Electrathon

The competition that our team competed in was hosted by Central Connecticut State University at Lime Rock Park. The purpose of this competition is to design and build an electric vehicle that could do as many laps possible, including a driver change, with only the power supplied from two Optima Red Top Batteries. Many rules and regulations were to be followed to ensure driver and competitor safety. 

Though past vehicles are phased out by new designs, we make the most out of what we have! Bending tubing and welding to the steel body classic car, we perform a roll-over test to ensure driver safety in the event of an accident. Click image below to see the test in action!

All design work was performed in SolidWorks Once designed, the tubing was cut, bent, and welded using a Tig welder and custom jigs to support the frame. To reduce weight, our team utilized aluminum tubing, which was a bit more difficult to weld than steel.

Using the TrimTab 3x3, I reverse engineered the vehicle frame in SolidWorks. Within the software, we optimized the design to conform to the Electrathon vehicle requirements for turning radius, clearance, and safety. Since the TrimTab was designed to be human powered, some design changes for the motor, batteries, and other powertrain components were incorporated.

The 2009 Team's video of race day. Includes all of the team safety checks, the event safety checks, driver changes, and of course racing!

Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut. They host many events each year, one being the Electrathon Competition

All design work was performed in SolidWorks and CAM performed in MasterCAM. Once designed, we CNC machined a mold for the top and bottom shell from MDF. The mold was painted and polished with mold releasing agents. Carbon fiber and kevlar was played in the molds and resin introduced using vacuum infusion. Once cured, the two halves were removed and joined together using more composite material strips. This particular version utilized as much composites as possible to maintain strength while reducing weight. The motor mounts, axle, and king pins were all made and machined from carbon fiber. Two Optima Red Top Batteries and an Etek Motor were utilized for power and drivetrain.

My Senior year, inspired by David Parrots Trimtab 3x3 Human powered vehicle, I designed a classic division leaning vehicle to enter the competition. Most of the work was completed during my senior year, but the vehicle was not competition ready until one year later, where the Hale Ray Team entered the vehicle into the competition. Below is my younger brother conducting a test drive. 

After the computer aided design was completed, the fabrication process started with cutting and bending pipes and welding using an assembled jig. The hammock style seat was designed by a local company called Incord. I contacted the company and asked if they could help our local high school by sponsoring our team and designing the seat. They graciously designed the hammock to accept the five point safety harness.

Below is a video from the 2009 team showing the design and fabrication from machining to hand finishing, and vacuum infusion process used for the composite vehicle.