin-diego

RESUME: View resume (PDF)