12/18/2010
For the month of October the team set some high standards for themselves in terms of things to be accomplished and deadlines to be met. October was a month of furthered research on the many aspects that make up a successful frame in addition to consideration of ergonomics and forces acting on the frame. Each team member was to draw up four different frame sketches that would serve as concepts for what a possible final frame may look like. This allowed the team member to share their concepts with each other on paper, and this allowed the team to explore variations of triangulation that would make up the frame, this acted as a brainstorm session for ideas to be bounced around amongst the team members. From that point the team members presented the four sketches with proper dimensioning of side, front, and top views for each of their four frames.

Through this process the team was able to down-select from sixteen total frame sketches to four, one per team member. Once the final four frames were selected, each team member was to focus on one varying aspect of their frame, such as the incorporation of a rear box or lack thereof, while holding the rest as a control. Amongst these variations, Kyle had to look at the incorporation of a rear box as previously mentioned, Jae was to look into the differences between running with a step bottom or an angled bottom, Matt looked into the differences between having straight roll hoops and angled roll hooped and the possible advantages in each, while Dani looked at how the attachment points of the rear diagonal bracing affected the rigidity of the car. Each frame along with its variations was to be modeled on SolidWorks.

A Gant Chart was constructed for both the Proposal and Presentation in addition to being posted up on "google-docs" for the entire team to be able to work around the deadlines presented on it. This Gant Chart organized deadlines, meetings, and proposed durations of activities. It also included an active column pertaining to the status of the activities as "done", "working on", and "to do". Finally an in-depth FMEA (Failure Modes Effects and Analysis) was constructed to weight the possible failures and set-backs that may sway the progress of the team and have an effect on the project and its proposed deadlines.

During the month of November, the team tackled the final aspects of designing a final concept for the frame. Many issues, aspects and issues such as steering were covered and put into consideration when it came to frame design finalization. Amongst the first issues discussed was that of steering. The questions of this issue that were dealt with were where will the steering wheel and rack go, and how will it be connected to the wheels. To answer these questions, the frame and suspension team ran tests with the posture of the drivers inside the propose driving cells in order to came up with a position for the steering wheel that was comfortable for our tallest, shortest and average sized drivers. Once the steering wheel's position was finalized, it was to be determined as to how the steering wheel was to be connected to the rack and pinion and where to place the rack and pinion to steer the wheels.

The next order of business that required much though was how both the engine and driver were to fit inside the frame. Although the engine is much smaller that pat engines, our tallest driver is much taller than past drivers, thus fitting in both the engine and the driver into the envelope of the car proved to be a slight challenge. Furthermore, the placement and size of the CVT proved to be another design challenge. The primary and secondary shafts were to be attached to the engine without interference from the tubing of the frame. In addition to the CVT, the rest of the drivetrain components are to be fit inside the rear box along with the engine.

As was mentioned previously, each of the four team members was to focus on a small aspect of the frame design. With each members design, FEA was carried through and a decision was made by each of the team members on how to configure each of the many different components. The decisions were made according to the results keeping, torsional and bending rigity as well as weight saving in mind.

In terms of the design of the front box, there was much collaboration with the suspension team in order to design the frame in a way to give the suspension team a good a base to mount the suspension components in way that will ensure they achieve the handling characteristics they aimed out to achieve. As for the rear box, the same collaboration were carried through with the suspension team, in addition to collaboration with the engine drivetrain team in order for the rear box to be able to properly fit both the suspension components as well as the drivetrain components.

10/26/2010
Team 17 is the 2011 FSAE frame team and is in charge of designing and manufacturing a frame that will utilize space frame techniques and technology. In addition to manufacturing the frame, Team 17 will undertake the task of making a driver seat, a gas tank, and an impact attenuator. The design of the frame must meet the requirements set forth by the 2011 FSAE rules and regulations which pertain to safety, rough dimensions of the car and driver call, and specifications of materials to be used. Furthermore, the team has set its own standards in terms of an overall weight, a low center of gravity, and set torsional and bending rigidity.

Our aims are to have an overall wheelbase of 62-inches, a frame weight of approximately 80-lbs, and an aimed torsional rigidity of 1200 lbf/degree. Moreover, the team sets to have a frame with a smart design that will have a high level of simplicity when it comes to manufacturing, while maintaining safety and competitiveness on race day.

This year the Team is composed of:
Kyle Mulligan (Team Captain)
Jae K. Lee
Matthew Bunten
Dani Wakim