OTIS MUSSER
Mechanical Engineering Student Kansas State University Expected May 2027
Design, fabrication, continuous improvement, and client satisfaction.
−45% weight
Enable lifting a 50 ft draper header by shop crane and angled chains, holding a 2.0 factor of safety.
Three design passes, from a small single-plate tube to the approved C-channel version — cutting weight from 141 to 77 lbs.
75+ products
Developed a proprietary configuration management system for B&T Industries' 75+ products and 1,000+ detail parts.
New part/assembly numbering, drawing formats, and file organization — rolled out using B&T's BT65 product as the pilot.
Brazil 2026
A new draper belt for the AGCO 9300 series header needed a larger front-edge lip to seal smaller South American grains.
Cutterbar and feathersheet geometry updated across all 25–50 ft models; new parts are in production in Santa Rosa, Brazil.
0.5–4.5V in
Translate a 0.5–4.5V tilt-arm position sensor reading on a header into a physical dial readout.
Prototype gauge and dial, actuated by a stepper motor and driven by a bench voltage regulator. Demo video inside.
7.5mm engagement
Worst-case tolerance analysis on the HD25C-to-IDEAL header interface, where the locking pin needed a minimum 6mm engagement.
Worst case showed only ~2mm of engagement; a lower guide slot adjustment raised it to 7.5mm.
Using an ESP32 module, sweep an ultrasonic sensor side to side and output the reading on the module display with a radar-style interface.
Radar display on the ESP32's screen — blue for empty space, red for a detected object up to 20 inches out from the sensor.
Dirt track
Make suspension, braking, and stance adjustments to a Modified-class dirt track car to enable the fastest possible lap times.
At Lucas Oil Speedway: diagnosed a corner-entry handling issue and corrected it with a wheel offset swap and equalized front spring rates — letting the driver stay on the throttle through the corner and drop lap times.
Engineering Design Intern — AGCO Corporation, Gold Harvesting Team
Hesston, KS · May 2025 – CurrentFreelance Contract Engineer — Musser Turbine LLC
Newton, KS · May 2020 – CurrentEngineering Intern — B&C Specialty Products
Newton, KS · Aug 2022 – Dec 2022Instructor — Tennis Coaching
Newton, KS · May 2020 – June 2023Kansas State University
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Enable lifting of a 50 ft draper header with a shop crane and angled chains while maintaining a factor of safety of 2.0. Built in high-strength steel sheet metal, tube stock, and basic hardware.
Three design versions were carried through review: Version 1, a small main tube with a single side plate; Version 2, a large main tube with a single side plate; and Version 3, a large main tube with C-channel members. Version 3 was approved for its manufacturability and low weight, adding a CG hook point, clevis hook points, and a lower tube lock.
The redesign cut bracket weight from 141 to 77 lbs — a 45% improvement over the previous design.
Develop an entirely new proprietary configuration management system for B&T Industries, covering 75+ products and 1,000+ detail parts across bipods, monopods, and other firearm components. Scope included a new part and assembly numbering structure (dash numbering system), new drawing formats, a new file organization system, and CAD model correction.
B&T now operates under its own proprietary configuration management system, with clear rules and standards for file structure. Using their BT65 product as the pilot, the new system lets B&T continuously migrate outdated products into the standard. Given the scope and complexity involved, this is planned as a multi-year initiative rather than a single-phase project — Musser Turbine has equipped B&T with an ongoing capability to progressively align its configuration management structure over time.
A new draper belt was developed for the AGCO 9300 series header with a larger lip on the front edge to improve sealing in smaller South American grains. Cutterbar and feathersheet geometry had to be modified to accommodate the change and maximize grain retention.
Part models, part drawings, and exploded-state assembly drawings were updated across all 25–50 ft feathersheet group models to reflect the sealing changes. New parts are being manufactured in Santa Rosa, Brazil this year.
Read a voltage input from a tilt arm position sensor on a header, ranging from 0.5 to 4.5V, and represent it on a physical dial.
A 3D-printed gauge and dial, driven by a stepper motor and actuated using a bench voltage regulator to represent the header's sensor input.
Analyze the worst-case tolerance scenario based on print tolerances and physical part measurements. The locking pin on the IDEAL interface needed a minimum engagement equal to at least half the receiving guide material's thickness (6mm), accounting for minimum interface width, minimum pin length, the lower guides' outermost slot position, and the maximum interface offset from center.
The worst-case analysis showed a minimum pin engagement of only ~2mm — well short of the 6mm requirement.
Solution: shifting the lower guide slots inward reduced outward slot travel and raised minimum pin engagement to 7.5mm. Upper-level assembly drawings were revised to reflect the change.
Using an ESP32 module, sweep an ultrasonic sensor side to side and output the reading on the module display with a radar-style interface.
A radar display on the screen of the ESP32: vertical lines are drawn from the radar center as the sensor sweeps side to side using a stepper motor, with blue representing empty space and red representing a detected object up to 20 inches out from the sensor.
Make the necessary suspension, braking, stance, and other adjustments to the Franz Racing Modified-class dirt track car to enable the fastest possible lap times.
Example — Lucas Oil Speedway, Wheatland, MO: the car wasn't holding enough angle through the corner at the appropriate entry speed, causing a loss of position. Possible related adjustments considered: left-rear and right-rear forelink bars, left-rear and right-rear max-extension chain, brake glider, right-front and right-rear wheel offset, and left-rear/right-rear spring rate and damping ratio.
Solution: based on racer experience and ease of modification, the right-rear wheel was swapped for a higher-offset wheel — reducing right-rear bite on corner entry — and the front spring rates were equalized, raising the right-front spring rate from 400 lb/ft to 500 lb/ft.
Result: a more aggressive angle through the turns, letting the driver stay on the throttle through the entire corner and drop lap times.
