Shell 2, Eco-Marathon

Overview

The sponsor for the Penn State Eco-Marathon team is Ryan Moyer, a Shell representative. This semester, the team has been challenged to deliver a completely welded aluminum frame, multiple fiberglass panels, and a fully transferred powertrain for the new car. Some major challenges were altering SolidWorks models, learning how to weld, troubleshooting the powertrain, and dealing with lack of storage space.

Objectives

The group’s objectives were to complete the promised deliverables and document important processes and design suggestions for the benefit of the next Penn State Eco-Marathon Team. The main purpose of the scope of this semester’s work was to ensure that next semester’s team would have ample time to complete the car.

Approach

– Gathered customer needs through researching the Shell Eco-Marathon Rules and Regulations and identifying focus points at Sponsor Meetings
– Researched relevant patents that could impact the car’s door design
– Altered SolidWorks panel models to make them molds for machining
– Trialed fiberglass process in Alpha Prototype
– Displayed model cohesion with the welding and the fiberglass panels in Final Prototype
– Tested the quality of the deliverables through the team’s quantitative acceptance test criteria (using blunt force on welds, making sure the car turns on, etc…)
– Validated models by making sure welds did not break, deflection was in manageable specified range, and electrical systems were functional during testing

Outcomes

– Female molds provided a better surface finish for the fiberglass panels
– Reusing the powertrain from the previous team saved Shell approximately $300-$500
– Machining custom molds improved the dimensional accuracy of the panels and made it feasible to fit them together by eliminating 13 potential hours of post processing sanding