Testing
Spring Quarter Testing
Testing the RC Baja is based off the design requirements set forth at the beginning of the year before analysis and design starts. The following tests are based on those requirements. The RC Baja drivetrain must propel the car over a top speed of 20 mph. The car must also withstand a 2-foot drop test to flat ground on concrete. The RC car must travel in a straight path without steering assistance up to 40 feet. The RC car will also compete in the ASME competition, various test including a slalom test and different terrain tests included. A turn radius test will be conducted to ensure the radius is 60 degrees as required.
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Max Speed Test:
This will be tested using set start/finish lines and a timer. A GPS speed tracker will also be used to check the top speed but may alter performance due to added weight. The RC car will start at the edge of the start line and be accelerated to full speed until reaching the finish line. Braking and acceleration will be measured and noted as well.
Transmission disassembly Test:
The requirement to disassemble and reassemble the RC car transmission in under 5 minutes was successfully conducted. Trial one took only 3 minutes and 32 seconds, trial 2 took 3 minutes and 2 seconds, and trial three took 2 minutes and 41 seconds. The times got increasingly faster as shown and the average time among the three trials was 3 minutes and 8 seconds.
Steering Test:
A steering test will be conducted to ensure a turn radius of less than three feet. Using tape/chalk a measured radius will be constructed for the RC car to drive around.
Speed Testing
The requirement of the top speed test was to reach approximately 24 mph from analysis 2, and the predicted result was 23.95 mph based on analysis 2 calculations. Three trials were completed, trial number one and three yielded 24 mph top speeds and trial two yielded a 23-mph top speed for an average of 23.66 mph over the three trials. The predicted value was approximately 1.2% higher than the average. During trial two the RC Car struct a wall during the de-acceleration process causing the front right A-arm and the suspension tower to break. The parts were re 3-D printed and assembled for trial three. Precautions were made on the third trial to keep the car in a straight line, and a longer de-acceleration area was utilized to safely slow the RC Car to a stop.
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Transmission Disassembly Test
The requirement to disassemble and reassemble the RC car transmission in under 5 minutes was successfully conducted. Trial one took only 3 minutes and 32 seconds, trial 2 took 3 minutes and 2 seconds, and trial three took 2 minutes and 41 seconds. The times got increasingly faster as shown and the average time among the three trials was 3 minutes and 8 seconds.
Steering Test
A steering test was conducted to ensure a turn radius of less than three feet. Using chalk a measured radius was drawn on concrete for the RC car to drive around. The RC car passed this test in both direction as anticipated from component analysis.
