Zac Simmonds
Mechatronics Engineer
Mechatronics Engineer
I'm a mechanical engineer by background, but my skill set spans both mechanical and electronic design. While I specialise in creating manufacturable, high-volume mechanical systems, I'm also proficient in PCB design and embedded firmware.
My real strength lies in blending the two, designing mechanical systems that are sympathetic to the electronics they work with, and vice versa. Sometimes I'm designing a locking mechanism, sometimes a control board/system, and often both.
Even when I'm only focused on one side, my understanding of the other always feeds into the design. A mechanical solution I create will naturally complement the electronic architecture, because I'm thinking about both from the start. That's where I bring the most value.
Mechanical Engineering
Electronics & Firmware
I designed the PCB and firmware for an advanced locking system. It used various sensors, including Hall effect sensors and detector switches, to control a geared motor, ensuring precise locking position control and secure status feedback.
The unit provided logic-level feedback and a photo relay output, making it compatible with third-party systems. It could receive commands via high/low signals or serial communication.
While the PCB was housed in a larger enclosure, my focus was on electronics and firmware. I also developed a system for in-field reprogramming using one-wire UPDI and a USB-C flashing tool, allowing users to update firmware easily.
This system has been deployed in industries like vending machines and DNA sampling kiosks, proving its adaptability and reliability.
I played a key role in this project, leading the mechanical design, prototyping, testing, DFM, and full-scale production of all components.
This included plastic injection moulded parts, sheet metal, die-cast, and turned components, ensuring a highly durable and manufacturable solution.
Alongside the mechanical work, I also designed the PCB and firmware, ensuring seamless integration with the system.
With custom firmware, auto-relock, and soft closure features, this latch sets a new standard for secure, durable, and adaptable locking solutions.
This wireless and BLE-enabled control node provides secure, remote access control without the need for hardwiring. It can operate as a standalone controller or as part of a mesh system, relaying control and feedback messages securely.
Designed for low-power operation, it can run on an internal battery and supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and encrypted communication.
I developed a standalone desktop application to provide a user-friendly interface for demonstrating and testing a USB and network-controlled device. Previously, demonstrations were done manually through serial commands in Tera Term, which was inefficient and difficult for non-technical users.
This tool was designed to streamline the process, making it easy for customers testing samples and sales teams showcasing the product.
This application transformed the way the product was demonstrated, making it more professional, efficient, and accessible.
Locklink (locklink.app) is the central hub for Camlock Systems' technical resources: firmware, documentation, configuration tools, and application support. Every product gets its own hub page with guides, specifications, videos, and part-number configurators, all in one place.
I solely designed, built, and manage the entire platform, a full-stack web application covering everything from the product configurators and search to hosting and deployment.
It has successfully helped customers adopt our products by simplifying integration, speeding up deployment, and improving onboarding, and now serves as the single trusted source customers rely on.
camcommand is a command-line tool and Python library I built for communicating with USB serial locking devices. It handles port discovery, line-based commands, an interactive mode, and multi-channel hub control, with sensible defaults that avoid common serial pitfalls like device resets on connect.
It also includes standalone firmware tools: reflashing devices over one-wire UPDI and dumping flash to Intel HEX for backup, with no extra dependencies beyond pyserial.
Published on PyPI as camcommand, it works on Windows and Linux and doubles as a library for scripting device control in Python.