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Written by Ryan Gryba
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Saturday, 07 August 2010 14:33 |
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The baja team arrived Tuesday, May 18 in Bellingham, Washington for the 2010 Mini-Baja competition, after 31 hours of driving. The first day of competition was Wednesday, May 19 which included the Sales Presentation as well as Engine Tech inspection.
Thursday, May 20 was tech day. The team got an early start to the day, arriving just after 7am. On the first pass through tech the team failed with respect the roll hoop bracing. Two braces had to be added to the front end of the car. The rest of tech went smoothly.
The team placed 7th in design, a feat never accomplished before by a UMSAE Baja car.
Next, the car was off to the brake test. On the first few runs they couldn’t get the brakes to lock up all the wheels, but after a few adjustments, they passed. This completed tech day, and the UMSAE #6 was one of less than 10 cars that passed tech the first day.
Friday, May 21 was dynamic day. The team arrived early to make ready for the dynamic events. They first took on the Hill climb, followed by manoeuvrability; they were the 3rd car to take a run on the course, and the 3rd car to push right off the track on an extremely tight off camber turn. Later on the course was changed and the UMSAE team was given another chance. The next event was acceleration. The team made their run, but felt it was fairly slow, seeing as the car was geared to accelerate quickly. This was one of the first instances where they start to suspect they had a lemon of a motor. Afterwards, came the rock crawl. Jamie Beatty went through the course with high speed and went into an obstacle too quickly. The car hit nose first into the ground from about 6 feet in the air and rolled. This required the team to have the frame rechecked, which it passed. After lunch, the team made a second attempt at the rock crawl. Jamie made it through all the obstacles intact. The team made another attempt at manoeuvrability, this time completing the course. After making adjustments to the car Jamie was able make it through the manoeuvrability course without hitting any cones and received zero time penalties. Another run was made at hill climb, this time with greater speed, and an even faster time.
After making further adjustments to the car the team called it a day, and packed up. Endurance day was Saturday May 22. Over 90 cars started; the grouping was 4 cars wide and over 20 rows deep, which made for an interesting start to the 4 hour endurance race. The #6 UMSAE car did well in the beginning. A throttle link bolt had loosened off, but was fixed during the first pit stop. It was at this point that the car began having engine trouble; Jamie had a tough time in the woops (tight rolling bumps) to keeping it running. He had to feather the gas to keep the motor from flooding out. The throttle backed off again, which required another pit stop to fix the problem. Aside from the throttle and engine issues the Endurance Race went smoothly, with the car remaining on the track most of the day. This concluded the 2010 SAE Mini-Baja competition.
The team celebrated Saturday night and departed on Sunday. After many fuel stops, they made it back to the U of M.The team placed 11th overall. A very good finish, however, the team hopes to improve the placing next year.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 07 August 2010 15:03 |
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Written by Ryan Gryba
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Thursday, 10 June 2010 20:09 |
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Last Updated on Saturday, 07 August 2010 14:59 |
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Written by Ryan Gryba
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Tuesday, 20 April 2010 15:40 |
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Throughout the last four months, the Baja team has worked tirelessly to complete their vehicle. The cost report and design report for the vehicle were completed and have been submitted to SAE for grading. Additionally, the sales presentation is nearing completion and design posters are under construction.
Several new manufacturing techniques were implemented in fabricating some components. Vacuum forming was used to create plastic components that were previously fabricated from sheet metal. Johnston Industrial Plastics donated acrylic, polypropylene and polycarbonate sheets to the Baja team to fabricate a water proof battery holder and a gas tank shrouding. This process decreased the weight of the components and greatly increased their manufacturability.
A new composite layup configuration was also used to create the body components on the vehicle. Previously, all of the body components were created from carbon fiber, however, to increase the puncture resistance and flexibility of the panels, a carbon fiber and Kevlar layup was used. The 2010 body panels are the lightest ever made by the U of M Baja team.
This week, the final touches will be added to the vehicle before it is fully stripped and the frame and a-arms sent for powder coating. Furthermore, aluminum and steel components will be sent for anodizing and zinc plating, respectively. On April 24th the vehicle will be reassembled, as well, testing and pre-competition preparation will commence. The Baja team will be leaving on May 17th for Bellingham, Washington, for the competition.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the team this year and we will do our best to achieve another record finish.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 20 April 2010 15:57 |
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Written by Ryan Gryba
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Sunday, 07 February 2010 19:39 |
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The construction of the frame of the 2010 Baja has been successfully completed; its dimensional accuracy of +/- 0.065 [in] was achieved through the use of wooden jigs used to support the individual members during construction. Furthermore, the weight of the 2010 frame was reduced by approximately 10 [lb] from the previous year’s frame.
Currently, the suspension and steering sections are waiting on parts to arrival before they may complete their assemblies. However, the delay in component arrival has not stopped this section from being productive; the tube structures of the front A-Arms have been tack welded and are currently supported in jigs. Also, rear A-Arm fabrication will soon begin.
Upon arrival of the gearbox, the powertrain design got into full swing in November, since then the entire rear end design has fallen into place. The addition of a simplified chain tensioning system and more serviceable configuration are highlights of the design. Construction of the powertrain can begin now that the frame has been completed.
Once the frame was completed from the roll hoop forward, the pedal assembly was installed. The assembly was designed such that most of the components were able to be laser cut and fully assembled upon their arrival. The use of bearings and sintered bronze bushings has significantly reduced the friction in the system and made it much smoother. |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 07 February 2010 19:44 |
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Written by Ryan Gryba
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Sunday, 07 February 2010 19:13 |
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Design Progess: 65%
Build Progress: 0%
Because the Baja the 2009 competition in Oregon the to implement significant design changes for season. The team has been diligently modifying and improving the designs of the 2009 season while ensuring they do not lose any of the beneficial aspects of the previous systems.
The major goal of the baja frame section is to reduce weight in the 2010 frame. The front of the frame has been restructured to better incorporate mounting of the suspension, braking & throttle and steering systems. Concepts for the rear portion of the frame have been devised, however, delay on some of the critical powertrain components have slowed completion of the design. Design of the fabrication jig has been completed for the portion of the frame forward of the roll hoop.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 07 February 2010 19:44 |
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