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Specialized constructed an on-site wind tunnel to conduct research for their bicycling products.
I was on a 2-person intern team that led the manufacture of fan shrouds for the air handling system.
Specialized Wind Tunnel
Prior to building their "Win Tunnel," Specialized conducted aerodynamic testing for their bicycling products at 3rd party facilities that were expensive and time-constrained. So, they designed an on-site facility that, over time, would reduce both cost and time-to-market for new product development.
The tunnel's fan wall required contouring in order to improve efficiency, clean up the airflow, and provide a distinct visual background for the customer-facing test area.
Specialized recognized Cal Poly SLO's Human Powered Vehicle Club (of which I was a member) for having developed a rapid, high-quality, low-cost manufacturing method for composite structures. They hired two of us to spend our 3-week winter break designing and manufacturing the contoured fan shrouds.
My intern colleague, who was majoring in Aerospace Engineering, designed the fan shroud contours. I came up with a method to break the contoured wall into sections, and a scheme to mount sections to the fan wall.
I learned enough in ProE over the first few days that I was able to design the mold used to manufacture the shroud sections. An MDF frame held low-density foam blocks in place to form a quarter-section of a shroud.
We developed a manufacturing process, produced first articles, and trained other employees who had volunteered to finish production after we returned to school. The whole project took 7 weeks from start to finish.
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