POVENDHAN A P
BAJA
A Real Success
HOW TOÂ DESIGN ANDÂ MANUFACTURE, COMPETITIVE ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES?
I lead a team of 25 engineering students to engineer and compete in Asia's largest automobile competition.
CONTRIBUTION
Team Captain
Powertrain Engineer
Business team lead
SKILLS
CAD
Engine
Gear system
OUTCOME
Off-road car
25th among 500 teams
8th in Business Plan
THE PROBLEM
The problem was to commercially design, engineer, and race an all-terrain vehicle so as to serve as a prototype for a hypothetical firm that intends to manufacture the overall optimal model of an all-terrain vehicle.
ALL_TERRAIN_BUGGY
Rugged | Power | Endurance
Multiterrain | Engineering | All wheel drive
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UNDERSTANDING TECHNOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY AND CHALLENGES
The challenge is to engineer every sub-system with the best quality and to ensure they work together well at the system level.
ROLL CAGE
Truly Top-Notch
The roll cage is an important aspect of structural integrity and also serves as a crucial element for driver safety. lightweight high strength Al circular tubes are chosen which are subjected to multiple crash and FE analysis.
SUSPENSION
Only the Best
Air suspensions with shock absorbers are used to minimize the impact of ground reaction on the vehicle. In order to allow for a wide range of vertical motion due to bumps. They act as independent suspension and perform well in flattening the bumps even at high speeds,
POWER TRAIN
Outstanding Quality
Graphs illustrating vehicle characteristics were created for a variety of speeds.
The transaxle was designed in Inventor and analyzed in Ansys. A hybrid transmission power train arrangement was designed. The torque and RPM were used to compute the drive shaft diameter. Manufacturing procedures and manufacturers for both transaxle gears and casings were finalized in-house.
STEERING AND WHEELS
Intelligent
A lead screw and rack steering which is placed ergonomically considering the safe emergency evacuation of the driver is used. The height and the angle of the steering is customized according to the drivers comfort and the 95th percentile human dimensions.
MANUFACTURING
Outstanding Quality
The entire vehicle from design to manufacturing is done in-house by the team. CAD, analysis, engineering drawings, CNC, welding, lathe, and assembly is done by us. Saftey and precautions were followed through the entire process.
VEHICLE QUALITY SCRUTINY
Vehicle safety and performance are tested across static and dynamic events prior to the final race. This is a very stringent selection process where statistically 1/3rd of the participating teams are disqualified.
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The following section shows the 4 static and 5 dynamic inspection events.
BAJA VEHICLE
TECHNICAL INSPECTION
Truly Top-Notch
All vehicles competing in the race must pass through Tech Inspection. The vehicles are checked by inspectors to make sure that teams adhere to the rules and safety standards set by SAE. It consists of five stages and the vehicles are allotted a total of three stickers for the critical stages: one each after engine, technical and maneuverability evaluation.
DESIGN EVALUATION
Only the Best
Teams defend/explain their vehicle design during Design Judging. A Design Report and Spec Sheet are submitted before race weekend. Judges at the event review these reports. Students will be graded on their abilities to create design specifications, computer-aided drafting, analysis, testing, development, maneuverability, serviceability, system integration, and how the vehicle performs as a whole. The vehicle that best uses engineering to satisfy design goals and team members' comprehension of the design will win.
COST EVALUATION
Outstanding Quality
The cost report contains an overview (optional), costing sheets, and cost documentation. The optional overview allows each team to highlight novel design ideas or fabrication procedures that will save money. Costing sheets are the report's heart. This part must contain a one-page subsystem summary. The Cost Paperwork comprises copies of receipts, invoices, online prices, or other documentation to support the expenses of any purchase over 200 INR. Comprehensive, well-documented, truthful, and accurate reports are anticipated.
BUISNESS PRESENTATION
Intelligent
The team must convince a panel of judges acting as company officials to buy their Baja car design and manufacture 4000 each year. The 10-minute presentation is followed by a 5-minute Q&A.
1. The presentation's content
2. Presentation layout
3. Visual aids
5. The team's answers to the judge's queries.
The team's score is the average of the judges'.
ACCELERATION
This event is to measure the linear acceleration of the vehicle. The event is a 30.48 m (100 ft) or 45.72 m (150 ft) straight run from a standing start. The faster the time the more points the team will score. Every team can make two attempts with the best time counting for score. The track surface may be concrete/ asphalt/ pavement or even loose dirt. Vehicles with acceleration times that are more than 1.5 times that of the fastest vehicle will not receive a score for this event.
BRAKE TEST
This event is to ensure that the emergency breaks are capable to stop within a reasonable breaking distance. The vehicle is accelerated to the maximum limit and braked at the 200 m finish line to check the distance distance at which the vehicle comes to a haul.
STEERING
Specialty Events are intended to put the vehicle through its paces in unusual off-road conditions that may be accessible at specific Baja SAE competition sites. Specialty events include Rock Crawl, Mud Bog, and Suspension. Specialty events will be advertised when registration for a competition opens. On-site, teams will be educated on the event description, process, penalties, and scoring system.
MANEUVERABILITY
Maneuverability tests each vehicle's handling on Baja terrain. The course may include tight corners, pylon maneuvers, ruts and bumps, drop-offs, sand, boulders, gullies, logs, and inclines. Each car gets two runs, with the best time including penalties counting. Only vehicles that finish the maneuverability course in 2.5 times the fastest vehicle's time will be scored.
HILL CLIMB
This event puts the vehicle's ability to generate surplus force to the test by having it climb an incline from a standing start or pull a selected object (traction). If the vehicles are unable to complete the route, the total distance traveled serves as the judging criterion. Each team has two attempts, with the best time or distance determining the score.
RACE DAY
4 HOURS ENDURANCE RACING
The endurance event tests each vehicle's ability to run continuously and quickly over hard terrain in any weather. Time or distance can measure endurance. Timed endurance competitions last 4 hours. Endurance races continue until at least one car reaches the distance. The endurance starting grid will be based on each team's performance in a previous dynamic event or set of dynamic events. Colored command flags indicate intentions. Scoring is based on (a) the number of laps a team completes and (b) the finish positions or order of the vehicles. Top 10 vehicles on the leading lap will receive bonus points according on finish order.
