Educational TV · A+ Kids TV
Gadget Engineer
The companion series to the Gadget Engineer kits: each episode demonstrates a build step by step, so learners can follow along at home.
Engineering × Education
ChamathKandambi.
I build robots and machines. It started with my own CoreXY 3D printer as a teenager; since then I've worked on factory automation, a vision-guided delta robot, an agricultural rover, custom printed parts and software platforms for industry and government, alongside the kits, workshops and TV that help others learn to build.
How I work“Build the system. Make it understandable. Leave room to experiment.”
MPE Swinburne University of Technology
Highlights
Selected moments · 2016 → 2026Projects09
Industrial work first: factory machines, robotics, controls and platforms for companies, clients and government, followed by the education work. Each project shows the problem, the solution, what the organisation gained and what I did; open a case study for the full story.
- 20+industrial projects I've contributed to
- 11,000+test records in the Sutton Tools platform
- 24toothbrushes cut in about 5 seconds by a machine I helped design
- 500+STEM kits produced and sold in 2024–2025, from 40+ designs
- 30+colleagues worked with across 360 Labs projects
- 5,000–6,000students I estimate I taught, 2019–2024
Loading projects…
More to come
20+ industrial projects, with more case studies on the way. I've contributed to more than 20 industrial projects. The projects here are a selection, and more case studies are being added.
Journey
From maker to mentorWatch
The work, on screenTV & STEM education
TV programme · Trailer
Maker Space
The trailer for the Maker Space TV programme.
STEM Factory · Short
STEM Factory
A short video about STEM Factory and its hands-on STEM learning.
Feature · eLearning.lk
Let's raise an intelligent child
An eLearning.lk feature on STEM education with Sanjaya Elvitigala, STEMFactory.io and 360 Labs.
STEM education · 360 Labs
Robotics & AI: The Tech Talk
A 360 Labs live session on robotics, AI and STEM education.
Interview · Cinnamon Chat
STEM and entrepreneurship for kids
A Cinnamon Chat conversation with Nethila about STEM and entrepreneurship for kids.
Interviews & talks
Interview · eLearningLK
Sri Lankan 3D printer inventor
An eLearningLK interview about the CoreXY 3D printer I designed and built on my own.
Interview · eLearningLK
3D printing the Lotus Tower
Explaining how the Lotus Tower would be 3D printed on my locally made printer.
Interview · Royal College Young Inventors Club
Being innovative as school students
A UNIQ interview for the Royal College Young Inventors Club on being innovative as school students.
Interview · Business Advisor
Engineering and product development
A conversation about the engineering and entrepreneurial journey behind 360 Labs and its educational products.
Podcast · SL VLOG
A conversation about the journey
From building a printer at school to teaching thousands of students. Starts at the relevant section, 15:29.
Interview · Venin Talks
An education system stuck in a frame
A Venin Talks interview on why the education system is stuck in a frame.
Education & Experience
Study · Industry · SkillsMaster of Professional Engineering
Swinburne University of Technology
Mechanical and Production Engineering, graduated August 2026. An Engineers Australia accredited course that added formal depth to years of hands-on building and teaching.
BSc (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
SLIIT
The engineering fundamentals behind the machines, kits and workshops: mechanics, design, manufacturing and systems.
CAD & Fabrication
SolidWorksFusion 360CreoAutoCADDrawings & BOMsTolerancingDesign for assemblyFEA: SolidWorks Simulation & ANSYSFDM & MSLA printing3D scanning & reverse engineeringLaser-cut parts
Electronics, Controls & Software
Arduino / Portenta H7ESP32Raspberry PiC++PID controlCAN busRS-485LinuxCNCOperator interfacesJavaScript / TypeScriptReactPythonFirebase
Workshop & Teaching
Prototype assemblyFault findingRoot-cause analysisSafe production practicesClient & supplier communicationWorkshop designRobotics educationTeacher trainingEducational TVPublic speakingTeam collaboration
Experience
2025 →
3D Printing & CAD Design Specialist · Print Raid
Melbourne, Nov 2025 – present. Reverse engineering replacement parts from samples, scans and photogrammetry; FDM and resin printing, fit checks, and materials, cost and lead times agreed with customers.
2026
Engineering Industry Project · Sutton Tools
Through Swinburne. A React and Python test-data platform replacing Excel analysis of more than 11,000 torque and thrust records, handed over to the R&D team.
2024 – 25
Production Staff · Ital Biscuits Co
Campbellfield VIC, Jun 2024 – Dec 2025, casual. Australian food manufacturing, following safety and quality procedures across production shifts.
2021 – 23
Automation Engineer · Phoenix Industries
Sri Lanka, Nov 2021 – May 2023. Progressed from intern through engineering trainee to Automation Engineer, supporting the design, assembly, embedded control, testing and troubleshooting of robotic and factory automation systems.
2018 – 24
Founding Member & Engineering Lead · 360 Labs
360 Innovations and Business Solutions and 360 Labs, Sri Lanka, Oct 2018 – May 2024, part-time during studies; Lead Project Engineer 2023 – 2024. Automation and STEM projects from client requirements through prototyping, testing and handover.
Soft skills
Proven on real projectsHow I work with teams, deadlines, clients and responsibility, and the work that shows it.
360 Labs · Sutton Tools
Leading and working in teams
I was a founding member and Engineering Lead at 360 Labs, and Lead Project Engineer in 2023–2024, collaborating with more than 30 colleagues across projects. At Swinburne, I worked in a team that delivered the Sutton Tools platform.
360 Labs · Sutton Tools
Planning and meeting deadlines
At 360 Labs I coordinated tasks and deadlines using Microsoft Project. On the Sutton Tools industry project, our team went from Excel-based analysis to a working platform, handed over with documentation, in three months.
360 Labs · Print Raid
Owning the work, end to end
At 360 Labs I delivered automation and STEM projects from client requirements through prototyping, testing and handover. At Print Raid I take each job from the scan to the final fit check, and agree materials, cost and lead times with the customer.
Phoenix Industries · 2021 – 2023
Trusted with more responsibility
At Phoenix Industries I progressed from intern through engineering trainee to Automation Engineer in 18 months, working on machines that went onto the factory floor, including the delta robot and the toothbrush runner cutter.
Phoenix Industries
Finding the root cause
When the delta robot's kinematic setup was off, we traced it to play in the universal joints and the machining tolerances, then fitted higher-precision joints from Japan. When COVID-era import delays affected the toothbrush cutter, we built it on a T-slot frame from available components.
Print Raid · Client work · Phoenix
Working with clients and suppliers
I refine designs with Print Raid customers through physical fit checks, and I prepared assemblies, drawings, a bill of materials and FEA for a wheelchair client seeking investment. On the delta robot, we sourced higher-precision joints from Japan.
TV · Interviews · ICSBE 2023
Explaining technical work clearly
I've explained my engineering on television, in interviews, in public demonstrations and as a speaker and panellist at ICSBE 2023. I write step-by-step guides, like the QR-linked Gadget Engineer guides, so people can build and troubleshoot on their own.
STEM Factory · TechSpark · Sutton Tools
Teaching and handing over
I estimate I personally taught 5,000–6,000 students between 2019 and 2024, ran training sessions for teachers so the learning could carry on, and mentored small groups at camps. Our Sutton Tools platform was handed over to the R&D engineers with documentation.
Ital Biscuits · Factory floors
Safety and quality in production
In Melbourne I worked in food manufacturing at Ital Biscuits, following safety and quality procedures and collaborating across production shifts. In Sri Lanka I supported assembly, testing and troubleshooting on the factory floor.
Recognition
Awards · Media · SpeakingAwards & exhibitions
2019
Venture Engine: Finalist
Project 360 at the 7th Venture Engine finale. Daily News ↗
WAVE
2nd place
School (Individual Competition) Stall category.
2018
Infotel 2018
Custom 3D printer exhibited at Sri Lanka's national ICT exhibition.
Television & media
Series
A+ Kids TV: Gadget Engineer
Educational series built around the Gadget Engineer kits.
2019
Sri Lanka Rupavahini
Wednesday Knowledge 1st, broadcast 23 October 2019.
TV
Channel One: Tech Tips
Technology segment appearance.
TV
Maker Space
TV programme, with a published trailer.
Online
eLearningLK
Interviews on the CoreXY printer and 3D printing the Lotus Tower.
Online
Business Advisor · SL VLOG · Venin Talks · Cinnamon Chat
Interviews about the engineering and education journey.
Speaking & schools
2023
ICSBE 2023, Kandy
Speaker and panellist at The Kandy Conference, 15–17 December.
2024
Trinity College Kandy
Named in the school's AI workshop report. Read ↗
2024
gapHQ workshop
Integrating Robotics with 3D Puzzles, a capacity-building session.
Talk
Royal College Young Inventors Club
UNIQ interview: Being Innovative as School Students.
Archive—
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Contact
Melbourne, AustraliaHave a product, a classroom or a robot that needs building? Let's talk.
Open to mechatronics, robotics, automation, mechanical engineering, product development and STEM education roles and collaborations.