Week 11

The results are in for the previous competition and the team did not do as they hoped. The car had some huge malfunctions and the team had to work arduously to try to fix the mistakes, but at the end due to a design flaw in the braking system the team wasn't able to pass the inspection and couldn't even race. They did however get 3rd in the business presentation of the vehicle, but it was a harsh failure in our design that ultimately put us out of the race. All of our hopes for the new car would have to wait till the next competition in June. The team plans to redesign the brake system so it wouldn't fail and hopefully we will have better luck at the next competition. It was a disappointing competition, but all they can do is make sure it doesn't happen at the next competition. Now the team is focusing on testing the new car more and more and to give another driver some experience behind the wheel because for the endurance part of the race there has to be a second driver to give the primary driver a break. This is the end of my senior research project experience and I wanted to thank the Baja team for letting me be a part of this club and teaching me so much I never could have learned without this experience. I wish them all the best in their future endevours.    

Week 10

It was the day before competition and we got a call saying we needed everyone to come in and finish the car. I rushed over to Polytechnic and when I arrived I saw a half build vehicle. The team was planning to head out the next day, but the team was in full rush to finish the car. This was the most people I had ever seen working on the car at once. When we arrived our first task was to sweep the whole shop and put away all the tools that people were not using. Then we had to use the vertical band saw to cut some pieces of scrap that they needed for the car. Part of the competition is for the judges to see the learning curve and the processes team's used to decide how to build a certain way, so part of this was to see how much force it took for us to break the welds on a 1 inch steel tube. We had to use the lathe to shape down a tube stock piece of steel to fit snugly inside the 1 in steel tubing so we could get the welding to break down. After completing this then we had to help the panels fit onto the new chassis because the measurements were taken from the old chassis and was slightly off on the new one. I also got to watch and learn how to weld a little as one of the team members Coleman was trying to weld the CVT cover together. The CVT served as a gearbox, but didn't have gears instead used a ramp system to move the car. The whole team was in a rush to get the car working for competition the next day and would defintely have to stay overnight to finish. This is what the car looked like when I left at 8 pm at night.

Week 9

Test, test, and more testing!!! With less then 2 weeks to go before competition the main focus was testing the car over and over. And by the end of the week to transfer all the parts over to the test car which would be ready by competition next week. This week we had to make sure that all the side panels lined up on the new car, so they could easily be installed later. This years car was faster then ever before and there was a lot of hope to do very well in the competition. There was so much work to be done some team members ended up sleeping on sleeping bags over night so they could work late and go to their classes in the morning. This took a lot of dedication to the club to balance their schoolwork with the club which could take up to 20 to 30 hours of their time per week. While at competition the students are responsible for making up all their class work and letting their teachers know that they will be gone. On the flip side the benefits of this club are enormous, polytechnic is known for being a hands on campus and this club is the perfect example. These students are responsible for building everything and they use what they learn in school and apply it in real life. This provides a hands on learning environment that allows students to learn at a much higher rate then just thinking about it theoretically. The way that the competition works is that there are 3 different competitions throughout the United States over the summer. There are different styles of testing such as the endurance race, the speed test, and also the business side of the car. The teams are scored and the team with the highest points is the winner. Last year the team placed within the top 10, but the car's performance degraded over the three competitions due to lack of durability and endurance. This year the team hopes the car is able to with stand the brutal track conditions and increase the car's performance over the races. The team takes of to Tenessee Valley next week to race in the first competition of the year!!! Wish them luck.  

Week 8

This week the new chassis finally came back from being painted meaning we could start testing the panels and see what changes need to be made. The new chassis was only 68 lbs and was the lightest chassis the team had ever built before. There were 2 weeks left before the competition and everyone was working to finish prepping. This week we had to make sure that all of the panels fit and that we had everything to go to competition. This involved making sure the trailer was cleaned out and everything we needed to go in the trailer was laid out. We attached the tow lines inside the trailer where everything could be strapped in nice and safely. This week the team took the car up into a dry riverbed and ended up flipping the car and broke the steering line that steers the car. The team had to make sure this wouldn't happen and had to make sure that they had plenty of spares in case it broke again. Also they blew out the rotor in the rear wheel because the screw was loose causing them to blow out the whole wheel. This is a reminder to always make sure everything is tightened. This week as all interns have to I had the privilege to sweep up the whole shop and make sure everything was put away properly. We are hoping to have everything ready to move to the new car by the end of this week as competition is just around the corner. This years car is noticeable faster and more agile than last years and hopefully that means we can preform even better than last years car.

Week 7

Time is of the essence and as competition is just around the corner the major emphasis was put on testing the car and finishing the new chassis. This week Nassim and I were assigned the task of removing the old foot box and making a new one for the competition chassis and car. The job of the foot box is to protect the driver's feet from being hit by an rocks that might get kicked up and to provide support for the drivers feet. To create the foot box we took the old one off and measured it on a piece of metal sheeting. Then we cut the metal using the shearing machine and used sheet cutters to cut out the inside of it. Then we had to use the metal bender to bend the notches into the foot box. It was a tedious and time consuming process and once we were finished we had to use the press so it would fit nicely in the role cage. After we had to drill holes where the rivets would be later placed in. This week the new chassis was supposed to be completed so it could be powder coated for the competition. The team took the car to the dessert for testing to see how the car would handle in the off road terrain. During testing the car performance was excellent and was considerably improved from last years, but there were still improvements that needed to be made. The team was falling behind their deadlines and had to work constantly throughout the nights just to keep up.

Week 6

With time winding down before our first competition everyone is working round the clock to make sure things are finished. This week the car was tested on the ASU dirt track and after just a few minutes the gearbox broke. We took the car back to the shop and after an evaluation there was serious damage to the gearbox and it would take 3 days to replace. While the car was out of order it was the perfect time to attach the pickup points onto the new chassis. These pickup points are the tabs where everything is attached to the main frame and by using this method it would save the team valuable time. The test chassis is the same design as the new one, but the new one will be lighter than the test chassis. The purpose of the test vehicle is to break the vehicle and notices what breaks and rebuild it stronger. While testing we found the rear tow links which help the rear tire retrain traction was taking a lot of impact and needed to be made stronger. This week I also got to use the plasma blaster which uses a really hot heat beam to melt metal which allows us to reuse broken pieces and weld it onto another piece.

This week the new chassis really came together and hopefully in the following week the new chassis will be completely done and ready to go. 

Week 5

As this is the 5th year that the ASU team will participate in the Mini Baja SAE race there are a lot of parts on the different cars that are reusable and make life easier. Our job this week was to strip the previous car and scrap it and re-use it for parts. This was very tedious work as we had to remove all the suspension, engine, brakes and brake lines, and everything else that could be taken out. We first removed the a- arm suspension which hold the tires on. These metal parts would be scraped and put into storage. Then we removed the brake lines which would be reused on the new car because they were already calibrated to roughly where they would need to be. Next we had to take off all the previous sheet metal and take apart all the rivets. Some of the sheet metal would be reused while other would be scraped because it was too damaged to be reused. The hardest part by far was taking out the engine. The engine was tricky because of all the little nuances that were attached to it. The engine would be put aside for another time. After the old vehicle was completely scraped we assessed what could be used and what couldn't. Then we attached the brake and brake lines to the new car. This week a lot of progress on the car was made and the car can be run. Although this car is almost finished this will not be the car that we will be racing. This car is the test car where all the flaws will hopefully be sorted out. Now the team must start to build a new frame for the actual car. Next week we hope to have the frame built for the new car,

Week 4

I was out of town the whole week, but the team continued to work on the vehicle. They put in the brake lines, the suspension, gas tank, and engine. The team is hoping to be able to have the car up and running in the coming week.

Week 3

As the car continues to come along the next thing that needed to be done was to fabricate all the side panels. In order to fabricate the side panels the sheet metal must be cut to the exact specifications. The easiest way to do this is to first cut the panels using cardboard material which is expendable and easy to work with. After tracing all the side panels with the cardboard then it was time to cut out the panels using sheet metal. Using the manual sheet cutter machine we cut out all the different panels for the car. Eventually the panels will be attached using rivets which are light weight, but provide maximize support. Due to human error the panels all won't line up exactly so we must use a grinder in order to shape the panels into the right size.

Grinder Machine

As this is a tedious process the panels are still being shaped and eventually riveted on. The other thing that we did this week was sandblast. The sandblast machine is used to removed rust off of metals and return the metals back to their original condition. The team has lots of materials that just sit around and gather dust, so the sandblaster is used when they need to use one of these materials.

Sand Blaster Machine

The Sand Blaster works like the idea of sand paper, but instead it sprays the sand from a high powered gun that works to remove rust. The Sand Blaster is an integral machine because if the metal were still rusty it wouldn't weld as well or be as strong. The team is working viciously to get the car ready because one of the most important parts is testing the car over and over. The car is starting to come together and take shape as everyday more and more vital systems are being placed inside.

What the current car looks like

Week 2

This week I helped create and weld the bumper of the car. The purpose of the bumper is to protect the vehicle from taking damage if a collision were to occur and as part of the SAE safety protocol a bumper is required for all vehicles. The bumper for our vehicle was made out of 1.25 inch steel tubing in order to conserve weight, but to maximize efficiency and strength. We started out by cutting a long piece of steel tubing using the band saw. The band saw is a very high powered saw used to cut tubing and uses liquid coolant to prevent the saw from overheating and to cut the tube more precisely. After this we had to use the coping saw to smoothen out the edges because the band saw although precise leaves very rough edges.

Coping Saw

 The coping saw leaves a smooth edge that provides the best surface to weld onto. Next we had to bend the metal into the shape of the bumper.

Tube Bender

We then had to angle both ends and make sure they aligned together. According to the Mini Baja SAE rules a 7/8 tube should be able to fit between the bumper and the main frame of the car. After making sure the bumper was up to regulation it was time to weld the bumper. Then the teams welder welded the bumper on and all that was left was to make sure it was up to par. Once the engineering lead checked that the bumper was good we were good to go.

Finished bumper

Week 1

At this point the frame of the car has been custom built by the team before I arrived for the project. In the following weeks we will continue to add crucial systems for the cars. The task assigned for me during the week was to create bushings out of a high strength plastic to use as a placeholder on the car to attach other parts such as the a arm suspension system. These plastic bushings are used to make sure the pieces fit and everything works and won’t be the actual material the bushings will made of. Eventually we will remake the bushings with a type of metal which will be used in the actual competition. The reason we use the plastic to prototype the design is because it is a lot easier to manipulate and shape, but has a huge flaw: it expands greatly in the presence of water causing the pieces not to function properly. We used lathes to fabricate these bushings and it is a slow time consuming process because we need to get the pieces into an exact size. This is the 5^th year the polytechnic team is participating in the competition and the team continues to grow every year. On Friday ASU Polytechnic had an open house for extracurricular activities and we had a great turnout for the Mini Baja SAE team. We were able to showcase previous cars to the public and they loved what we are doing. 

Introduction to the Mini Baja SAE Competition

Welcome to my blog my name is Arkesh Ravikanti, and I will be sharing my research experiences aboue the Mini Baja SAE over the upcoming weeks here.

What is the Mini Baja SAE Competition?

The Mini Baja SAE is an intercollegiate design competition that fosters innovation and creativity for students. It is a competition of skill and wits as colleges from all across the country race each other in a series of offroad events. This competition provides engineering students a chance to apply what they have learned in the classroom, and as well as deal with the practical problems such as funding and time management. The competition is run by the Society of Automotive Engineers who ensures a fair competition

My Goals

By the rules every single car racing in the competition must have the same engine meaning how fast the car goes is mostly based off how much the car weighs. I want to analyze how conscious the team is in using materials to reduce the weight and as well as what they do to combat the cost of these materials. The car must be able to withstand the pressures of the off terrain track as well as keep up with the competition. The right balance between strength, weight, and balance will provide the formula for the winning car. Last year the ASU team placed very well and we are hoping to repeat that success with a better more improved car this year.

What am I going to be doing?

I will be assisting the team by learning how to weld, bend metal, and create parts for the vehicle. By applying a hands-on approach, I will learn about mechanical engineering, gain different perspectives and provide insight and opinions on the car. I hope to provide a creative twist on the whole process.