Jump to content

Senior Design Project

RyanbabZ71

By RyanbabZ71
in The Off-Topic Bar

Recommended Posts

RyanbabZ71 Senior Enthusiast

RyanbabZ71

Posted
Posted

Ok next semester i am starting senior design

 

This semester i have a buddy who is doing a mini baja car.  It wont be totally complete and they need people to take it over and I am wanting to.  Looks fun.  They are competing in milwaukee the last weekend in May and i may go to check it out.  

 

Next problem is funding they are running low on funds and if i take it over i wanna start looking this summer.  Any suggestions on getting funding.  Anyone ever go through this?

 

Here is the link for the competition

 

http://www.sae.org/students/minibaja.htm

ekonk Enthusiast

ekonk

Posted
Posted

Try to send letters to as many local engineering or automotive-related companies that you can find.  That's what the guys that did FormulaSAE here did a couple years ago.  They also got some private funding (one of the guys got a significant amount from his ex-girlfriend's father).  Also try national companies that make or sell automotive products, such as K&N, Koni Shocks, Bridgestone/Firestone (just don't take their tires :D  :0 )  Probably the best strategy is to try to get a little from a lot of companies.  Good Luck.

Jpshostr Senior Enthusiast

Jpshostr

Posted
Posted

Here at the U of Illinois I am very involved in our Quarter Scale tractor design team.  There is also a Mini-Baja team that is made up of AgEs, TSM, and mechanical engineers that works out of our building.  This mini-baja team is the exact thing you are talking about, same competition, etc.  I don't know for sure where exactly their funding comes from, but for us we hit every business in the area that would have any interest at all.  We also hit up the faculty and past students.  The budget for this is quite large, our tractor team is $20K a year or so, mini-baja is similar.  

 

Get involved in this!  It is a lot of fun and a real world application of what you've learned.

Firetiger(MN) Enthusiast

Firetiger(MN)

Posted
Posted

My senior design class had projects that were funded by the sponsor who wanted the design.  If you wanted to design your own project, you had to come up with the funds yourself.  We chose a sponsored project so we didn't have to bother with funding, although we did have a budget.  It was a lot of fun and we got to finally use the 4+ years of bookwork.

RyanbabZ71 Senior Enthusiast

RyanbabZ71

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I plan on being up there.  Dont know what time but ill probably be around there on June 1st

Kansas Kid Senior Enthusiast

Kansas Kid

Posted
Posted

I have to say I agree with Firetiger in choosing a senior project that is already funded by a sponser.  If you end up not getting enough funding for your own project, you might get stuck with a bit of a bill to pay.  Either that or not complete the project.

 

How many people are you planning on having work with you on this project?  On the mini-baja project here at school they have about 15 people working on two cars. (rebuilding one, staring from scratch on the other).  From what I have seen and heard from these guys, I wouldn't want any less then 5 people working on one car.  The amount of paperwork required for this competition is incredible.  Not to mention with more people it is easier to hit up companies for funding/sponsership.

 

I'm not going to tell you were to look for funding, but I will tell you one thing that will have to be done.  Go talk to all the local machine shops and see if they will exchange some machine work for sponsership.  This will be worth its weight in gold, trust me.  There is going to be tons of stuff on that car, that you will not be able to machine yourself.  Or buy.

RyanbabZ71 Senior Enthusiast

RyanbabZ71

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well the car is already started this yr so next yr we would just have to improve on it.

 

Also the guy who started the project said the machine shop (where he works) would still be willing to lend out space for it to be worked on so we are set there

 

Also there will be 2 people working on the project.  All senior design projects either have 2 EE and 1 ME, 2 ME's, or 2 ME's and 1 EE

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • GMC4Zee
      PPE Transmission Pan Install

      By GMC4Zee · Posted

      Is this the pan everyone is talking about PPE Power 128051910 . this can be gotten from JEGS. 
    • Texas Gasser
      Travel Trailer 2024 2500 HD 6.6 Gas Engine ?

      By Texas Gasser · Posted

      My truck is a 2024 2500 LT crew cab with the 6.6 gas engine and 10 speed trans.  It has a payload of 3578 lbs.  We pull a 22' Grand Design 17MKE that has dry weight of 5006 lbs. and a gross weight of 6395 lbs.  The trailer weighs about 5800 lbs. when loaded up with all the gear.  I don't fill the water tank for travel as most of our trips are to state parks that are within a day's drive.  Depending on the wind I get anywhere from 7.5 to 9 mpg.  I do use a weight distribution hitch (WDH) and have no problems with sway or being pulled/pushed side to side by 18-wheelers passing by me.  The trailer is about the same length of the truck so that helps a lot.  I say that because we traded in our 33' Grand Design 2670 MK (7800 lbs. loaded with gear) and using the same WDH, it would get pulled side to side by big trucks passing by me. It was not bad, but you needed to stay alert and know when a big truck was pulling up beside you.  I got about 7 to 8 mpg pulling that trailer.  I normally drive about 65 to 67 mph when pulling.  Overall, I love the payload capability of the truck as I doubt I will ever get close to its limit and I love the stability it offers over a half ton truck while pulling a trailer.  I have just over 30000 miles on the truck and have not had any issues.  We live in Texas where it is relatively flat, just windy. 
    • Chuck FB
      Gas Prices

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      I will say though that the 5.00 a gallon for only one fuel stop while on the Number 1, that privilege of driving from the point of Paso Robles ( where I fueled up before crossing to the coast ) and all the way up ... across the Golden Gate where I stopped and walked on the bridge ( and someone jumped off the bridge opposite the side I was on ... never saw it happen but the tow truck/paramedic told me ) and continued on north back onto No 1 and all the way up to where it connects to 101 and also explored some of the Red Woods although had been through some of that before. The fantastic view of that scenic ocean route was most certainly worth the extra dollars I spent on fuel. Just prior to that I had driven through Death Valley and that was some experience in the middle of July, then spent a couple of days in Yosemite and hiked to the top of Half Dome. The summer of 2007 was very memorable for what I saw and experienced in California.
    • AndrewF
      Travel Trailer 2024 2500 HD 6.6 Gas Engine ?

      By AndrewF · Posted

      Really depends on what extent the towing is.  Are you going across the country on highways or to fairly local campgrounds?  If you're just local towing then I wouldn't derate your truck much, just make sure the weight of your trailer and equipment stays below your limit.  Which for my truck is 14500lbs bumper pull.  Yeah it will work hard when you're over 5 figures in weight but who cares if it is just say 50 miles.    In my opinion the main thing with towing campers is wind resistance.  My 3200lb single axle camper tows fairly hard for what it is due to the wind.  But then if I use my truck to tow a family members 8000lb camper it doesn't really feel any different as wind resistance is similar. I've also towed a 5000lb airstream and it barely felt like anything was there.
    • Atlas
      Wow I'm in a pickle. (Broke down truck) and a story.

      By Atlas · Posted

      I think the excitement has run its course. Or, probably need a break from the truck for a few days.   Win some, lose some, again. There was still a coolant weep from the front of the engine. This time it was one of those worm-drive hose clamps on the upper hose connecting to the water neck. There's a reason the factory doesn't use those type of clamps; they suck. The hose is all distorted and flared at the end from someone over-tightening it. The water neck just needed to be cleaned, hose seated, and have a *good* hose clamp put on, if the hose wasn't so mangled.   Thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and try to diagnose the EGR issue. It's likely a failed EGR but before I spent $85 on the part I wanted to make sure ports weren't clogged or the pintle wasn't stuck. It was kind of a bugger to remove with the upper intake installed. Re-install (because I wanted to drive it) proved more difficult.   Per the stack of service paperwork, the EGR has already been replaced 4 times since 1996.   It would reason, then, that the EGR flange on the lower intake manifold has had its share of techs trying to work quickly and maybe one of them seated a bolt slightly cross-threaded at one time. The bolt didn't come out without significant effort and tried as I did, it wouldn't go in without significant effort. And then, the mounting ear on the right side of the EGR (lower intake casting) cracked, and crumbled off. $%&@!!!   I hate everything. Or, at least, I did in that moment. I was pretty calm, considering. This is what older, junky vehicles do. They nickel and dime their owners, piss them off, and things break that shouldn't break because of shoddy design/workmanship, poorly done repairs.   If I want to make it right, I'll need to replace the lower intake manifold and basically re-do everything I spent days doing. At least it should go quicker this time, right?! Looks like a lower intake (used/junk, of course) will run me about $150.   Once I get the new EGR, I'll see if I can bolt it up snug enough to verify proper operation, and if it solves the persistent CEL that sets on decel for EGR flow, I'll know I'm back on the right track. And then I can decide how to proceed.   Also, an idler pulley has given up. It began squeaking in pain on startup. It's clear this truck hasn't been thoroughly driven in a long, long time as things are just letting go and shaking out. I may have given it the beans once or twice to make sure my intake gaskets were doing their job. Flog an old vehicle, expect what it gives in return.    

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...