The STS team is no stranger to modeling, but usually we're not the ones building the objects we model. The Hopkins Baja off-road vehicle building team, however, made the leap from computer model to 2D sketch to actual kick-butt vehicle. It's hard to think they do this every year, and even harder to think they have the time to put into this, but it's the payoff at the end of the year and the thrill of racing the vehicle that drives them.
Spending weeks pulling all-nighters in Latrobe and Krieger basements, the Baja team slowly but surely built up their vehicle with no directions and only a chance at glory. The light at the end of the tunnel? A competition kicking off on Thursday, April 18 at Tennessee Tech University, which is the final competition of the semester. The final event of the year is a race at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. Each competition features a four-hour race over a complete dirt course.
How did the team do it? During the January Intersession, the team bent and molded 20-foot chrome alloy steel bars obtained from an aircraft supply company into a 370 vehicle frame, then added the pedals, wheels, gearbox, gas tank, and a 10-horsepower Briggs and Stratton model engine. They didn't build the tires, seat, engine, or shock absorbers, but everything else is 100% Hopkins engineering made.
The 15 person team worked tirelessly on this design for months, testing, cutting, and measuring every piece of machinery before putting it into the final object. While some teams they'll compete against have Ph.D. students and engineering professors helping them with the design and construction, the Hopkins team received little, if no, input at all. They alone designed the smallest and lightest vehicle ever constructed here, and they have high hopes for the future competitions.
Hopkins typically does well at these competitions, using placing within the top 10 out of over 100 teams. This year, with the improved design and removable gas tank (designed with easy fill-up at pit stops in mind), the team is hoping for a top 5 finish at the race. If it breaks down afterwards, hey, that doesn't matter, the deed is done. The best part is the team can always just rebuild it.
Why are they doing this? It's certainly not for grades, since there are no professors involved here. Andrew Kelly, senior mechanical engineering student and this year's Captain, explains it elegantly: “I do it because I love cars. I love the small details and seeing the whole project come together. It just consumes you.”
We are wishing you luck at your competitions this year! Go Hopkins Baja!
Spending weeks pulling all-nighters in Latrobe and Krieger basements, the Baja team slowly but surely built up their vehicle with no directions and only a chance at glory. The light at the end of the tunnel? A competition kicking off on Thursday, April 18 at Tennessee Tech University, which is the final competition of the semester. The final event of the year is a race at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. Each competition features a four-hour race over a complete dirt course.
How did the team do it? During the January Intersession, the team bent and molded 20-foot chrome alloy steel bars obtained from an aircraft supply company into a 370 vehicle frame, then added the pedals, wheels, gearbox, gas tank, and a 10-horsepower Briggs and Stratton model engine. They didn't build the tires, seat, engine, or shock absorbers, but everything else is 100% Hopkins engineering made.
The 15 person team worked tirelessly on this design for months, testing, cutting, and measuring every piece of machinery before putting it into the final object. While some teams they'll compete against have Ph.D. students and engineering professors helping them with the design and construction, the Hopkins team received little, if no, input at all. They alone designed the smallest and lightest vehicle ever constructed here, and they have high hopes for the future competitions.
Hopkins typically does well at these competitions, using placing within the top 10 out of over 100 teams. This year, with the improved design and removable gas tank (designed with easy fill-up at pit stops in mind), the team is hoping for a top 5 finish at the race. If it breaks down afterwards, hey, that doesn't matter, the deed is done. The best part is the team can always just rebuild it.
Why are they doing this? It's certainly not for grades, since there are no professors involved here. Andrew Kelly, senior mechanical engineering student and this year's Captain, explains it elegantly: “I do it because I love cars. I love the small details and seeing the whole project come together. It just consumes you.”
We are wishing you luck at your competitions this year! Go Hopkins Baja!
This is really great . Well done.
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