2009 Baja SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)

Presenter Information

Cliff Backler, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Alan Dreier, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU 253/254

Start Date

27-4-2009 9:30 AM

End Date

27-4-2009 12:00 PM

Student's Major

Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology

Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Mentor's Email Address

Craig Evers

Mentor's Department

Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Description

Cliff Backler, Alan Dreier (Department of Automotive Engineering Technology) Craig Evers, Faculty Mentor (Department of Automotive Engineering Technology) The project objective was to design a vehicle to be entered into the 2009 SAE Baja competition. The focus was to Mild a single-passenger off-road vehicle as small and lightweight as possible within the design parameters. Strength and durability were important factors that could not be sacrificed in the design of the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle needed to maintain solid performance, safety, reliability, and efficiency. The vehicle was designed, fabricated and built at Minnesota State University, Mankato and testing was performed at a local organized facility. The vehicle design was broken down into six major components: chassis, suspension, vehicle controls, drivetrain, wheels and tires, and ergonomics. The goal of each group was to research a variety of options and create a decision matrix to determine the best design to incorporate into the vehicle. Information obtained from testing two previously built vehicles was utilized to set benchmark criteria for this vehicle. Over the course of this project, the team gained hands-on engineering experience, time management, and teamwork skills.