Summary Statement
The Mini Baja car can be used in contests, recreation, or for sport. The goal would be to compete in the ASME Baja race. The overall design, manufacturing, and analysis of the Baja Car creates an efficient and well-rounded senior project to pursue. The concept of a chassis and suspension on the Baja Car will be explored, manufactured, and tested. Beam flexure calculations, stress analysis, and dynamic loads will be measured and explored. The interests and motivation of cars have always been ideal when choosing our senior project, thus choosing a Baja Car that has major components like a car, gives a similar concept to design and test. The need for a Baja Car from Central Washington University to compete in the ASME Baja Race was also taken into effect. If you have any questions or suggestions they are always welcome, contact information is on the bottom of the webpage.
Function Statement
The RC Mini Baja Car’s suspension and chassis shall support and hold all its physical parts of the car. The function of the chassis is to support all the major components of the car.
Requirements
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The cost of parts for the Baja car should be limited to $400.
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The Baja Car must be able to withstand being dropped from 1.5 feet.
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The chassis will weigh less than 7 pounds.
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The suspension will be able to handle at least 100 N of force when dropped on its tires.
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Full suspension travel of 2” without interference.
Success Criteria
The success of this project is determined by a functional Baja Car, competing in the ASME competition and placing top three in all categories (Acceleration, Slalom, and Baja).
Elevator Speech
The scope and success progress of the senior project report portrayed in a video format of around the required 90 seconds.
Abstract
Two students have developed a unique design of the RC Baja Car to optimize functionality and performance. A Baja car is a remote controlled 1/10 scale car that is used for recreation or competition, usually meant for competing in the ASME Baja car competition versus various schools. The competition focuses on the best time achieved in different courses that utilize speed, turns, and jumps. The objective for the project was to create a unique suspension from previous individual’s projects by creating a four-link suspension in which allows more travel in the suspension of the car and maintains functionality with the intent to improve overall performance. To integrate this concept, the design process was calculated and modeled carefully after researching the inspiration from competitive trophy trucks. The angle of the suspension arms and tolerances needed to be precise to produce a cohesive functional rear of the car. Upon manufacturing, linkage of the suspension from the rear axle and differential case to the rear strut support and main chassis plate was crucial. Using manufacturing machines such as mills, drill presses, and sheet metal benders, the supports for the struts and the chassis plate which connects the trailing arms were created. With the four-link suspension and allowable adjustments within the design, the RC Baja Car was able to withstand a drop of 1.5 feet and 116 lbf vertically simulating jumps needing to be withstood without failure of the suspension.
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Keywords: Suspension, Chassis, Performance