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Construction:

Seats:

     The seat we have chosen to use is the aluminum shell with molded fiberglass inserts because it has the most adaptability and durability.  To help reduce the cost that an individual seat for each person would cause we will use two different inserts to accommodate small and large drivers.

     The seat is manufactured by making an aluminum shell.  Then make the two-part foam and pour it into a large plastic bag.  To make the foam, prepare the two-part foam in separate mixing cups.  The foam works the same way as epoxy glue both proportions have to be the same to ensure the final compound will work properly.  When the two parts are ready then you have to mix them thoroughly.  Have the driver sit in the car on the bag and let it dry.  The driver must not sit down to early or the foam will result in the driver’s weight spreading the foam out with nothing left underneath to support him.  If the driver waits too long the foam will be too hard to mold.  To make sure that we perform this correctly we mixed a small batch to test when it is a good time to sit down.  Once the foam has dried, you must shave of any excess foam.  After it is dry, the next step is to apply the fiberglass.

Figure 10: Mixing and pouring the Polyeurethane foam

Figure 11: Applying and sanding the fiberglass layer of the seat.

          The figure above shows the process of applying the fiberglass layer to the seat.  First, the seat must be painted with the fiberglass resin that comes with the fiberglass kit.  Then, the fiberglass sheets must be laid on top of the resin.  The resin is then painted over the top of the fiberglass sheets.  The combination of the fiberglass sheets and resin for a hard layer over the foam to ensure that the foam does not crack.

          After the fiberglass has dried, the next step is to spread Bondo over the fiberglass and sand it down.  This step is performed in order to ensure that the seat does not have any rough edges or cracks in the fiberglass.  The Bondo is applied to the fiberglass and left to dry for approximately thirty minutes until it is hard.  The  Bondo then has to be sanded smooth so the seat can be primed and painted.

Figure 12: Final product before painting

Dashboard:

             The dashboard was first measured and cut from a thin piece of wood.  The wood was the coated with a layer of carbon fiber to make it stronger and more visibly appealing.  The carbon fiber has some strands Kevlar that give it an overall blue tint to the usual black and white carbon fiber look.  The carbon fiber was applied the same way as the fiberglass was to the seats.  First paint the wood with a layer of the included carbon fiber resin, lay the carbon fiber sheet over the piece of wood, paint the resin over the fiberglass sheet, and finally let it dry. 

The next step to the process is to measure and cut the holes for the gauges and switches.  It is important to make sure that the back of the gauges and switches do not interfere with any of the components behind the dashboard.  Once the measurements have been taken, a hole saw is used to cut the holes for the gauges to go into.  Once the holes are cut, the gauges and switches may be put into the dashboard and the dashboard may be mounted to the car.

Figure 13: A close up of the final product of the dashboard

The picture of the dashboard in the figure above shows the three gauges along the top of the dashboard so that the driver will be able to see the gauges more easily.  The two switches are located on the bottom of the dashboard because they do not have to be completely visible, just easily accessible.

Figure 14: Picture of the final product of the dashboard with the steering wheel off

          The figure above shows a picture of the dashboard from a distance.  It is easier to see the blue tint in the carbon fiber when looking at this picture versus the other one.  The blue adds a great custom and appealing look to the car that most car do not have.

Figure 15:  Picture of the final product of the dashboard with the steering wheel on

            The figure above shows a picture of the dashboard with the steering wheel attached.  The picture shows how the driver will be able to see all the gauges over the steering wheels at all times in case of any car trouble that could occur.  The gauges from left to right are as follow; water temperature, fuel pressure, and oil pressure.  We chose to put the fuel pressure gauge in the middle because we believe that it is the most important to our vehicle.

The driver will also be able to see the switches through the center of the steering wheel even though it is not necessary for them to be visible.  The switches just have to be easily accessible to the driver at all times.  The switch on the left is the kill switch, which will shut of the engine instantly in the case of an emergency.  The button on the right is the starter button, which starts the car only when the kill switch is flipped to the on position.

Formula Shifter:

              The shifter used on the formula car is a simple and durable “joystick” style shifter.  All of the components were machined in the machine shop by our group and can be seen in the figure below.

Figure 16: Picture of the formula shifter disassemble

All of these parts were designed and manufactured by the group in order to fit the formula car perfectly.  The parts are all machined out of a lightweight aluminum that was available in the machine shop.  The parts can be seen assemble and installed in the figure below.

 Figure 17: Picture of the shifter mounted in the formula cockpit

          The figure above shows the formula shifter assembled and mounted to the side of the cockpit.  The parts you see are the only moving parts located in the cockpit.  The rest of the moving parts and wires will be located outside the cockpit in a separate area in order to make sure that the driver does not entangle themselves in the extra parts.  The shifter works exactly like a motorcycle shifter, to shift up a gear pull the shifter toward the driver and to shift down a gear push the shifter away from the driver.

Pedals:

All of these parts were designed and manufactured by the group in order to fit the formula car perfectly.  The parts are all machined out of a lightweight aluminum that was available in the machine shop.  The parts of the pedal can be seen in the figure below. 

Figure 18:  A picture of a disassembled pedal that will go on both of the cars

Figure 19:  Picture of an assembled pedal that will go on both of the cars

          The figure above is a picture of a pedal that will go on both the formula and baja cars.  It is a standard pedal design that we are using for the accelerator and the clutch of the formula and baja cars.  The brake pedal is essentially the same thing with a little added weight to make the braking of the vehicle easier.  The main weight that is added to the pedal is in the top of the pedal to make it more top heavy and the brake pedal easier to depress.

Baja Frame:

          The old Baja frame did not allow much room to work with inside the cockpit.  It did not give much room to install all of the components necessary without sacrificing some things in return.  The old cockpit was too short and narrow for the larger drivers as seen in the figure below.  The taller drivers knees would stick out of the side of the vehicle and this is a major safety hazard in the case of an accident.

Figure:  A picture of a larger driver inside the old cockpit

          The new frame is built out of long steel pipes.  The steel pipes had to be measured, cut, bent, and welded.  First, the long pipes had to be measured and cut to the correct length before they could be bent.  Then, the pipes were marked where they needed to be bent and put in the pipe bender that can be seen in the picture below and to the left.  The next step is to weld all of the bent pipes together to make the frame.

Figure:  Pictures of bending and welding the Baja frame

The new cockpit has increased hip room by allowing side impact members to go straight forward rather than slant in.  The overall length of cockpit has been increased by 10”.  The best thing is that the overall frame dimension of the Baja car only changes in:

–        Height:         - 1”

–        Length:        + 1”

–        Width:          + 1” 

Figure:  A picture of the extra room in the new cockpit

          As seen above, the new frame has much more room to work with than the old frame.  The new frame allows us to put the pedals further away from the driver.  The new frame ensures that the taller drivers will not have to have their knees sticking out of the side of the vehicle, which will make them much safer in the case of an accident.