Week 9: What is car

Hi y'all,

This was only a two-day, instead of three-day, week for me, because Thursday I had to take the afternoon off to go to an appointment. However, despite my not-so-crucial absence, the car is really coming along. The car is now solidly in the testing phase, with the eCVT, brakes, and suspension being tuned for optimal performance. There still is the issue of having the rollcage painted, which not only requires that we deassemble the car and take off the panel bushings, but also that we forfeit the car for three days to have it be stylized. It may turn out that we just use spray paint instead.

When I showed up on Tuesday, the team was getting ready to present their accomplishments in Baja to a group of distinguished ASU people, including the Fulton family, to whom the illustrious engineering school in Tempe is named. I got to observe the presentation to these people, and thought everyone spoke confidently about their role in the club. After that was finished, we rolled the cars back into the trailer, and got to work. We started by loosening the engine by taking out the throttle line, emergency stop wires, and CVT, and unscrewing the bolts on the bottom of the mounting plate, so that Louis could drill new holes for the engine mount to shift it over slightly and make more room for the CVT. If you remember from my second post, I helped calculate the engine placement and its effect on the center of mass of the car, so I think the new placement will cause the engine to be slightly off balance, but the effect is probably negligible. Later that day, I cleaned up the shop, and helped Stephen take off the brake calipers and rework the brake lining. Unfortunately, I left before I got to see the brakes being bled, which sounds like a cool process.

On Saturday, I started by putting the skid plate on underneath the car in preparation for a day of testing. Then, I did inventory on the numerous spare suspension parts that have accumulated from previous years. After that, I fabricated caps for the lower front links, which took up the bulk of my day. Then, I watched the vehicle, and specifically the eCVT, be tested in the grassy area outside of the Sim Building. It was interesting seeing code being written on the fly changing the way the vehicle was handled. In my eyes, its a testament to just how dynamic the car has become this year.

Here's a picture of the presentation, with the cars lined up in sequential order:



Until we meet next,
Max

Week 8: A Million Pieces

Hi y'all,

I am glad to report that this past week has been a huge success in terms of progress on the car and preparation for the competitions this summer. It appears that the team is on track to making their April 29 competition deadline for California and well into their initial testing and perfecting of the car. As there was some uncertainty as to whether the eCVT would be ready in time for competition, the old mechanical CVT was re-geared and put into the car. In addition, the electrical, drivetrain, chassis, and brakes subsystems all completed their "rough draft" stage and began to be tested. The most up-in-the-air element of the current car is whether the brakes will perform immaculately for competition; thus far we've seen the current master cylinders provide too much pressure and cause the wheels to lock up while attempting to decelerate. Hopefully, this issue will be resolved shortly.

Without further ado, let's get into what I worked on this week:

On Tuesday, I helped recycle the brake light from the old car (which, let's be honest, doesn't really need to be changed, provided that it works) by creating a new metal seat for it and desoldered the wires connecting it to the old car. The rubber lip that was supposed to fit between it and the cup was deemed to thick by our chief engineer to make it on to the car, so the brake light sits flush between the aluminum and the bulb.

On Thursday, I helped fabricate brass weights for the newly retooled mCVT. After getting the cylinder to the right diameter, the rod was cut into equal-sized pieces, filed on the edges, and turned down to be an integer multiple in weight.

On Saturday, I scrapped Gold for parts by taking off the battery holder and seat belt holder. Then, I witnessed the car being driven and the brakes being tested, and for the first time saw the fruits of many members' efforts. It was rewarding seeing parts I designed up and running on the car. Here is a sneak peak of what the car looks like:

Once again, until next time,

Max