Twenty senior mechanical engineering students have designed and are in the process of building an off-road vehicle to compete in the Baja SAE competition for their Creative Project. Some underclassmen have also volunteered their time to help the team design and fabricate the vehicle. Students from the U of A compete in this design and build competition every year.
According to SAE’s website, the Baja competitions simulate real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. The object of the competition is to provide SAE student members with a project that involves the design, planning and manufacturing tasks found when introducing a new product to the consumer industrial market.
The current design of the Baja car
The vehicles are designed to survive the severe punishment of rough terrain, and teams from different colleges 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. All vehicles are powered by a ten-horsepower Intek Model 20 engine donated by Briggs & Stratton Corporation.
The first race is April 9-12, 2015, in Auburn Alabama, followed by a second race in Baltimore, Maryland, May 7-10, and a third race in Portland, Oregon, May 27-30.
“We hope to finish the car as soon as possible so that we can begin testing and modifying any designs that become problematic,” said Alec Burgess, Baja team leader.
To keep up with the progress of the Baja team, like their Facebook page.