Designing hardware for dusty, high-stakes environments.
I’m Javier De Leon-Flores, a Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Virginia, focused on hands-on design, FEA, and prototyping for systems that operate in real, messy conditions from lunar excavation rovers to UAV payloads and fluid-driven excavation devices.
Lunar regolith excavation, lightweight mechanisms, and vacuum-based excavation systems.
◎ Open to internships & project collaborations.
Bucket Drum Rover
Objective: Design and manufacture a spinning bucket drum-based rover to excavate and build berms in a Lunabotics-style testbed.
Methods: Used SolidWorks for full CAD and FEA, then fabricated components via water jet, Prototrak mill, roller forming, and welding.
Results: Achieved 5th overall at NASA Lunabotics 2025 and earned the Innovation Award and the Granular Mechanics Award.
Front Loader Rover
Objective: Design a front loader that maintains high digging capacity and rate while significantly reducing mass versus conventional designs.
Methods: Modeled designs in SolidWorks and Onshape; ran FEA on bucket structures to assess strength under digging and tipping loads.
Results: Shifted the center of mass between the wheels, enabling roughly a 20 kg mass reduction compared to typical front loader layouts.
Roku F1GIM2 Universal Lens Mount
Objective: Design and manufacture a universal filter lens mount for the Roku F1GIM2 UAV that maintains low mass and allows fine angular adjustment.
Methods: Built detailed 3D models in SolidWorks and used static FEA to validate strength of weight-saving pockets and gear teeth.
Results: Produced a compact mount with a gear system that enables precise rotation of multiple filters during flight.
Simply Stretch – Full-Body Stretching Machine
Objective: Develop a full-body stretching machine that can be used for physical therapy and recreational or senior fitness contexts.
Methods: Created a full assembly in SolidWorks and used FEA to compare different chassis geometries while holding aluminum stock constant.
Results: Built and tested two chassis iterations; the second design maintained similar strength with reduced material usage and improved simplicity.
Vacuum-Powered Excavator
Objective: Create a vacuum-based excavation tool capable of efficiently removing soil and debris while separating and storing solids.
Methods: Modeled airflow paths in SolidWorks and integrated a cyclone separator feeding a modular dirt compartment.
Results: Demonstrated effective dirt removal driven purely by fluid suction and filtration, generating interest from companies such as Home Depot.
About
My work sits at the intersection of mechanical design, aerospace applications, and experimental hardware especially where weight, reliability, and manufacturability are tightly constrained.
I enjoy taking designs from CAD and FEA all the way to fabricated hardware: cutting parts on a water jet or mill, welding and assembling, and then learning from how systems perform in real conditions.
I’m especially interested in planetary surface operations, UAV payload integration, and fluid-driven devices for excavation and handling granular materials.
Contact
I’m open to internships, research positions, and collaborations related to mechanical and aerospace systems, robotics hardware, and experimental prototyping.