Dates: June 11- June 14
Location: MGA Research Facilities, Burlington Wisconsin
The PUC SAE Mini-Baja Team faired very well at the competition this year. Many firsts were accomplished by this team comparable to teams in the past. The car was completed when it was placed on the trailer to leave PUC the day of the competition. Years past, the car was anywhere from 70% to as low as 20% (last year) complete before leaving. The team had only minor corrections to do for the “Technical Inspection” portion of the competition, which were completed in about 2 hours. In the past 3 years, these corrections have taken up to 24 hours to fix. The car passed the “Braking” requirements the first time it was tested. In the past the team has made as many as 15 tries. The mini-baja completed all of the dynamic events which included the sled pull, mud bog, acceleration, maneuverability and suspension/traction. The 4 hour endurance event was completed with minimal pit stop maintenance items.
The car did suffer a major failure during the endurance race. The back right suspension which includes one drive shaft, shock absorber, brake components, rim and tire were completely torn off the vehicle. Luckily for the team it was during the final lap after the 4 hour endurance race ended. The team had to go look for all the parts after they towed the car back.
The final results for the Purdue Calumet team were very positive. The team placed 58th out of 100 universities. The team’s highlighted event was Maneuverability, in which they placed 27th.
The students could not have been this successful without the support they have received from the staff, faculty and university. The team would especially like to thank the School of Technology for their use of the manufacturing lab in the Anderson building.
The team was made up of students from the MET, IET, CGT, ME, EE programs and Graduate Studies students.
About Baja SAE
Baja SAE consists of three regional competitions that simulate real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. Engineering students are tasked to design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain and sometimes even water.
The object of the competition is to provide SAE student members with a challenging project that involves the planning and manufacturing tasks found when introducing a new product to the consumer industrial market. Teams compete against one another to have their design accepted for manufacture by a fictitious firm. Students must function as a team to not only design, build, test, promote, and race a vehicle within the limits of the rules, but also to generate financial support for their project and manage their educational priorities.
All vehicles are powered by a ten-horsepower Intek Model 20 engine donated by Briggs & Stratton Corporation. For over twenty-five years, the generosity of Briggs & Stratton has enabled SAE to provide each team with a dependable engine free of charge. Use of the same engine by all the teams creates a more challenging engineering design test.
Filed under General News.
