RC Baja Racer

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) holds a competition at their annual conference for college students to design an RC car that will compete in sprint, slalom, and obstacle course races. The RC Baja car was designed to complete every event in the competition with a focus on the obstacle course due to the anticipated impacts inflicted on the project car by jumps and other obstacles. The project was a collaborative effort. This presentation focuses on the chassis and suspension while Gizan Gando will present about the drivetrain. The drop and frontal impact test requirements guided the design process by providing the parameters that were used to determine size and strength of components. Each component was modeled in SolidWorks during the design period to make sure everything fit properly. During the construction period, all but one of the designed components were manufactured using a 3d printer. Testing involved measuring components to check weight, bending, and clearance as well as frontal impact and drop tests. The drop and impact tests test the strength of the car by submitting it to the forces it would experience by participating in the ASME Baja competition, which includes one and a half foot jumps as well as possible frontal impacts at full speed. The project car was able to withstand a frontal impact at twenty five miles per hour without sustaining damage and being dropped on its wheels from a height of two feet without sustaining damage