frame: vincentHi, I’m Vincent.
Automation, Controls & Robotics Engineer
I build machines that run on their own: PLC-controlled motion systems, lab automation workcells, and the software around them. Six-plus years at Mainspring Energy, Myriad Genetics, and Kinnos, and now an M.S. in Robotics at Johns Hopkins.
parent: world · San Francisco · 37.77° N, 122.42° W
Work
8 frames
A TwinCAT-controlled rig that lines up a linear generator core to within 5 microns, cutting alignment from 8 hours to 2.
TwinCAT 3 · Motion Control · Ignition · Metrology
Linear Generator Alignment Platform
/coax_align
Two vertical lifts and an overhead carrier that move DNA sample plates between labs, with nobody carrying them.
PLC · GD&T · Facility
SkySlide — Automated DNA Sample Shuttle
/skyslide
Two six-axis arms in CoppeliaSim throw a ball back and forth, planned with projectile math and solved with inverse kinematics.
Inverse Kinematics · CoppeliaSim · Lua · Python
Robots Play Catch — Throwing and Catching Between Two Arms
/play_catch
A tower of lab instruments on slides: pulled out for people, pushed in for robot arms, and swapped in minutes when one needs service.
Lab Automation · Mechanism Design · Onshape
Reconfigurable Automation Tower
/aux_tower
Cleaned 3,856 rows of SharePoint part data down to 1,577 real parts with Jupyter and Naive Bayes, then moved them into Arena PLM.
Arena PLM · Pandas · Naive Bayes · ECO
Engineering Database Modernization & Arena PLM Rollout
/plm_migration
A random-forest model verifies swirl, sniff, and sip from a wrist IMU, anchoring every sensor channel to the moment each gesture happened.
Sensors · DSP · Embedded · Machine Learning
Model-Based Gesture Detection for a Wine Tasting Wristband
/wristband
Playful photoreal rendering exploration with three-point lighting and stylized backgrounds.
Rendering · 3D Modeling
Fortune Cookie Render
/fortune_cookiewrite-up in progress
ODTC Thermal Cycler UI
/odtc_ui
Where I’ve worked
Where I studied
About
I’m a mechanical engineer who crossed into controls and kept going. I design the hardware, write the PLC code that moves it, and build the software people use to run it, so a machine can be trusted to work unattended.
HuCrafts is the name I build under. Besides engineering, it covers the events I host and the notes I share on product management.
Education
Johns Hopkins University
M.S. Robotics & Autonomous Systems2024 – present
The Cooper Union
B.E. Mechanical Engineering2016 – 2020
Certified SOLIDWORKS Expert (CSWE). Fluent in English and Mandarin.
Tools
- Controls & HMI
- TwinCAT 3, IEC 61131-3 Structured Text, Ignition Vision, OPC UA, ADS, EtherCAT, Modbus TCP
- Robotics & simulation
- ROS 2, RViz, Gazebo, CoppeliaSim, motion control, state machines
- Mechanical & PLM
- SOLIDWORKS, Onshape, GD&T, DFM/DFA, electromechanical design, Arena PLM
- Programming & data
- Python, FastAPI, NumPy, Pandas, C#, Django, REST APIs, Git
Contact
Hiring for automation, controls, or robotics?
Send a note here, or reach me directly.
- linkedin.com/in/xiaoleih
- github
- github.com/vincexl
- resume
- Xiaolei_Hu_Resume.pdf