With my design, I thought of having the key shape of the of AEV resemble a plane, because when you think of aerodynamic objects, the first thing that comes to my mind is an airplane. The battery is at the bottom and the Arduinio is at the top to help balance out the weight distribution of the plane. And then i put the motors in the back cause i also thought it would also help with balancing out the weight throughout the AEV.
While making this design I tried to make balance and aerodynamics my main focus, while also trying to make the design as light as possible. In my experience with projects such as this a big role in our success will be the consistency of our tests and one way that we can make our runs consistent is by assuring that the device is balanced otherwise errors and inconsistencies could occur which would hinder our progress. In addition aerodynamics and weight will play a big role in how much work our Arduino has to put in to make the device move and limiting that work will likely be beneficial both to the battery and our tests because as the battery begins to die our runs will lose consistency and thus cause our productivity to decline because we are not working with consistent variables.
When creating this design I focused on aerodynamics, balance, weight and stability. I looked at things known for aerodynamics and use them as a base for my concept. As well as what the AEV will be doing and how to minimize the stress caused by its components. By limiting weight the AEV will be able to preform with out causing the battery to be overworked, which will help with its efficiency.
While making this design, I tried to consider the aerodynamics, efficiency, and maintenance of the AEV. As shown with the sleek, minimalistic design, this prototype will be very aerodynamic along with very few maintenance areas to keep up with. And similarly, since it employs very few pieces to complete the design, its efficiency will be unlimited because it won’t be dragging around extra weight.
Initial Solid Works Drawing: 1st Group Prototype
The main stress of this design is simplicity. We tried to make the design as simple as possible so we did away with the excess weight of metal that we’ve seen in other designs because every ounce counts. Other designs used metal to attach various plastic pieces but our design fits all of the various parts of the AEV on to one plastic platform which eliminates a lot of excess weight. In addition we have viewed one of our most valuable assets in this project to be consistency because each test will be much more productive if each run has as few variables moving around as possible so another point of interest was balance. Other designs in the past did not hang straight down from the track which led to inconsistencies each time we ran various tests so this design also accounts for that by making the AEV hang directly down from the track so it runs smoothly once the motors begin to turn.
This design was built off of a new concept that the group was attempting to test. With the use of 3D printed parts and a rubber band, the group was hoping to create a new method of propulsion as the energy from the motor would go directly into the turning of the wheels. Another positive of the design is the small structure. With a smaller structure, less weight is used in the base boards which will make the AEV more efficient. Another positive of the design is the ability to control the braking as the direct contact to the wheels can allow for more precise stopping power. This greatly improves on our last design and it gives us new and original insights.
This design is similar to the last but it fixed one large issue. With the setup of the last design, the rubber band and the parts on the outside were doomed to hit the supports of the metal beam. To solve this, new parts were built to allow the wheels to go on the outside of the contraption. This allows the group to use the same general design but without the likelihood of crashing regularly.