Group 3: FSAE Pedal Box DR19

Last week (Week 7), the group began to machine certain parts of the pedal box, such as the base plate and the brake pedal. This week (Week 8), the group continued to machine parts for the pedal box, especially focusing on the throttle pedal. In order to do this, the group went through a similar process with the base plate (which can be seen in last week's blog post). An image of the throttle pedal can be seen below. The group additionally ordered the needed material for the manufacturing of the adjustable rails (6061-T6 Aluminum Alloy). After the construction of the rails, the manufacturing of the pedal box will be completely done. Outside of the pedal box, the group also worked on the completion of their final report and presentation. For next week (Week 9), the group will focus on the construction of the adjustable rails, and the completion of the final report and presentation. They will also test the pedal box's compatibility with the chassis of the car. ...

Last week (Week 6), the group worked to finalize the drawing and prepare the project for machining. This consisted of adding small changes to the final design in order for force to be distributed better, and for the pedals to function in a safe manner. This week (Week 7), the group primarily focused on the machining of the pedal box. Before the physical machining took place, David added a spot on the throttle pedal for a throttle cable. The throttle cable works to physically connect the pedal and the throttle plate, which helps control the cart's acceleration. For more information on this, please check out the link and description in the 'Background' section. David also finalized the drawing for the throttle pedal. David also took the stock to size to machine next week. This will help the group start the overall process of machining. Additionally, on Tuesday Scotty from the Drexel Machine Shop turned our DXF file into a mastercam file. These two files are used in...

Last week (Week 5), the group focused on preparing for the manufacturing of the pedal box. In order to do this, the design was made lighter and the group used the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) tool on Solidworks to see how well the material would hold up under force. This week (Week 6), the group finalized the preparations for manufacturing and sent parts to be created. In order to prepare for manufacturing, the group finalized the computer aided design of the pedal box, which can be seen below. In order to finalize this design, David added the real model of the balance bar to the assembly and added ball bearings to the pedals. These make the overall design more realistic when it comes to how the pedal box is actually going to function. Balance Bar (Left) || Ball Bearing (Bottom Right) Additionally, one problem that the group ran into was the forces on the brake pedal. It was determined that the screws holding the balance bar and master cylinder systems were under too much...

Last week (Week 4), the group dove into the modelling of the pedal box, in addition to working on the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) which resulted from the design. Specifically, the FEA of the brake pedal was tested to see the strength of the material, and the pedal box slide was incorporated into the overall design. For this week (Week 5), more analysis was done on the pedal box as the group gets ready for its manufacturing. The final design of the pedal box is as such: To start off, the group focused on making the pedal box as light as possible. In order to achieve this goal this week, much of the group's attention was directed towards the throttle pedal. Last week (Week 4), David and Lauren both worked to find the appropriate thickness of the throttle pedal. While this is great for the overall design, it then makes the system marginally heavier. In order to counteract this, David put holes in the design and thinned the width of the throttle. This makes the overall system ...

Last week (Week 3) the group focused on the brake pedal, and how to properly incorporate its physical properties into the overall design. Additionally, a CAD design was constructed to help simulate the actions the pedals would undergo. This week (Week 4), the group expanded its focus in order to accomplish more. What was accomplished because of this is listed below. One requirement for the pedal is that it is adjustable from the height of the 5th percentile female (5ft 2in) and 95th percentile male (6ft 2in)*. In order to make this adjustable, the group decided that a slide for the pedal box must be created. Thomas worked on constructing this, and photos of the design can be seen below. The group decided that it would be best to place a hexagonal nut on the sides of the base of the pedal box. These would be placed in the large rectangular slots seen above. In addition, there is a hole for a pin in front of every one of these slots. The pin would be placed there and pushed thro...

Last week (Week 2), the group continued in their research of the overall design for the pedal box. During this week (Week 3), the group discussed the mechanical design of the brake itself. Some items the group focused on were the brake over travel switch, the coefficient of friction between the pads and the brakes, and the master cylinder and balance bar for the brake pedal. The brake over travel switch is a design which stops the car when the brakes have worn down. For more information on this, please see the 'Frequently Asked Questions' section. Additionally, the knowledge of the coefficient of friction of the brake pads can then be used to determine the pressure needed by the brake pedal in order to decelerate the car. Finally, the group determined that the current master cylinder and balance bar would be used for this year's design. On top of this, David came up with a CAD design for the pedal box. Some problems the group faced were determining which size master...

For the previous week (Week 1), the group worked on creating this blog and the Project Proposal. During this week (Week 2), the group looked at previous designs of pedal boxes to see which overall design best suits the needs for this group. Additionally, certain members looked at previous Formula SAE data logs to see what stress pedal systems have undergone in the past. This information will be useful in the future, as the group is then able to plan how best to design the pedal box to best deal with the stress applied to it. Some problems that the group faced were understanding the units in the previous data logs in reference to the design of the car, but this problem was easily solved through unit conversion. Additionally, our group obtained the old data logs through contacting senior members of Formula SAE. For next week (Week 3), the focus of the group will be to focus on the mechanical design of the system in Solidworks.