Nathaniel ParaisoMechanical Engineering

Nathaniel Paraiso

I’m a mechanical engineering student at Deakin University. I like working out why things behave the way they do, and then checking the answer a second way. Cars got me into engineering; structures, thermodynamics and CAD have kept me in it.

See the workAbout me

Just the rotating assembly, animated with Fusion’s Animate Joint Relationships. Turn the crank and the joints take the rods and pistons with it.

Fig. 01V6 engine · Autodesk FusionThe full build
Studying
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Mechanical
Team
Deakin University Solar Team (mechanical)
Based in
Geelong, Victoria
Right now
Into third year (2027 T1–2): Fluid Mechanics, Dynamics of Machines, Advanced Stress Analysis and more.

01Selected work

Projects, start to finish

All projects

University projects and things I’ve modelled for fun. Each one says what I did, what governed the result, and what I’d change next time.

StructuralT2 2026

Footscray Pedestrian Overpass

Final conceptual design of the steel deck framing, lift support frames and pad footings for an 82 m covered footbridge over a live railway. Every member was checked to AS 4100 by hand, then verified in SPACE GASS.

Continuous girder, 4 × 20.5 m spans
82 m
Continuous girder, 4 × 20.5 m spans
Peak member utilisation
0.91
Peak member utilisation
Hand calc vs SPACE GASS
≤ 0.15%
Hand calc vs SPACE GASS
No.NP-001
ContextSEJ201 Structural Design · Deakin University
Year2026
Read the case study

ThermofluidsT2 2026

Thermodynamics Lab Series

Five practicals on what it costs to move heat: a Peltier element, gas expansion, two vapour-compression rigs and a four-stroke engine. Recorded, reduced, uncertainty-checked, and honest about the two that went wrong.

Of Carnot, refrigerant side
82%
Of Carnot, refrigerant side
Thermal vs 1.022 Ω electrical
1.061 Ω
Thermal vs 1.022 Ω electrical
Practicals reported end to end
5
Practicals reported end to end
No.NP-002
ContextSEM202 Thermodynamics · Deakin University
Year2026
Read the case study

DesignT2 2025

Custom Garage Creeper

Three hand-drawn concepts for a better garage creeper, screened against eight design criteria, then the strongest two combined into one hybrid design and modelled in Autodesk Fusion.

Concepts sketched
3
Concepts sketched
Screening criteria
8
Screening criteria
Hybrid taken to CAD
1
Hybrid taken to CAD
No.NP-003
ContextMechanical design project · Deakin University
Year2025
Read the case study

SoftwareT2 2025

Oasis Wildlife Simulator

A C++ program that simulates 27 Australian animals month by month, season by season. It’s built on a three-level class hierarchy, and I traced 14 bugs back to their causes and fixed them along the way.

Classes in the hierarchy, three levels deep
10
Classes in the hierarchy, three levels deep
Animals across six species
27
Animals across six species
Bugs traced and fixed
14
Bugs traced and fixed
No.NP-004
ContextSEP105 Introduction to Programming for Engineers · Deakin University
Year2025
Read the case study

CADOngoing

CAD Studio

Personal models built in Autodesk Fusion to get faster and to understand how things go together: a V6 engine you can cut open, a ducted fan and a spark plug in section, a shift knob and a 14-inch wheel taken through to A3 drawings, a Ferrari 308 body in progress, and more.

Models and counting
21
Models and counting
No.NP-005
ContextPersonal work
Year2026
Open the studio

02How I work

Three habits I try to keep

  1. Check it two ways

    The overpass crossbeam, main girder and lift-frame truss were each calculated by hand, then modelled again in SPACE GASS. The biggest difference in the comparison tables was 0.15%.

    Evidence: Footscray Overpass →

  2. Find what governs

    The deck was controlled by deflection and pattern loading. The lift frame was controlled by a 500 kN rail-collision load, which put at least nine times the ultimate wind force into every member that resists lateral load.

    Evidence: Footscray Overpass →

  3. Own the misses

    Two of my five thermo labs went badly. Instead of hiding them, I used the recorded numbers to trace the problems: valve timing and incomplete venting in one, coarse temperature resolution and an uninsulated tank in the other.

    Evidence: Thermodynamics Lab →

03Toolkit

What I work with

Background & coursework

01

CAD & design

  • Autodesk FusionProficient
  • Rhinoceros 3DProficient
  • CATIAWorking knowledge
  • Autodesk RevitWorking knowledge
  • SketchUp & Blender
  • Hand sketching & orthographic drawing

02

Analysis & programming

  • SPACE GASS
  • AS 4100 steel design
  • Design loads: AS/NZS 1170.2 wind, AS 5100.2 collision
  • ANSYSCoursework
  • C & C++Coursework
  • Microsoft Excel

03

Hands-on

  • Vehicle inspection & fault reporting
  • Hand tools & mechanical assembly
  • Battery & wiper fitment
  • Modifying my own car
  • PC building (mine and friends’)

04

Lab & documentation

  • Technical reports
  • Uncertainty analysis (GUM)
  • Energy balances & cycle analysis
  • Word & PowerPoint
  • Adobe InDesign