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.