University
About Formula
The Pittsburg State University Formula SAE team consists of 6 senior undergraduate students, 3 majoring in mechanical engineering technology and 3 majoring in manufacturing engineering technology. Team members chose the Formula SAE as their senior capstone project. The capstone project begins during the fall school semester and is to be completed the spring semester.
The Formula SAE competition is a Society of Automotive Engineers sanctioned competition. It was created to provide students with the opportunity to implement the fundamentals of engineering that are taught in the class towards a real world situation. The competition allows students to design, build, and race an open wheel formula style race car. This creates an opportunity for students to gain experience in team work, project budgeting, public relations, engineering, and fabrication. The rules of the competition are setup to encourage and test the skill, creativity, and engineering abilities of the students.
The concept of the Formula SAE competition is that of a manufacturing firm that has engaged a design team to produce a prototype formula style race car for evaluation as a possible production item targeted toward the weekend autocross racer. During the actual competition the cars are judged against cars from other schools on how well their prototypes meet the requirements of this concept. Each car is judged based on designed, cost, manufacturability, and their performance on the track.
The premiere event for the Formula SAE competition is held annually in the month of May in Detroit, Michigan. The upcoming competition is being held the 16-20 of May. The competition consists of over 140 schools from countries worldwide. Because of the overwhelming popularity of the Michigan race, a new race has been created and is held in Fontana, California June 13-16. Due to commencement we will compete in the event held in Fontana, California.
The Team
The concept
Competition Overview
The competition event is broken down into two categories, static and dynamic. Teams are awarded points in each category up to 1000 points, the winning team having the highest number of points.
The static event of the competition consists of a presentation presented by each team to a panel of judges. The judges first put the teams’ car through a technical inspection to make sure it meets all the requirements. Each team then explains their design concept and presents a cost and manufacturing analysis. The judges award points based on each category of the presentation. The points are broken down as follows:
• Presentation 75 Points
• Design 150 Points
• Cost and Manufacturing Analysis 100 Points
• Total 325 Points
The dynamic event tests the actual on track performance of the car. The car is judged based on acceleration, skid pad, autocross, fuel economy, and endurance. The autocross event tests the cars maneuverability and handling. The endurance event tests the cars overall reliability. The judges award points based on the cars performance in each category. The points are broken down as follows:
• Acceleration 75 Points
• Skid Pad 50 Points
• Autocross 150 Points
• Fuel Economy 50 Points
• Endurance 350 Points
• Total 675 Points
With points being awarded for both the static events and the dynamic events each team must spend a great deal of time planning and designing there cars and creating a well thought out presentation in order to have a chance at winning the competition.
Budget and Funding
A large part of designing and manufacturing a Formula SAE car is determining the budget and coming up with funding. The 2007 Formula SAE rules book states that the car is to cost less that $25,000. As a new team we hope to be able to keep our budget as low as possible. Without having a network of established sponsors from past teams, we must bring our own sponsors onboard. This creates one more task that we have to work on. By keeping the car price low we hope to be able to fund the car more easily so we do not have spend a lot of time trying to attract sponsors.
Our current funding is broken down into the following categories:
• PSU $200
• Team Members $600
Total $800
Our current budget is broken down into the following categories:
Safety
350
Harness, fire suit and helmet.
Electronics
750
Kill switch, time transponder
Tires
1100
4 slicks and 4 rain tires
Wheels
1900
13x6 aluminum racing
Engine/Transmission
1500
600cc sport bike
Suspension
2350
Shocks, rack and pinion
Brakes
2700
4 wheel disc
Cooling System
350
Al. radiator, electric fan, hoses
Rear Differential
3650
Limited slip sprocket drive
Frame Metal
500
4130 cold rolled tube 1 inch
Travel Expenses
2600
Fuel costs and lodging
Miscellaneous
500
Nuts, bolts, consumables
Concept
3500
Concept vehicle purchased
TOTAL
$21,750
The total budget of $21,750 is only preliminary, but we feel that we can design and manufacture our prototype car close to this price.
Schedule
Our current schedule is broken down into two different semesters. The current semester will see the completion of all design work and some fabrication work. Currently the team is working on conceptual designs. Plans currently call for the frame design to be completed on October 16. After the frame designs are finalized the drive train will be analyzed. We feel this is important to be completed because of weight considerations in relation to the suspension. The drive train is to be designed by October 23. After the frame and drive train are designed we will tackle the suspension design. This will be the most important and complex design work. The suspension is what will win the racing events. The suspension is to be designed by November 17. The braking system will be designed concurrently with the suspension. The body design will begin to be considered after the frame is completed, but not completed until the more functional parts of the car are designed. The body is to be designed by December 3. Any extra time found during the semester will be spent on fabricating the frame and suspension components.
The spring semester will be filled with fabrication and testing. With any luck the fall semester would have allowed us enough time to have at least started the frame fabrication. This is the most pressing item we have to complete so it is to be done by February 5. After the frame is completed the car will rapidly begin to take shape. The suspension will be on the car February 23. The body fabrication will take place as soon as the frame is built but will not be a major concern. The body will be fabricated by April 20. The drive train will be the next item to tackle. This will include the rear end and the engine, transmission, and vital components. The drive train will be completed by March 26. The braking system will be the last to be completed. We will also have a few loose ends to tie up at this point. We are to have the brake system, and the car, complete on April 27. After the car is completed we will have about 7 weeks to test the car and make any modifications needed before the competition. The competition is held from June 13-16.
Links
Formula SAE Webpage
Formula News on Pittstate.edu
Pittstate home page
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