Mechatronics & Mechanical Engineering

Beckett Mazeau

Engineer & Designer — building at the intersection of precision mechanics, embedded systems, and industrial design.

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Beckett Mazeau — portrait

About Me

I'm Beckett Mazeau, a Mechatronics Engineer with deep expertise in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Design. My work lives where physical systems meet intelligent control — designing mechanisms that move with purpose and electronics that respond with precision.

From concept sketches through CAD modeling, prototyping, and final integration, I approach every project with a systems-level perspective. Whether it's a robotic end-effector, a custom test rig, or a consumer product, I'm driven by the challenge of making complex systems elegant and reliable.

My toolkit spans SolidWorks, Fusion 360, FEA/CFD simulation, embedded C/C++, PCB layout, and rapid prototyping (FDM, SLA, CNC). I believe the best engineering happens when disciplinary boundaries dissolve.

— Projects Completed
— Grad Year
— CAD Models Built

Stats coming soon — this section is still being finalized.

Completed
STIK-eNote — product render showing the clamshell device open with TFT display and keyboard

STIK-eNote

A Pocketable E-Paper Task Tracking Device

STIK-eNote is a pocketable, clamshell task tracker built around the ESP32-S3. The core idea: a distraction-free device that is always in your pocket and always showing your priorities at a glance — no phone, no laptop, no notifications.

When the lid is closed, only the ePaper display remains active, cycling through tasks and events at near-zero power draw. Opening the clamshell wakes the system via a Hall effect sensor in the hinge, bringing up a 1.8″ TFT color display and a full QWERTY keyboard for editing — then cuts them again the moment the lid closes. Firmware runs end-to-end on FreeRTOS with a custom dual-core split and KiCad PCB.

  • ESP32-S3 (N16R8)
  • ePaper + TFT Display
  • FreeRTOS / Arduino
  • KiCad PCB Design
  • I²C / SPI
  • Hall Effect Sensing

Last updated:

Project Details

Dual Display

A 2.13″ GDEQ0213B74 ePaper panel shows a persistent task list at effectively zero standby power. A 1.8″ ST7735S TFT activates only when the device is open, rendering from a sprite buffer for flicker-free UI on a slow SPI bus.

FreeRTOS Dual-Core Split

Core 0 polls the keyboard and pushes keystrokes onto a FreeRTOS queue. Core 1 blocks on that queue, runs the state machine, and triggers display rendering. Neither core can stall the other — critical given how slow SPI display writes are.

5 V Boost & Level Shifting

A TPS613222ADBVR synchronous boost converter steps the LiPo voltage up to a stable 5 V rail, then an XC6206P332MR-G LDO drops to 3.3 V for all logic. Two BSS138 N-channel MOSFETs form a bidirectional I²C level shifter so the 3.3 V ESP32-S3 can talk to the 5 V CardKB without damage or signal corruption.

Hall Effect Wake Circuit

A DRV5032FADBZR linear Hall effect switch in the hinge detects lid open/close. An RC differentiator converts the level change into a rising-edge pulse for the ESP32's wake pin — preventing the wake line from holding high while the lid stays open, which would block auto-sleep from working.

Circuit Schematics

Five-sheet KiCad schematic organized by subsystem: top-level ESP32-S3 routing, power path (boost, LDO, charger), USB-C input, peripheral connections, and I²C level shifting. Made for EDES 301, Rice University. Click any sheet for a closer look.

Top-level KiCad schematic showing all subsystems and their interconnections
Sheet 1 — Top Level · All subsystems and their interconnections.
KiCad schematic showing the power circuitry: battery charging, boost converter, LDO regulator, and lid switch
Sheet 2 — Power Path · Battery charging, boost converter, LDO regulator, and lid switch.
KiCad schematic showing the USB-C connector and power delivery configuration
Sheet 3 — USB-C · USB-C connector and power delivery configuration.
KiCad schematic showing the ESP32-S3 pin connections to all peripherals
Sheet 4 — ESP32-S3 · Pin connections to all peripherals.
KiCad schematic showing the BSS138 bidirectional I2C level shifting circuit
Sheet 5 — I²C Level Shifting · BSS138 bidirectional level shift circuit.

Power Path

An 800 mAh LiPo feeds a TPS613222ADBVR synchronous boost converter (battery voltage → +5 V), then an XC6206P332MR-G LDO (+5 V → +3.3 V) supplies all logic. A TPB4056A20-ES1R handles single-cell LiPo charging from USB-C with two 5.1 kΩ CC resistors configuring it as a 5 V sink.

Independent SPI Buses

The ePaper uses FSPI (SPI2, pins 5/6/7/15/16/17). The TFT uses HSPI (SPI3, pins 8/9/10/11/12/13). Keeping them on separate buses was mandatory — shared bus caused consistent failures during early bring-up due to conflicting timing assumptions in the display libraries.

Bidirectional I²C Level Shifter

Two BSS138 N-channel MOSFETs handle SDA and SCL independently. Each channel carries 10 kΩ pull-ups on both voltage sides. The classic open-drain MOSFET topology provides reliable bidirectional translation with minimal propagation delay.

Hall Effect Wake Circuit

A DRV5032FADBZR linear Hall effect switch detects the lid magnet. An RC differentiator converts the switch's output level-change into a brief rising-edge pulse for the ESP32's wake pin. Without it, a held-high wake pin blocks the auto-sleep behavior.

PCB Design

The 3.5″ × 2.0″ KiCad PCB consolidates everything alongside LiPo space constrained by the keyboard footprint. Pin assignments were forced by display library requirements with no GPIO matrix remapping, so trace crossings go via vias between layers. All passives are 0603; all ICs are SOIC or SOT-23 for hand solderability.

Bill of Materials (48 parts total)

Reference(s) Qty Value / Part DigiKey P/N Description Notes
Capacitors
C1, C2, C10, C11410 µF1276-1192-1-NDCAP CER 10UF 10V X5R 0603
C3, C4, C6, C9, C1251 µF1276-1184-1-NDCAP CER 1UF 25V X7R 0603
C514.7 µF490-7203-1-NDCAP CER 4.7UF 25V X5R 0603
C710.1 µF311-1344-1-NDCAP CER 0.1UF 50V X7R 0603
Resistors
R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R9, R1771 kΩ311-1.00KHRCT-NDRES 1K OHM 1% 1/10W 0603
R6, R825.1 kΩ311-5.10KHRCT-NDRES 5.1K OHM 1% 1/10W 0603
R10, R11, R12, R13410 kΩ311-10.0KHRCT-NDRES 10K OHM 1% 1/10W 0603
R161100 kΩ311-100KHRCT-NDRES 100K OHM 1% 1/10W 0603
Inductors
L112.2 µH445-6638-1-NDFIXED IND 2.2UH 1.3A 154 MOHM
Diodes / LEDs
D11BAT41ZFILM497-5558-1-NDDIODE SCHOTTKY 100V 200MA SOD123
D21LED RED160-1447-1-NDLED RED CLEAR SMD 0603
D31LED GREEN160-1446-1-NDLED GREEN CLEAR SMD 0603
Transistors
Q5, Q72BSS138BSS138CT-NDMOSFET N-CH 50V 220MA SOT23-3
Connectors
J11LiPo Connector—LiPo Battery ConnectorCustom footprint
J21UJ20-C-H-G-SMT-1-P16-TR900-2171750001CT-NDCONN RCP USB2.0 C 6POS SMD RAUSB-C Receptacle
Switches
S11450404015514732-13665-1-NDSWITCH SLIDE SPDT 0.3A 5V
SW11Boot—Membrane Push Button — BootAliExpress
SW21RST—Membrane Push Button — ResetAliExpress
ICs & Modules
U11TPB4056A20-ES1R5503-TPB4056A20-ES1RCT-NDLINEAR BATTERY CHARGER 1 CELL 8-ESOP
U21DRV5032FADBZR296-47765-1-NDMAGNETIC SWITCH OMNIPOL SOT23-3
U31TPS613222ADBVR296-50503-1-NDIC REG BOOST 5V 2.5A SOT23-5
U414-Wire Connector—4-Wire ConnectorCustom footprint
U51XC6206P332MR-G893-XC6206P332MR-GCT-NDIC REG LINEAR 3.3V 200MA SOT23
U61ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R85407-ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8CT-NDRF TXRX MODULE BT PCB TRACE SMD
U7, U828-Pin Header—8-Pin Through-Hole HeaderCustom footprint
External Modules
U_LCD1ST7735S 1.8″ TFT—1.8″ 128×160 SPI LCD Display Module (ST7735S)Amazon · B0F1C8X7D8
U_EPD1GDEY0213B74—2.13″ ePaper Display with Adapter BoardAliExpress
U_KB1CardKB v1.1—M5Stack CardKB v1.1 — Full QWERTY I²C keyboardM5Stack · SKU: U035-B
Mechanical
—19028469-1028-NDMAGNET 0.236″ DIA × 0.098″ THICK CYLNo schematic ref
Total Quantity 48

Selected Work

A selection of engineering and design case studies — from concept through fabrication. Each card links to a detailed breakdown.

Project Updates

Short dispatches from the workbench — progress notes, design decisions, and lessons learned.