Construction

For winter quarter, the RC Baja design is manufactured and assembled to partake in the testing of the design during spring quarter. The parts that are manufactured are split up into three manufacturing methods. These methods include machined, purchased with modification, and 3D printing.

 

For the 3D printed parts, the MEC 3D printers in Samuelson hall at CWU will be used to create these parts which will save the principal engineer time to focus on the more intricate parts of the drivetrain and steering assemblies. There was an issue of the MEC being flooded with orders for 3D printing that put the project's schedule at risk. This was mitigated by getting the order for these parts as early as possible to ensure the schedule was maintained. An example of these parts is shown in Figure 2. For the purchased with modification category, these parts are cut straight from stock material and put onto the RC Baja car. An example of this type of part is shown in figure 1 below where the driveshaft is cut off of the stock material. These parts are created using the machines in the Hogue Hall machine lab. The machines used in this category are the horizontal band saw. For the machined category, these parts are made from stock material but need additional modifications to them. These parts are also made in the CWU machine shop. Machines used in the creation of these parts include the horizontal drill press, lathe, drill press, mill, and CNC machine. When using the machine shop, the risk is that occurred was too many people were using the machines which almost lead to the schedule of the project being slightly delayed. To mitigate this, 4 hours a week was set aside outside of class to ensure the machines were available to machine the necessary parts for the project.

 

Once all parts are created, they are assembled to create a functional RC car. The order of assembly for the drivetrain and steering assemblies will start with the drivetrain. The drivetrain sub-assembly starts with the “transmission” components. The “differential” components are then added. For the steering sub-assembly, the parts are all considered one system. These components must work together to steer the RC Baja Car left and right while moving forward and backward. When these sub-assemblies are complete, they will mate to the chassis plate to be efficient during the operation of the RC Baja car.

 

The last system that will be added to the RC Baja car is the electronics. This system will consist of a battery, transmitter, and receiver. The transmitter and battery will be mounted to the chassis plate and will contribute to the remote control of the car. These parts will be purchased by an RC retailer and assembled onto the RC Baja chassis plate by the principal engineer.

 

To ensure a timely schedule of manufacturing and assembly, the manufacturing was planned to be complete by week 5 to allow ample time to assemble the RC car and troubleshoot any issues that may arise during the quarter. This was planned to be successful and the deadline for a working device was met.