UW Formula Motorsports
Formula SAE is a class of racecars designed, built, and competed by Universities around the world. With 10 weeks to design, 10 weeks to build, and 10 weeks to test, each member owns at least one project. For me, that meant a pedal tray assembly, roll hoop, and the manufacturing of a carbon fiber chassis, the most memorable project being highlighted below.
Design, Build, Test
Objective
Revolutionize the pedal tray assembly (gas and brake pedals) to be more ergonomic, responsive, and reliable. As a student-led organization, time, money, and experience are always a constraint.
Approach
Build ergonomic driver models (physical and virtual) to define requirements, leverage existing components wherever possible, and introduce an adjustment feature to allow for quick adjustment between drivers during competition.
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Tools included:
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SolidWorks
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Ansys
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Metal Machining
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Cardboard & wood mockups
Results
A beautiful design that met all the requirements except one; it must interface with other vehicle upgrades.
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Ultimately, the entire design had to be scrapped, and a bolt-on solution leveraging previous designs was used in the car, resulting in hundreds of hours of design & engineering work feeling wasted and one massive lesson learned - always consider interfacing systems (and stay connected to people).
