Buggy
ask me more about buggy it is my favorite thing to talk about
ask me more about buggy it is my favorite thing to talk about
Buggy is a competition where students build and race carbon fiber gravity racers through a 2 mile course. There is a human driver that steers the buggy through several tight turns at speeds of up to 40+ mph.
As a mechanic I work on building the buggies and maintaining our existing fleet. I also push hill 5 (the final stretch) on race day.
This year I am the build lead for my buggy team, Apex. I am in charge of planning, designing, and executing our newest buggy build (Kerosene!). Last year, the main focus was transitioning from carbon fiber wet layups to VARTM (vacuum assisted resin transfer molding). Because we had no institutional knowledge of VARTM, we had to research and prototype the process. This year, we worked on refining the process to work better with a variety of materials, and redesigned the steering and back axle.
My responsibilities include running prototypes and tests optimize the carbon fiber shell for strength and weight, and designing the steering/brakes. In addition, I train new mechanics to serve as a "pit crew" during races.
Relevent skills:
composites
CAD
team management
design
FEA analysis
(formerly Project Chimera)
My team's buggies!