January Report
Wire frame We designed our car on paper first to decide the practicality. Then we moved on to a 3-D wire frame. The scale of the model was 10" to 1" and was based off of last years N44 car.
Frame The frame of our car is made out of 1X1 inch square tubing. our frame is 10'2" long, we spaced the two pieces of square tubing five inches apart .This is the backbone of our car. We bent two pieces of 1" round conduit, bent the conduit so it is narrow in the front and wide in the middle and narrow in the back. Between the top frame rail and the bottom we used 1" conduit and spaced the upright supports 6 inches apart all the way back past the driver. From the back of the car to the bend we centered another upright for added support.
The roll cage The roll cage on our car is made out of 1 inch conduit. We used a pipe bender to make the arch above the drivers head and a pipe that is 46 inches long to the back of the car where we made another arch to make putting the body on easier. The we took 1" pipe forward to the body. We notched the one end so it would meet the arch very nicely, and on the other end we cut the pipe at an angle to meet the body.
Frame The frame of our car is made out of 1X1 inch square tubing. our frame is 10'2" long, we spaced the two pieces of square tubing five inches apart .This is the backbone of our car. We bent two pieces of 1" round conduit, bent the conduit so it is narrow in the front and wide in the middle and narrow in the back. Between the top frame rail and the bottom we used 1" conduit and spaced the upright supports 6 inches apart all the way back past the driver. From the back of the car to the bend we centered another upright for added support.
The roll cage The roll cage on our car is made out of 1 inch conduit. We used a pipe bender to make the arch above the drivers head and a pipe that is 46 inches long to the back of the car where we made another arch to make putting the body on easier. The we took 1" pipe forward to the body. We notched the one end so it would meet the arch very nicely, and on the other end we cut the pipe at an angle to meet the body.
Rear tire mount We measured back 26 1/4 inches and put a piece of conduit notched to fit the top frame rail, we than cut angles in the 1"X 1" square tubing. We milled 1/2" notches in 1/4" plate steel 3 7/8" by 3 7/8". Then we made our motor mount out of 1/4" plate steel. The dimensions are 7 3/4" X 8 1/2" to 5/16 plate steel the width is 5 1/8" X 7 1/4".
Front end: First we made a CAD drawing of the front end so we could figure out the angles and lengths. Then we cut two 20 inch bars out of 1" X 1" square tubing that were welded to 2, 1" pieces with 20 degrees and that is welded to the 1" X 1" frame of our car. The two 20" bars have a angle to hold a bar parallel to the ground so we can mount our steering and at the end of the bar has 22 degree angle for the steering. Then we cut out two 2 by 5.25 inch plates with two 9/16 holes for our steering pivots.
Battery Box:For the battery box we cut four pieces of 1/2 inch angle iron. We notched the two long pieces at both ends so that the short ones would have a nice fit. We tacked the outside edges together then welded one box to the front end and the other in the back.
Battery Box:For the battery box we cut four pieces of 1/2 inch angle iron. We notched the two long pieces at both ends so that the short ones would have a nice fit. We tacked the outside edges together then welded one box to the front end and the other in the back.
February
Steering We got two pieces of 1/5" square tubing cut to 3" and welded 9/16 bolts to both ends for our steering pivots. we milled a 22 degree angle in the tubing for the spindle. We then welded a 1/4 inch plate with 3 holes placed 1/2 inch apart for our tie rods. To weld the tie rod brackets we tied a string from the center of the back tire to the front spindles on both sides to have one tire turn further then the other when you cramp the steering wheel. We mounted a 1 1/4" ring to the front end so that our steering column witch is 1" round tubing. We welded a 1 X 1 square tubing to the frame upright so our steering column has support closer the wheel. With the steering column in we drilled a hole in the top for the steering wheel bolt. With that centered we made a plate with two holes and an inch notch on one side so we could weld it to the steering column so our wheels could turn with the wheel. Then we made a short tie rod from the plate on the steering column to the right side tie rod bracket and our instructor had a sprint car tie rod that we used to connect both of the wheels syncing the whole system up.
Brakes We used 1 inch conduit and built a break pedal as wide as the car would allow. We used 1 1/4" tubing that the conduit could easily pivot in so we could actuate our break. We then welded the 1 1/4" tubes to the 1 x 1 frame of the car. We then made plates so that we could mount the break lines to the pedal. To make the plate we welded a 1/4" plate at a 90 degree angle to the car and drilled 1/4" holes in them for the cable housing stoppers. We then drilled a 1/8'' for the cable to fit trough the pedal and pull the break thus causing us to stop.
Seat We found a 3/4" thick piece of plywood and cut it to fit our car. We had our instructor purchases a set of hinges and we welded them to the 1 x 1 frame of our car and we screwed the hinges to the seat. We then built out of 1 x 1 a square that extends up 6" to hold the back of our seat up.
Brakes We used 1 inch conduit and built a break pedal as wide as the car would allow. We used 1 1/4" tubing that the conduit could easily pivot in so we could actuate our break. We then welded the 1 1/4" tubes to the 1 x 1 frame of the car. We then made plates so that we could mount the break lines to the pedal. To make the plate we welded a 1/4" plate at a 90 degree angle to the car and drilled 1/4" holes in them for the cable housing stoppers. We then drilled a 1/8'' for the cable to fit trough the pedal and pull the break thus causing us to stop.
Seat We found a 3/4" thick piece of plywood and cut it to fit our car. We had our instructor purchases a set of hinges and we welded them to the 1 x 1 frame of our car and we screwed the hinges to the seat. We then built out of 1 x 1 a square that extends up 6" to hold the back of our seat up.
March
Wiring We mounted one battery in the front of the car and the other one in the back. We put the controller box on the motor mount braces. We then ran 8 1/2 foot battery cables to connect the batteries. We hooked up a cable from the controller box to the motor. For the kill switches we put one on top of the roll cage and the other one on the side of the car towards the front. We ran a cable from the kill switch to the control box, then from there we connected another cable to the second kill switch to complete the circuit. For the brake light switch we welded a piece of 1/8'' plate to the frame then another 1/8'' plate at a 90 degree angle for the switch. Then we ran the wires straight to the brake light.
April
Body We made our body out of clear lexan plastic. To add color we painted the body panels flat black on the inside so it looks like a metallic paint job. We attached the body panels on with self tapping screws. We built an airplane style canopy to enter and exit. To hold the canopy down we made a latch out of 1/2" tubing, welding rod, and a spring. It has a washer welded to the metal frame of the canopy and the welding rod is bent into a hook to hold it down.