Week 8

This week all eyes were on the new chassie. Both the chassie and panels came back from being painted. The new golden chassie was weighed at an incredibly light 68 pounds, the lightest ever. The team tasked us with making sure that the trailer was ready for competition, so we had to put panels into the floor of the trailer. The panels are used to hold the car and make sure that it doesn't move or get damaged when they are driving it to competition. The team also made the interns sweep up and mop up the shop as well as organizing all the tool chests and returning everything to its rightful place.

As the team continues to test the car's limits, they took it to a dry riverbed this week. Halfway through test-driving, the car's steering line was damaged as well as the rear wheel rotor. The rotor most likely blew out because there was a screw loose causing the whole wheel to break down.

Week 7

This week the team assigned Arkesh and I to make a foot box for the car. The foot box goes under the brake and accelerator pedals to protect the driver from any debris that might hit him when they are driving. The team first told us to remove the old foot box from the old car and make an exact copy. We began measuring the box with all its bends so that we could make the new box the exact same length. After we got the length of the box, we moved on to cuz sheet metal using the shearing machine. Since the shearing machine isn't always precise, we used sheet cutters to remove any sheet metal that the machine hadn't gotten to. Next we went to the bending machine to bend the metal three times. There were three bends: two 45 degree bends and one 90 degree bend. This was very slow-paced work since we needed to be very precise with our bends. After the bends were finished we went to use the press machine which basically is a giant hole puncher that allows the foot box to fit around the roll cage.

As the competition date closes in, the team continues to test the car. This week the team took the car to the desert and even after several hours of driving in the desert, the car was working in great condition but there were still some things that the team believed could be improved.

Week 6

The team took the car to the ASU test track and drove it for about 10 minutes before the gearbox broke. The team towed it back to the shop and began working on it immediately. The gearbox took three days to fix, so the team turned their attention to the new chassie. The team began welding the tabs on to the car that would hold parts such as the front and rear shocks as well as the wheels. They first welded the tabs on using spot welds which allows the team to attach the tabs as well as remove them if they are not lined up. When everything was checked and given the go ahead, the team welded the tabs completely. After the gearbox was fixed, the team took the car to the Rock Garden. The Rock Garden is a huge area outside the lab filled with big rocks that will test the car's limits. After about 30 minutes of driving, the rear tow link was completely bent. The tow link is in charge of making sure that wheel doesn't move. The team was using a very weak tow link in order to make the car less heavy but now they are changing the tow link to make it stronger since it broke.

The first competition is on April 14th and the team has plenty of work left to do. However, all they have to do is transfer everything from the prototype car to the real car and fix the mistakes in the prototype car.

Week 5

This week the team had us disassemble one of their old cars so that they can re-use those parts for the new car or even later down the road. Removing the engine and and CVT (Control Variable Transmission) were very hard to remove because they were so close together that it was difficult to reach the nuts and bolts. Most of the nuts and bolts on the car were very rusted so most were extremely hard to remove. However, we were able to remove everything with help from the team and numereous power drills and tools. 

 

They will most likely scrap the chassie but keep important/usable parts like the nuts and bolts and suspension. They also want to save the sheet metal and brake lines for future use as well as the engine and motor. The team will use the shocks from the car from last year because of how expensive they are. The team is also trying to sell the car known as Big Yellow because of how much space it is taking up and because there aren't many usable parts on the car. 

The team has made remarkable progress on the prototype car. When the car is finished the team will take it to the ASU test track as well as the rock garden and test it, usually until something breaks. The team has already begun to build the new chassie for the official car. 

Week 4

This week, the team made a huge advancement in the BAJA program by making  great deal with a  Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) supplier. A CVT is a very expensive piece that allows for the vehicle to change gears almost instantly without crashing or breaking down. The BAJA team agreed to give one of their old vehicles for a lifetime supply of CVTs. This deal will help ASU save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, in buying CVTs.

I was tasked with fixing up the car that the team was going to be giving to the CVT company. First we changed the breaking pads by replacing them with new and working brake pads. Brake pads are the main instrument used in braking a car because they help clamp on to the wheel and stop it from moving. Next I had to bleed the brake fluid to make sure the brakes were working properly and that there were no air bubbles caught in the brake lines. First we loosen the the brake fluid bleeder screw found at the wheel cylinder at the end of the car. Next we pump the brakes until the brake fluid that is leaking out has no air bubbles. We will know this because the brake fluid will be shooting in solid streams instead of spitting out. We re-attached the wheels and the car was ready for the company.

Week 3

This week was a very light week. The team didn't have much work for us to do so they sent us to the sandblasting machine. This machine uses high-pressured air to remove the sand and rust that covers the metal parts on the old BAJA cars. The team likes the sand blast machine because it allows them to reuse the parts from previous cars which allows them to not waste money and time on making new parts for the car. These parts are being used for the new car which is looking better and better everyday. The team has put on the suspension and tires to the new car as well as adding seat belts and brake pedals that will fit the driver of the car.

Week 2

This week we had to make the front bumper using a one inch pipe. We first had to cut the pipe to make it approximately 15 inches using a machine called a Bandsaw. The bandsaw is very self-explanatory, it uses a high-powered saw to cut through metal. However it uses a liquid called coolant to make it easy for the saw to cut through the metal as well as preventing the machine from overheating. Next we had to take the 15 inch pipe and give it softer edges since the bandsaw leaves the pipe with very rough edges. We had to use a coping machine in order to smooth out the ends. The coping machine uses a high-powered end to cut through the pipe and make it smoother. Next the pipe must be bent in the shape of the front bumper. BAJA SAE regulation requires that the bumper have two and a half inches of space between the bumper and the front of the car. To bend the pipe we used a pipe bending machine that let us bend the ends of the pipe where we would weld the pipe to the front of the car. Finally the welder on the BAJA team came and welded the bumper to the car using a tack weld to hold it in place and then if the bumper is straight and meets all standards, the team wills fully weld it on to the car.

Week 1

In my first week at BAJA, I have begun to learn the many machines and parts that will be used to build the vehicle. So far the team has constructed the skeleton of the car and is in the process of constructing parts for the vehicle. I learned how to create plastic bushings for the car using a machine called a lathe. This machine helps cut the hard plastic rods that we use for the bushings with near perfect precision. The plastic bushings will be placed on the car for a short period of time as a prototype until new metal bushings can be made using the lathe. The plastic bushings are good to have so that the team can continue to work on the car without having to work around the metal bushings and the team must use metal bushings because the plastic bushings begin to expand and malfunction when there is water or high temperature around. These bushings will be used in holding the front and rear suspension to the car and making sure that there is enough space for everything to work properly.

Introduction to Mini BAJA Competition

My name is Nassim Idouraine and I'd like to welcome you to my blog where I will be sharing my journey into everything about the Mini Baja SAE Competition. I will be working with the ASU Polytech BAJA team in making the best vehicle that we possibly can.

The Mini Baja SAE Competition consists of many small competitions that test off-road vehicles, that were built by engineering students, to their limits. All vehicles are powered by a ten-horsepower Intek Model 20 engine so each team must focus on engineering a vehicle that can beat others as well as withstand the tough competitions the vehicles will be put through. 

In my time with the team, I will be mainly learning how to bend and weld metals, as well as making small parts for the vehicle. I will be learning mechanical engineering by learning how each pipe of the car is used and how differing suspension can help or hurt the performance of the car in the race. I hope you are ready to take this journey with me into, The Mini BAJA SAE Competition.