Tejas Patel
Tejas Patel
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The bench

The making around the case studies, and the things that never got one: boards, sketches, test pieces, CAD and photographs, newest first, each with a date and where that date comes from.

ElectronicsMaterial studiesSketchesCAD studiesRendersPhotography

key
struck out: Struck through marks something that didn’t work or isn’t true. The note says what happened.
pictures
Photographs, unless the caption says drawing, CAD or video still.
entries
20 from Nov 2018 to Oct 2026
dated by
EXIF, file name or signature, or as the entry says. The tick opens the source.
file date
When the file was saved
year only
Sits at the top of its year
updated

2026

2 entries

  1. A pen sketch on a white card on a wooden table: the letters of my name drawn as a face, an e and an a for the eyes and a curl of hair on top, with Tejas written above and an arrow pointing to it.

    My mark, in pen

    Pen on card

    The letters of my name drawn as a face, with the e and the a for eyes. The same day a script, built with Claude, traced it and inked it with a pen-pressure line, and the face in the corner of this site grew out of it.

    dated by File namewhere it comes fromresearch/identity/maker-mark-sketch-2026-10-20.jpg; research/identity/README.md (sketched by hand; traced 20 Oct 2026 by tools/trace.py and inked by tools/ink.py, scripts built in a Claude session, commit 5e1fb81 co-authored with Claude; the face in the corner of this site adds hair, a moustache, a smile, beard hatches and a collar to the sketch)claims ledger LB-02

    More in Sketches

  2. A sketch model of a handheld case made from a clear plastic box: eight holes in four rows of two for the keys and a rectangular window cut for the screen, lying on a black phone case.

    eight holes, for the keys

    a window for the screen

    eight holes, for the keys

    a window for the screen

    A parts box, cut for eight keys

    Clear plastic box, holes and a window cut

    Eight holes cut for the Mini Cyberdeck’s keys, and a window cut for its two-inch screen.

    dated by File namewhere it comes fromThe photograph’s file name, 20260902_140817.jpg; the Mini Cyberdeck study (an ESP32-S3, a two-inch screen, eight keys; it describes the photo as a parts box with the holes cut and a window for the screen)claims ledger LB-03

    Read the Mini Cyberdeck study

2025

4 entries

  1. A hand holding a bare colour screen on its board, showing the Cosmic Knobulator menu with Discovery, Quiz and Story, wired to a knob, with a grey printed shell and a knob cap behind it.

    the working name, on its menu

    the working name, on its menu

    Cosmic Knobulator

    Bare colour screen, a knob, jumper wires

    Warp Drive’s working name, on the menu above Discovery, Quiz and Story. The same three modes are on the one that went on sale.

    dated by Photo EXIFwhere it comes fromPhoto EXIF, Galaxy S23 Ultra, 9 May 2025 (archive/wix/media/de9e58_5bb9e209…); project folder ~/Desktop/Projects/Cosmic Knobulator/; warp-drive/22 shows the same three modes on the blue unitclaims ledger LB-04 (with LE-06)

    Read the Warp Drive studyMore in Electronics

  2. A hand holding a two-inch ESP32-S3 touch board whose screen shows a live camera preview labelled LIVE, Touch to capture, framing a crumpled blanket.

    A camera with a touch screen

    ESP32-S3, two-inch touch screen, LVGL

    Touch to capture. The firmware went on to upload the picture and show a QR code for the link on its own screen.

    dated by File namewhere it comes from~/Desktop/Projects/ESP32S3CAMERA/20250411_132353.jpg (11 Apr 2025, the live preview only); README.md, 11 Sep 2025 (capture, Imgur upload, on-device QR code); file dates: apidocs.imgur.com.pem and qrcode.c, qrcode.h 15 Apr 2025, the earliest sketch copy with Imgur and QR code backup/ESP32S3CAMERA copy.ino 17 Apr 2025; ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-2-C.stlclaims ledger LB-05

    More in Electronics

  3. A palm-sized ESP32 console on its Snake title screen, the high score reading 65535, a joystick under my thumb and a USB lead plugged in.

    Snake on a palm-sized console

    ESP32, small TFT, joystick, vibration motor

    struck out: High score 65535, note: nobody scored that

    Four games on one board: Space Invaders, Flappy Bird, Snake and Breakout. The code reads the high score from two bytes it never sets to a starting value, so a fresh board shows what blank memory holds, 65535.

    dated by Photo EXIFwhere it comes fromPhoto EXIF 3 Apr 2025; Archive/ESP32 Game/ESP32_Game/snakegame.h:34-35 (reads two EEPROM bytes; they are written only when a score beats the stored one, :62-65, and no starting value is ever set), gamemenu.h:50 (four games), ESP32_Game.ino:24 (vibration motor on D9). That blank memory reads 0xFFFF, 65535, is inferred from the code; the photograph shows 65535claims ledger LB-06 (with LE-02, LE-04)

    More in Electronics

  4. A grey printed case holding an e-ink display against a desk edge, showing two habit cards: the first reads Medita, cut off, and the second, Exercise, runs past its own border.
    18 Mar, the earliest photo I have
    A black ESP32 board wired to the e-ink panel with coloured jumper wires and hot glue, held up in front of a monitor full of code and a keyboard.
    24 Mar, the panel and its ESP32

    An e-ink habit tracker

    ESP32, 2.13-inch e-paper, printed case

    struck out: Two habit cards side by side, note: Meditation lost four letters

    The case left Shapr3D on 17 March and an early layout was on the panel the next day. By the 24th it served its own web page for ticking habits off.

    dated by File nameswhere it comes fromArchive/Eink_Habit_Tracker/20250318_164825.jpg (the earliest photo in the folder; the screen reads Mar 18, 2025) and 20250324_140005.jpg; case shapr3d_export_2025-03-17_13h45m.stl; Eink_3d.ino.bak:132 (first habit, Meditation); Eink_Habit_Tracker.ino:22-23 (2.13-inch panel, GxEPD2_213_B74), :662-672 (a web page with +1 buttons)claims ledger LB-07

    More in Electronics

2024

1 entry

  1. A frosted cube lit from inside, colour washing across its faces from blue to pink, on a dark desk beside a soldering iron in its stand.
    video still

    A cube that changes colour

    Frosted cube, lit from inside

    Cycling blue, white, pink and green beside the soldering iron. This is a still from one of five short videos I took that evening.

    dated by File nameswhere it comes from~/Desktop/Projects/Archive/Videos/20240929_182825.mp4 to 20240929_183127.mp4 (five clips); the still is from 20240929_182900.mp4 at 12 sclaims ledger LB-08

    More in Electronics

2023

2 entries

  1. A cluttered soldering bench with an iron, a lamp and a reel of solder, and a swatch of mesh fabric with a few dozen round blue discs wired in a grid to a small board.

    the swatch

    the swatch

    Sensors and actuators on a fabric mesh

    Fabric mesh, sensors and actuators in a grid

    A swatch for a university project on anxiety monitoring and guided breathing, photographed on the soldering bench.

    dated by Photo EXIFwhere it comes fromPhoto EXIF, Galaxy S23 Ultra, 19 Nov 2023; Wix skills__technology, Wearable Technology ("sensors and actuators" in textiles; no LEDs are visible in the photograph)claims ledger LB-09 (with LE-11)

    More in Electronics

  2. Eight dot-matrix panels in two rows of four in a pale printed frame on a dark desk, one red pixel lit, a white USB lead plugged in at the top.

    Eight dot-matrix panels, one red pixel

    Dot-matrix panels in a printed frame

    A speculative game for friends playing at a distance, with five sensors. The eight dot-matrix panels sit in one printed frame.

    dated by Photo EXIFwhere it comes fromPhoto EXIF, Galaxy S23 Ultra, 13 Aug 2023; Wix skills__technology, Speculative Game Design (five distinct sensors, multiple dot matrix displays); the eight panels are counted on the photographclaims ledger LB-10 (with LE-12)

    More in Electronics

2022

1 entry

  1. The actuator test rig clamped to a bench edge with a yellow G-clamp: a black printed belt arm over a clear acrylic arm, stacked black gear stages with small springs, and loose printed gears on the bench.

    a G-clamp

    a G-clamp

    The actuator test rig

    Printed gears, acrylic links, a G-clamp

    My degree project at sysIDEA Lab, IIT Gandhinagar: a belt-driven arm with series elastic actuators, clamped to the bench edge for testing.

    dated by Photo EXIFwhere it comes fromPhoto EXIF, OnePlus, 4 Apr 2022 (archive/wix/media/de9e58_8648789a…); degree report, May 2022 (18 weeks from 17 Jan 2022, sysIDEA Lab, IIT Gandhinagar); content/work/robotics-actuator.mdx (printed gears and pulleys, clear acrylic links); the photographclaims ledger LB-11 (with RA-01, RA-02)

    Read the Robotics actuator study

2021

3 entries

  1. A hammered copper jar with a lid, lit from the side against a black ground, highlights catching on the hammer marks.

    A hammered copper jar

    Product photograph on black

    Lit from the side on a black ground, so the light catches the hammer marks. Finished in Lightroom, and 29 Oct is the day that file was saved.

    dated by File datewhere it comes fromMetadata of the original (archive/wix/media/de9e58_0e3f5dcb…): saved from Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.0 on 29 Oct 2021, so that is the date the file was saved; it has no camera EXIF, so the shoot date is not known. The original is named for a jarclaims ledger LB-13 (with LP-01)

    More in Photography

  2. A three-dimensional tessellation of timber pieces with mild-steel plates between them, standing on a timber bench.
    Timber and mild-steel plate
    A small wooden box with finger joints at its corners, on a timber bench.
    Finger joints, chiselled by hand
    A cigar holder: a block with three drilled holes bound with cord, and a stitched leather sleeve, on a timber bench.
    Buffalo leather and bamboo
    A carved wooden block with three bone-shaped wooden pieces set into it, marked with a sun, a sun and a moon.
    Carved wood, with moving parts

    Things I’d made by hand, on one bench

    Nikon D5600, one afternoon

    One afternoon with the camera, photographing things I’d made by hand. The tessellation is wood with mild-steel plate between the pieces, fitted to about half a millimetre, by my own account.

    dated by Photo EXIFwhere it comes fromPhoto EXIF: Nikon D5600, 23 Oct 2021, 14:04 to 15:46 (archive/wix/media originals); Wix skills__material for what each object is and the 0.5 mm precision (self-reported)claims ledger LB-12 (with LM-04, LM-10)

    More in Material studies

  3. Nine laser-cut dovetail test pieces in two rows on white paper, with pen notes on them: no offset, failed offset, 0.125 crossed through, 0.25 and 0.0.

    Dovetail tests for the laser

    Laser-cut board, pen notes

    struck out: Offset 0.125, note: crossed out on the piece

    Nine test joints to find the offset the laser needs for a tight fit, several with the value written on them. The CloroBot chassis plates were redrawn after this.

    dated by Photo EXIFwhere it comes fromPhoto EXIF, OnePlus, 15 Jul 2021 (archive/wix/media/de9e58_14835e31…); the notes are on the pieces; CloroBot deck, SunRobotics summer internship, Aug 2021 (the plates were redrawn after a round of test pieces)claims ledger LB-14 (with CB-03, CB-09)

    Read the CloroBot study

2020

5 entries

  1. Ideation sketches of a finger guard folded from card, headed 3 points of contact for better grip, with a warning note: band not very stable and restricts finger movement.
    drawing

    A finger guard folded from card

    Digital sketch

    struck out: A band to hold it on, note: not very stable

    Ideation for Pinchy. The note on the sheet says the band wasn’t stable and restricted finger movement, so it went.

    dated by Entry deckwhere it comes fromPinchy entry deck, Second Life of Packaging, 2020 (winner of the COVID-19 category, Inovora India Challenge, 17 July to 4 August 2020: Nirma University newsletter, Students page, fetched 29 Oct 2026); I have no date for the sheet, only the year, so it sits at the top of 2020; the note is on the sketch; the final design has no bandclaims ledger LB-15 (with PI-06)

    Read the Pinchy study

  2. A SolidWorks topology study of a flat, symmetrical part, its material shaded from Must Keep to Ok to Remove, with the colour key beside it.
    CAD

    Topology study for a light drone chassis

    SolidWorks topology study

    The software shades what has to stay and what’s ok to remove. I was trying my hand at generative design.

    dated by File datewhere it comes fromCapture11.JPG, dated 13 Aug 2020 (archive/wix/media/de9e58_bf563dd9…); the screenshot reads Topology Study 1, Material Mass, 0.01061 kg; Wix skills__3d (a lightweight drone chassis, trying generative design)claims ledger LB-16 (with LC-09)

    More in CAD studies

  3. A mushroom-shaped lamp of fibreglass mesh and epoxy resin, glowing amber from inside in a dark room.

    A lamp in fibreglass and epoxy

    FRP: fibreglass mesh, epoxy resin

    Fibreglass mesh laid up in epoxy resin, lit from inside. Shot at 0.6 seconds, f/5.6.

    dated by Photo EXIFwhere it comes fromPhoto EXIF: Canon EOS 1200D, 5 Jul 2020, 0.6 s at f/5.6; Wix skills__material, Lamp (FRP): fibre glass mesh and epoxy resinclaims ledger LB-17 (with LM-13)

    More in Material studies

  4. A hand holding a pocket sketchbook open over lily pads: pencil drawings of a lotus and a bud, the heading Fertility of Water lily, Day 1, arrows and notes, with a black pen in the gutter.

    A sketchbook over the lily pads

    Pencil and pen, pocket sketchbook

    Day 1 of drawing how a water lily opens, for the Nirma course Elements of Form and Spaces.

    dated by The course bookwhere it comes fromWaterlily book p.4 (Elements of Form and Spaces - 3D, Nirma, March 2020); the sketchbook pages are labelled Day-1 to Day-3claims ledger LB-18 (with WL-07)

    Read the Waterlily study

  5. Product sketches in pen and alcohol marker on loose sheets on a timber bench: a green hand vacuum, a drill, a spray bottle and a small appliance. The vacuum, the drill and the appliance are signed and dated 24/1/2020.
    24 Jan: a hand vacuum, a drill, a small appliance
    A marker rendering of a rolling case with three front pockets and a pull handle, signed and dated 21/1/2020.
    21 Jan: a rolling case

    Marker sketches, signed and dated

    Pen and alcohol marker

    Quick product sketches in pen and alcohol marker. I signed and dated most of them, which is how I know when.

    dated by Signed on the sheetswhere it comes fromSigned and dated in my hand: 21/1/2020 on the rolling case, 24/1/2020 on the hand vacuum, the drill and the small appliance (read at full size); the spray-bottle sheet’s own date can’t be read from the photographclaims ledger LB-19 (with LS-01, LS-04)

    More in Sketches

2019

1 entry

  1. Snow-capped mountains under a deep blue evening sky, cloud lying in the valley and a few lights far below.

    Mountains, twenty seconds

    Nikon D5600, 20 s at f/4, ISO 200

    A long exposure, late enough that the sky had gone deep blue and the cloud had settled in the valley.

    dated by Photo EXIFwhere it comes fromPhoto EXIF: Nikon D5600, 7 Jul 2019, 20 s at f/4, ISO 200 (archive/wix/media/de9e58_066e9ef7…)claims ledger LB-20 (with LP-01)

    More in Photography

2018

1 entry

  1. Two white plaster pieces side by side on a pale backdrop, a mould and a tile, each in low relief of hexagons and stars, one the inverse of the other.
    A plaster mould for tiles, with a tile beside it
    A hollow sphere of red clay with a round opening, on a white backdrop.
    A hollow sphere in red clay

    Plaster and clay, the same day

    Plaster of Paris; red clay from Morbi

    The mould makes tiles that tessellate. The sphere is hollow and rings when you strike it with a stick.

    dated by EXIF and file namewhere it comes fromPhoto EXIF on the plaster, OnePlus, 14 Nov 2018 (IMG_20181114_132226); the clay sphere has no EXIF, its date is from the file name of an edited copy, IMG_20181114_183018_edited; Wix skills__material (PoP mould for tessellating tiles; hollow sphere in red clay from Morbi that resonates when struck with a stick)claims ledger LB-21 (with LM-05, LM-07)

    More in Material studies