Building a formula car

A team of engineering students, DJS Racing, from DJ Sanghvi college of engineering, Andheri, Mumbai came to the Asylum in search of a space to build their car. They were participating in Formula Student Germany, an international design competition to be held in Hockenheim, Germany from 28^th July to 2^nd August 2015. The event requires the team to design, manufacture and test a car that can best meet the event specifications and score maximum possible points.

We offered them our space, tools and some training to build their dream. What we got in return was mad fun and a ton of learning.

Team

The team comprised of students from second year, third year and final year mechanical engineering. The third year students are mainly involved in the core design and manufacturing of the car under the guidance of final year students, while the second years are in the learning stage and just observe and help their seniors. The team is divided into various departments for proper distribution of work.

The departments

1. Chassis
2. Engine
3. Suspension
4. Steering
5. Cooling
6. Transmission
7. Marketing

Every department had a department coordinator and a sub-team that works under him. Other than the department coordinators there is a team captain and a technical head.

The Test

The competition involves static and dynamic events. Static events score the teams based on documentation of the design report, cost report and summary of the business plan. Dynamic events actually test the vehicle for its performance. There are various sub events involved in dynamic testing such as, skid pad test, acceleration event, brake test etc. These events test the vehicle for each sub system.

The Stages

1. Static events
   1. Design report:
   2. Cost report
   3. Business plan presentation

1. Dynamic events
   1. Skid pad test
   2. Acceleration test
   3. Brake test

How It Works

In order to come up with a vehicle that best meets the event specifications, the team needs follow a proper design process.

1. The team started with some assumptions based on the data from their senior team, followed with design of every sub system. Every sub team needs data from other sub teams as there is an interdependence of the sub systems.
2. Next, the sub systems were designed and analysed using software tools. This was a iterative process to arrive to an optimum solution.
3. After the design was ready the team proceeded with manufacturing. Manufacturing involved fabrication of individual components, followed by assembly and integration of sub systems.
4. The final step is the testing of the vehicle as per the event requirements.

Fire up them engines!