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SAE sponsored engineering club led by students.
From 2021 to 2023 I participated in Baja SAE, an intercollegiate engineering design competition organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) where students design, build, and race a rugged, single-seat, off-road vehicle.
Over 100 teams compete to simulate real-world engineering challenges, creating vehicles that can withstand rough terrain, steep hills, and endurance racing.
Competitions consist of static events (design review, cost report, and sales presentation) and dynamic events (acceleration, maneuverability, hill climbs, and a 4-hour endurance race).
For the 2023 season I was chosen to be the Steering System Lead, where I led a small group of peers by assigning weekly tasks and frequently mentoring in machine shop and engineering software use.
Overmolded Steering Wheel
6061 aluminum was used for the main frame of the steering wheel. This was cut using a waterjet. Inner grips were created with two pieces of 3D printed PET-G and screwed to either side of the aluminum frame. The two mold halves were machined from Delrin and clamped together before a two-part polyurethane was mixed and poured in for the overmold. Cured the assembly at room temperature.
Accelerator Pedal
My first project for Aztec Baja was also the first part I ever programmed and machined for CNC! I paid homage to classic hot-rods and buggies by modeling it in the shape of a foot.
I used SolidWorks to design the part and HSMWorks to do the tool pathing. The part was milled using a HAAS machine and was completed with two separate jobs.
The first job consisted of five operations using four different end mills that shaped the lobes, outlined the foot, and drilled a hole to center the origin on the second job. The half-milled part was then flipped over and gripped in the vise by the lobes with a square piece of aluminum between either lobe to prevent bending.
The top face was then finished with three operations and three different end mills.
The holes for the guide pin were drilled manually using the ProtoTRACK. I utilized a peck drilling technique to more efficiently evacuate the chips and was able to cut through both lobes in the same vise setup. A reference drawing without manufacturing tolerances is also shown below.
Placements
Baja SAE Tennessee Tech
May 12th, 2022
15th overall (out of 93)
6th in Endurance
Baja SAE Arizona
September 29th, 2022
8th overall (out of 88)
1st in Suspension, 10th in Endurance
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