Team Engines and Demons is the team of automotive enthusiasts from IIT Indore. Each year we designed and manufactured a whole new all-terrain vehicle from scratch to compete in BAJA SAEINDIA.

 

I joined the team in May 2017. The first year in the team, we prepared an all-terrain Vehicle focusing a lot on weight reduction for better performance and fuel economy. Together with learning manufacturing aspects of the ATV, I worked on the preparation of CAE Report and Design Documents like Design Report, Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA), Design Validation Plan and Report (DVP&R). This opportunity exposed me to deep technical aspects of designing an ATV, thanks to my seniors. Though we couldn't clear Safety Scrutiny in BAJA SAEINDIA 2018 Ropar, we learned a lot as for the first time we attempted to design almost all of the components starting from Gearbox, Wheel Assembly to Brake Disc and Caliper, achieving the final weight of the Vehicle to be just 139 Kg - which was the lightest among all the participants.

 

Building up upon the lessons learned, with the aim of achieving better results next year strictly following the rules, and not compromising the strength, we designed an ATV with Optimization being our main focus. I took the responsibility of Design and Analysis Head of the team and led the team during the designing phase- coming up with ideas to optimize our design, brainstorming for achieving weight reduction without compromising strength, encouraging all the departments for literature studies and focusing on Optimization in each and every way possible. I got a chance to design all the Wheel Assembly Components- Front/Rear Wheel Hub, Knuckle. Understanding all the Assembly Constraints, and to obtain minimum Unsprung Mass, I worked for almost 3 whole months on structural optimization of the front and rear wheel assembly. Meanwhile contributed to intelligent Ergonomic and Safe Design of the roll cage and Designing of the Unique Assembly brackets that would fit with one another in an accurate manner contributing for accurate positioning of powertrain components. Again prepared design Documents and DFMEA, DVP&R with the experience. Though the failure of OEM components of brakes again led to the disqualification of the team.

 

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